# today is a good day to die
## English
### Etymology

The phrase is frequently attributed to the Oglala Lakota war leader Crazy Horse (c. 1842 – 1877), 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).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /təˈdeɪ ɪz ə ˈɡʊd deɪ tuː ˈdaɪ/
* (General American) IPA: /tʊˈdeɪ ɪz ə ˈɡʊd deɪ tə ˈdaɪ/
* Audio (General Australian):(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, →OCLC, 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
### 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 Low Dog, quotee (2003) “The Low Dog Interview”, in Richard G. Hardorff, editor, 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.’”