Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

today is a good day to die en · X

Pronunciation

  • /tʊˈdeɪ ɪz ə ˈɡʊd deɪ tə ˈdaɪ/ (General-American)
  • /təˈdeɪ ɪz ə ˈɡʊd deɪ tuː ˈdaɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (Australia) audio

Etymology

The phrase is frequently attributed to the Oglala Lakota war leader Crazy Horse (c. 1842 – 1877), though this is inaccurate as the earliest published reference, in the edition on August 14, 1881 of the Leavenworth Times, attributes it to the Oglala Lakota chief Low Dog (c. 1846 – 1894).

Meanings

  1. An expression of willingness, even eagerness, to give one’s life for a cause.
    • We will keep safe the heritage of this country. And if someday we must die to serve this cause, well, then, it will be a good day to die. [1997, Robert B[rown] Parker, chapter 26, in Night Passage: A Jesse Stone Novel, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN:
    • Junkies brag about the "rush" of mainlined heroin or inhaled crack cocaine; I'll put the rush of danger up against any drug. I wasn't kidding when I told Bouton it was a good day to die. Any day is a good day to die. As long as you go down fighting. [1993, Stephen Solomita, chapter 12, in A Good Day to Die, New York, N.Y.: Otto Penzler Books, →ISBN:
    • Otherwise, small business owners like those in the construction industry will have to be prescient, as well as politically and financially astute, in deciding if today is a good day to die. 2001, Engineering News-Record: Top Construction Management Firms, volume 246, New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 72:
  2. An expression indicating that one should not live with any regrets, or tasks left undone.
    • The main thing is to die after having truly lived, after leaving behind a contribution. Socrates lived fully and was perfectly content to let go when the time came. As the Native American saying goes, "Today is a good day to die." 2006, Dan Millman, “On Chapter Four: The Sword is Sharpened”, in Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior: A Companion to the Book that Changes Lives, Tilburon, Calif.: H. J. Kramer; Novato, Calif.: New World Library, →ISBN, page 111:
    • To be given the strength to live without regrets, without the feeling that you should be doing something more, something different. To make today''' a good day to die. To gain fulfillment not with length of time, but with quality. [2002, Dave Collins, “Gains”, in Please Remain Seated until the Ride has Come to a Complete Stop: Dave Collins Memoir, Lincoln, Neb.: Writer's Showcase, iUniverse, →ISBN, pages 86–87:
    • In the native tradition of the Pacific Northwest there is a saying: "Today is a good day to die." What it means, of course, is that today is a good day to live completely. If you were lying on that hospital bed right now, what would be on that short list? 2008, John Izzo, “The First Secret: Be True to Your Self”, in The Five Secrets You must Discover before You Die, San Francisco, Calif.: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, →ISBN, page 43:

Translations (4)

vi hi sinh (expression of willingness, even eagerness, to give one’s life for a cause) · gl hoxe é un bo día para morrer (expression indicating that one should not live with any regrets, or tasks left undone) · vi hiến thân (expression of willingness, even eagerness, to give one’s life for a cause) · gl hoxe é un bo día para morrer (expression of willingness, even eagerness, to give one’s life for a cause)

wikipedia: Oglala Lakota · wikipedia: University of Oklahoma Press · wikipedia: Low Dog · wikipedia: Crazy Horse · wikipedia: Leavenworth Times