die on one’s feet—
1. die while still working; keep working till the end:
- Harvey spent the next week working on the generator. He had died on his feet.
2. fight and give one’s life courageously:
- Rather than surrender without a fight, the exhausted army fought bravely to the bitter end and died on their feet.
3. become absolutely exhausted (also: be dead on one’s feet):
- I was cheered the whole way round and this really helped over the last two miles when I was dying on my feet.
Note: The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with the phrase die in one’s boots—(also: die with one’s boots on)
1. = die on one’s feet 1:
- I suppose I’ll have to retire one day, but that’s a long way off. I’d much rather die in my boots.
2. = die on one’s feet 2:
- “General,” he later reported to Dodge, “they died in their boots but brought peace.”
3. die a violent death:
- Charlie talked of the early days in the Marshalls when every white man lived like a prince, and died in his boots from a bullet or a spear.
die standing up = die on one’s feet 2:
- Kurdish people throughout southern Turkey have decided they would rather die standing up than spend their lives on their knees.