buy it
English
Etymology
- In the die sense, apparently attested since the 1820s, thus earlier than the variant buy the farm, which may be an extension of it.
- In the have it sense, an elliptical allusion to believing a sales pitch.
Pronunciation
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -aɪət
Verb
buy it (third-person singular simple present buys it, present participle buying it, simple past and past participle bought it)
- (slang, euphemistic) To die.
- Synonyms: buy the farm, kick the bucket; see also Thesaurus:die
- He bought it in a shootout.
- (slang, idiomatic) To believe any particular assertion or idea; to support it.
- Synonym: have it
- Hyponym: buy into it
- He claims that he'll pay me back, but I don't buy it.
- He was claiming that he'd pay her back, but she wasn't buying it.
- He had been talking up a storm about diversification of assets, and clearly they had bought it.
Usage notes
- The die sense is usually used in the preterite and in the perfect aspect (denoting notionally instantaneous finality).