famous last words

English

famous last words pl (normally plural, singular famous last word)

(literally) A notable final utterance before death, especially one made by a celebrity or historical figure.
- 1908, "“Don't Give Up The Ship.”," New York Times, 5 Jan. (retrieved 2 Oct 2010):
  Lawrence died defending his vessel and his famous last words, "Don't give up the ship," have been familiar to every schoolboy.
- 1996, Jane Irwin, editor, George Eliot's Daniel Deronda Notebooks‎^[1], →ISBN, page 367:
  When Arria's husband was hesitating to kill himself, she stabbed herself with his dagger, to demonstrate to him how to accomplish a noble suicide. Her famous last words—Paete, non dolet ["Paetus, it does not hurt!"].
(figuratively, expressing sarcasm) A statement which is overly optimistic, results from overconfidence, or lacks realistic foresight.
- 1986 June 9, Janice Castro et al., “The Price Was Finally Right”, in Time:
  Says one Sperry product executive: "As a manager, there is almost nothing you can do to get fired here." Considering the new circumstances, those could be famous last words.
- 1989, Danielle Steele, Season of Passion‎^[2], →ISBN, page 246:
  "But Nick—I'm never getting married again. I'm serious about that."
  "Famous last words."
- 2007, Suzanne Brockmann, Into the Storm‎^[3], →ISBN, page 417:
  "Lindsey and Tess are both armed. And Stella and Robert are here. We're ridiculously safe."
  "Those sound like such famous last words," Dave said.