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Origin likely
“Six feet under”
What it means
Dead and buried.
Where it comes from
The depth is usually traced to plague regulations issued in London in 1665, which specified how deep the dead were to be laid to reduce contagion.
How sure are we?
The 1665 orders are real and do address burial depth, though whether they specified six feet exactly is less certain than the phrase implies. Modern burial practice varies considerably, and six feet is convention rather than requirement.