Have you ever wondered how to talk about death with a more light-hearted tone? Well, you may be looking for the term ‘dirt nap’. As much as we wish it was simply another term for a mud bath you’d get at a spa, its true definition is far from it.
According to Wiktionary.com:
Dirt nap noun
A state of permanent rest; the state of death.
First, let’s take apart the phrase. ‘Dirt’ refers to the typical burial of living things on earth as most of the time they are buried if not cremated. ‘Nap’ refers to how some call death a rest or eternal sleep. This phrase can be seen being used as early as 1981. Typically it’s used in various kinds of media such as books, tv shows, and movies.
`Saying dirt nap instead of death is commonly used in children’s movies, such as in the movie Vivo (2021) where the bird Dancarino states “I’m getting ready to take the long dirt nap” as he flops onto his back into a dirt grave, legs sticking up in a dramatic pose. In typical children’s movie fashion, the writers put in hints to the adults throughout the movie, and using dirt nap is a similar writing choice even though it’s not too hard to figure out.
Cult favorites such as The Simpsons can be seen using the term as well. In season 15 episode 1 “Treehouse of Horror XIV” Homer kills the grim reaper and takes his place. He is later seen pushing through a crowd of people stating “take a dirt nap feed the worms” as he touches them and inherently kills them as the new grim reaper.
In The Mask (1994) it appears again as man warns Dorian Tyrell of Niko – his boss who he is trying to overthrow – explaining “You mess with Niko, you end up taking a dirt nap.” Plot twist (and spoiler warning): He does take a dirt nap, but a very wet one in the sewers where it is assumed he drowned at the end of the movie due to Ipkiss flushing him.
The term dirt nap isn’t limited to screens, however. The phrase has made its way to the title of several books such as The Big Dirt Nap: A Dirty Business Mystery by Rosemary Harris a novel with several nods to the theme of death. The main character is a gardener and goes on a trip to see a corpse flower (aka titan arum) bloom and encounters a murder mystery. Another book is Dirt Nap by Carolyn Elizabeth which unsurprisingly also alludes to death as the main character Corey Curtis works at a morgue and processes dead bodies.
It even makes appearances in many songs, such as the song “Dirt Nap” by OK Otter:
I don’t give a crap, I’m taking a dirt nap!
Don’t need no urn, I’m feeding the worms!
Don’t call me lazy, I’m pushing up dasies
I met the reaper now I’m one big sleeper
Once again the artist refers to dirt nap in the context of death, ‘feeding the worms’ and referring to the grim reaper. Just like movies, tv shows, and books the music world is no exception to this phrase.
So, if you’ve learned anything in this article, you’ve learned that the phrase ‘dirt nap’ is more common than you probably thought before. Pay attention to the media you consume, and you may find out just how common it is. When’s the last time you heard the phrase?
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