Bought the Farm vs. Gone for a Burton – Origin & Meaning

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Danielle McLeod

Danielle McLeod is a highly qualified secondary English Language Arts Instructor who brings a diverse educational background to her classroom. With degrees in science, English, and literacy, she has worked to create cross-curricular materials to bridge learning gaps and help students focus on effective writing and speech techniques. Currently working as a dual credit technical writing instructor at a Career and Technical Education Center, her curriculum development surrounds student focus on effective communication for future career choices.

Every language has its own set of idioms, many of which have similar meanings despite their very different appearance. Although this blog is dedicated to American English grammar and terminology, comparing the differences between certain phrases can be fun and interesting.

To buy the farm is an American idiom that means essentially the same thing as the British saying gone for a Burton. Let’s explore the origins of these two phrases and what they mean in the article below.

Bought the Farm vs. Gone for a Burton: What’s the Difference?

Bought the Farm vs. Gone for a Burton Origin Meaning

Bought the farm is an American idiom that originated among servicemen during World War II. Gone for a Burton is the British equivalent. They are figurative ways to state that someone has died and are more pleasant to say and think about after the loss of a fellow serviceman than simply stating they have died.

This is especially true due to how military personnel might die during conflict. And it’s possible the phrases were a way to cope with the loss of comrades in arms.

Although they essentially mean the same thing, they originate from different backgrounds.

What Is the Meaning of Bought the Farm?

As explained above, the expression bought the farm is an American term that means someone has died. This euphemism for dying became popular among American servicemen during World War II, especially combat pilots.

For example:

  • I hated when my favorite television character bought the farm in season 3; the series never felt the same afterward, and I didn’t finish it.
  • It was said the company’s CEO bought the farm, so imagine everyone’s surprise when he showed up at the quarterly meeting with some big changes to be made.

Bought the Farm Origins

The term to buy it became slang for “suffering a mishap” or “to die” in the early 1800s. It was picked up as military jargon, likely attributed to the dream of buying a home after fulfilling their military duties.

During the years leading up to and after World War II, many Americans sought to purchase land and a home for a family. Running a small farm was still a very popular way to settle down, and many servicemen dreamed of the day they would return to civilian life and buy a small farm to work and live on.

Another way to interpret this phrase is the idea that when a serviceman died in combat, the family received a small payout for his death. This payout might be enough to pay the mortgage on the family farm.

What Is the Meaning of Gone for a Burton?

Bought the Farm vs. Gone for a Burton Origin Meaning 1

Gone for a Burton is the British equivalent of the idiom bought the farm. Like the American version, it originated among servicemen during World War II.

Today, the phrase may also mean something that is ruined or broken. Note that the word Burton in gone for a Burton is capitalized, as it is a proper noun.

For example:

  • My plans to head to the coast for the weekend have gone for a Burton after an unexpected expense occurred.
  • It’s sad, but the old gal has finally gone for a Burton after being the best greeting dog at the hardware store for over 15 years.

Gone for a Burton Origins

Going for a Burton Ngram
Going for a Burton usage trend.

Two plausible explanations for the term gone for a Burton exist:

  1. A combat pilot named Burton was shot down over the ocean.
  2. Burton-upon-Trent is a well-known English town producing some of the UK’s most well-known beer.

Obviously, it is much more pleasant to imagine a missing comrade at the bar drinking a pint rather than dead.

Because the idiom gone for a Burton was most often applied to a combat pilot who may have died in the ocean or the “drink,” this origin story is most plausible.

In RAF Pilot Officer Colin Dunford Wood’s wartime diary, dated May 1941, he states,

Front gun jams so I have to come home, quarter of an hour after the other two, to find the camp being bombed, and 110s just finished and they all think I have “gone for a Burton,” as the expression is here.

Let’s Review

Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasoning behind the phrases bought the farm and gone for a Burton, both appeared around World War II to mean that somebody had died.

Bought the farm is an American idiom and likely was influenced by the American Dream to own land and home—which is what most servicemen planned to do after serving their country. If they died in service, then they bought the farm earlier than planned.

Gone for a Burton also means that somebody has died and, more recently, plans have been ruined. This is the British equivalent of bought the farm. However, it likely originates with a popular beer and the shooting down of a pilot named Burton into the sea.