Going west
Meaning
To die or cease to exist.
Origin
During the harrowing years of World War I, soldiers on the Western Front coined the grim euphemism 'going west' to refer to dying. For the British and Commonwealth troops, the battlefield stretched east to west, and to move 'west' was often to head towards the front lines, or more starkly, to face the setting sun—a poignant symbol of life's end. The relentless, eastward advance of the Allied forces meant that any fatal journey for a soldier led, symbolically or literally, towards the west, merging the daily spectacle of the sun's descent with the irreversible journey into death.
Examples
- After a long and fulfilling life, the old general finally went west, surrounded by his family.
- The pilot knew his chances were slim; if that engine failed, he'd be going west for sure.