today is a good day to die

English

WOTD – 25 June 2018

Etymology

A c. 1881–1885 photograph of the Oglala Lakota chief Low Dog, who was reported to have first used the phrase “this is a good day to die” in 1881

The phrase is frequently attributed to the Oglala Lakota war leader Crazy Horse (c. 1842 – 1877),[1] though this is inaccurate as the earliest published reference, in the 14 August 1881 edition of the Leavenworth Times, attributes it to the Oglala Lakota chief Low Dog (c. 1846 – 1894).[2]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /təˈdeɪ ɪz ə ˈɡʊd deɪ tuː ˈdaɪ/
(General American) IPA^(key): /tʊˈdeɪ ɪz ə ˈɡʊd deɪ tə ˈdaɪ/
Audio (AU) (file)
Hyphenation: to‧day is a good day to die

Proverb

today is a good day to die

An expression of willingness, even eagerness, to give one’s life for a cause.
- [1993, Stephen Solomita, chapter 12, in A Good Day to Die, New York, N.Y.: Otto Penzler Books, →ISBN:
  Junkies brag about the "rush" of mainlined heroin or inhaled crack cocaine; I'll put the rush of danger up against any drug. I wasn't kidding when I told Bouton it was a good day to die. Any day is a good day to die. As long as you go down fighting.]
- [1997, Robert B[rown] Parker, chapter 26, in Night Passage: A Jesse Stone Novel, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN:
  We will keep safe the heritage of this country. And if someday we must die to serve this cause, well, then, it will be a good day to die.]
- 2001, Engineering News-Record: Top Construction Management Firms, volume 246, New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, ISSN 0891-9526, OCLC 20849177, page 72:
  Otherwise, small business owners like those in the construction industry will have to be prescient, as well as politically and financially astute, in deciding if today is a good day to die.
An expression indicating that one should not live with any regrets, or tasks left undone.
- [2002, Dave Collins, “Gains”, in Please Remain Seated until the Ride has Come to a Complete Stop: Dave Collins Memoir, Lincoln, Neb.: Writer's Showcase, iUniverse, →ISBN, pages 86–87:
  To be given the strength to live without regrets, without the feeling that you should be doing something more, something different. To make today a good day to die. To gain fulfillment not with length of time, but with quality.]
- 2006, Dan Millman, “On Chapter Four: The Sword is Sharpened”, in Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior: A Companion to the Book that Changes Lives, Tilburon, Calif.: H. J. Kramer; Novato, Calif.: New World Library, →ISBN, page 111:
  The main thing is to die after having truly lived, after leaving behind a contribution. Socrates lived fully and was perfectly content to let go when the time came. As the Native American saying goes, "Today is a good day to die."
- 2008, John Izzo, “The First Secret: Be True to Your Self”, in The Five Secrets You must Discover before You Die, San Francisco, Calif.: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, →ISBN, page 43:
  In the native tradition of the Pacific Northwest there is a saying: "Today is a good day to die." What it means, of course, is that today is a good day to live completely. If you were lying on that hospital bed right now, what would be on that short list?

Translations

expression of willingness, even eagerness, to give one’s life for a cause

Galician: hoxe é un bo día para morrer

expression indicating that one should not live with any regrets, or tasks left undone

Galician: hoxe é un bo día para morrer

References

See, for example, Kenneth Paul Kramer (1988), “American Indian Attitudes towards Death”, in The Sacred Art of Dying: How World Religions Understand Death, Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, →ISBN, page 169: “One of the best known death songs was sung by the Sioux warrior Chief Crazy Horse just before he entered into battle: / Hoka hey! Follow me / Today is a good day to fight / Today is a good day to die.”
The phrase appeared in an interview with Low Dog which was in a newspaper despatch sent from Fort Yates, North Dakota, USA, on 30 July 1881 and published in the Leavenworth Times two weeks later: see Richard G. Hardorff, editor , quoting Low Dog (2003), “The Low Dog Interview”, in Indian Views of the Custer Fight: A Sourcebook, Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, →ISBN, pages 63 and 65: “We retreated until our men got all together, and then we charged upon them. I called to my men, ‘This is a good day to die: follow me.’”

[1] See, for example, Kenneth Paul Kramer (1988), “American Indian Attitudes towards Death”, in The Sacred Art of Dying: How World Religions Understand Death, Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, →ISBN, page 169: “One of the best known death songs was sung by the Sioux warrior Chief Crazy Horse just before he entered into battle: / Hoka hey! Follow me / Today is a good day to fight / Today is a good day to die.”

[2] The phrase appeared in an interview with Low Dog which was in a newspaper despatch sent from Fort Yates, North Dakota, USA, on 30 July 1881 and published in the Leavenworth Times two weeks later: see Richard G. Hardorff, editor , quoting Low Dog (2003), “The Low Dog Interview”, in Indian Views of the Custer Fight: A Sourcebook, Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, →ISBN, pages 63 and 65: “We retreated until our men got all together, and then we charged upon them. I called to my men, ‘This is a good day to die: follow me.’”