Gone west

This figurative expression meaning to die or perish has been around since The Middle Ages and the most favoured origin is the symbolism provided by the setting or dying sun, which according to old Celtic tradition, was the home of the dead. Sometimes, gone west can mean broken or not functioning but this meaning is much more recent and no citations be found for it before the early 20th century. The association with condemned prisoners ‘going west’ from Newgate prison to the gallows at Tyburn (modern Marble Arch), which they did on a regular basis from 1196 to 1783, is often offered as an explanation for the origin of the expression, but this is not supported by the OED. Another alleged origin is from the Western Front in the First World War but this is obviously at variance with the OED’s contention that the expression first appears in The Middle Ages c.1350-1450. Go west, young man, go west refers to the opportunities that the American West afforded in the mid-19th century. The quotation is attributed to John Soule, a newspaperman from Indiana in 1851. Although many young, intrepid pioneers met premature death after going west, this cannot be the origin of the expression if the OED is right about its first appearance during The Middle Ages. Until more evidence is available, especially with regard to the Newgate Prison/Tyburn theory, the association with the setting sun remains the most likely origin, which perhaps makes the concept much older than even The Middle Ages.