den Löffel abgeben
to kick the bucket; to die
Origin
The spoon stood symbolically for survival and was a personal possession: often self-carved and worn on the belt. When someone died, they "handed over" their spoon or passed it on.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Indefinite article 'ein' (a/an, masculine, nominative)Unbestimmter Artikel 'ein' (maskulin, Nominativ)
- Plural with no ending (der Lehrer → die Lehrer)Plural ohne Endung
Examples
Der alte hat den .
The old farmer kicked the bucket last week.