mortal coil
mortal coil · mortal coils
The chaos and confusion of lifeThe chaos and confusion of life.
Meaning
2 sensesThe chaos and confusion of life.
The physical body of a man (containing the spirit inside).
Origin
Alluding to Hamlet. The two senses result from two interpretations of the word coil, one tAlluding to Hamlet. The two senses result from two interpretations of the word coil, one taking it to mean “tumult, confusion, fuss”, the other “case, wrapping”. In either case, the phrase shuffle off this mortal coil must mean “die”. Since shuffle off in this case is generally taken to mean “get rid of” or “evade”, it is likely that in the sense that Shakespeare used it, it was specifically referring to the act of suicide.
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Forms
plural: mortal coils| Singular | mortal coil |
|---|---|
| Plural | mortal coils |
regular