1. Home
2. Idioms
3. mortal

mortal

---

---

mere mortal

A human, and therefore capable of mistakes. The phrase emphasizes someone's humanity and fallibility. I have to make my expectations more realistic and realize that she's a mere mortal. Presidents are bound to make mistakes—they're mere mortals, just like the rest of us.

See also: mere, mortal

shuffle off this mortal coil

Euph. to die. (Often jocular or formal euphemism. Not often used in consoling someone.) Cousin Fred shuffled off this mortal coil after suffering a heart attack. When I shuffle off this mortal coil, I want to go out in style—bells, flowers, and a long, boring funeral.

See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this

shuffle off this mortal coil

  (humorous)

to die

Usage notes: This phrase comes from the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

I really want to see the Coliseum before I shuffle off this mortal coil.

See lost in the shuffle

See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this

shuffle off

1. Get rid of, act evasively, as in They've tried to shuffle off public inquiries about the safety of their planes. This usage, dating from about 1600, also appears in the oft-quoted shuffle off this mortal coil, from Shakespeare's Hamlet (3:1), where it means "become freed from the turmoil of life," that is, "die."

2. Move away reluctantly, dragging one's feet, as in The prisoners shuffled off to their work detail. [Late 1500s]

See also: off, shuffle

shuffle off

v.

1. To go with short sliding steps, without or barely lifting the feet: The sleepy children shuffled off to bed.

2. To leave; depart: Toward the end of the evening, the guests shuffled off one by one.

3. To rid oneself of something; dispose of or relocate something: I have not been able to shuffle off my embarrassment. The computer program automatically shuffles the outdated files off to another disk.

4. To evade or shirk something, such as a responsibility: He shuffled off his responsibilities and went to the beach. She shuffled her work off onto others because she wasn't feeling well.

See also: off, shuffle

shuffle off this mortal coil

Die. This phrase that appears in Hamlet combines the archaic meaning of two words. “Shuffle” meant “rid,” while “coil” meant “troubles.” As Shakespeare put it, “What dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil / Must give us pause.”

See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this