famous last words

singular famous last word

1. literallypluralplural normallyA notable final utterance before death, especially one made by a celebrity or historical figure.

   Lawrence died defending his vessel and his famous last words, "Don't give up the ship," have been familiar to every schoolboy.

   1908, "“Don't Give Up The Ship.”," New York Times, 5 Jan. (retrieved 2 Oct 2010)

   1 more example

   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!"].

   1996, Jane Irwin, editor, George Eliot's Daniel Deronda Notebooks, →ISBN, page 367

2. figurativelypluralplural normallyexpressing sarcasmA statement which is overly optimistic, results from overconfidence, or lacks realistic foresight.

   "But Nick—I'm never getting married again. I'm serious about that.""Famous last words."

   1989, Danielle Steele, Season of Passion, →ISBN, page 246

   2 more examples

   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.

   1986 June 9, Janice Castro et al., “The Price Was Finally Right”, in Time

   "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.

   2007, Suzanne Brockmann, Into the Storm, →ISBN, page 417