Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan find out why they call it the Quick and the Dead. Bonus: Religious Creeds, Highlander the TV show, and Podcasting Word of Mouth.
Also - there is an important announcement in the middle of the show that will be of interest to all listeners!
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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Quick Quips
Episode 322: Quick and The Dead
Record Date: June 14, 2026
Air Date: June 17, 2026
Intro
Dan:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.
I’m Dan Pugh
Shauna:
And I’m Shauna Harrison
Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.
Welcome to another Quick Quips episode where we look at phrases that, for whatever reason, don’t fit into our regular format.
Today, we’re visiting the quick and the dead.
Meaning
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the quick and the dead means,
Quote
Living people and dead people
End quote
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20quick%20and%20the%20dead
Today, we are familiar with the word quick meaning that something happens in a short amount of time or that a person or object moves rapidly.
However, Oxford English Dictionary, provides two Old English entries for the word quick which include,
Quote
Living, endowed with life, animate.
and
To give or restore vigour to;
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/quick_adj?tab=meaning_and_use
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/quick_v1?tab=factsheet#27114167
There are references to this some people may have heard without realizing it. To quicken something can mean to give it life or invigorate it. When babies were born and took their first breath, it was called quickening.
How it Started (Could be figurative or literal)
One early usage is found in the 1385 Wycliffe Bible. I’ll be reading this excerpt with words updated to their modern form.
And thei schulen yyue resoun to hym, that is redi to deme the quyke and the deed.
Quote
And they shall give reason to him, that is ready to deem the quick and the dead.
End quote
H
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/quick-and-the-dead.html
This interprets to something more like,
“They will give account to him, who is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”
So when we encounter the quick and the dead in older texts, we're not talking about speed at all—we're talking about the living and the dead.
How it Shifted (or How it Became Figurative)
The phrase didn't need to change meaning to find new uses. By the late 1800s, it was recognizable enough to be borrowed as a title, reference, or allusion in discussions.
1890
The cartoon Between the Quick and the Dead is found in the magazine Punch, or The London Charivari, Volume 99, which was published November 22, 1890.
The cartoon depicts a British officer imploring the figure of Justice beside the graves of the army officer Edmund Musgrave Barttelot and the naturalist James Sligo Jameson, over their roles in the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/12737/12737-h/12737-h.htm
In this case, the phrase was used as the title of a social commentary cartoon. And we’re going to discuss this a little bit further in our behind the scenes video which airs every Friday on Patreon. That’s at patreon.com/BunnyTrailsPod.
Even today, the quick and the dead is usually understood to mean living people and dead people. However, the phrase has been applied in a variety of figurative uses, sometimes representing broader contrasts such as between … vitality and lifelessness, action and passivity, relevance and irrelevance.
1936
The phrase appears in the March 21, 1936 edition of The Washington daily news, out of Washington, D.C. We are looking at the article by Robert D. Potter titled, The Man on the Street
He's Usually the One to Suffer in Accidents Involving Autos
Quote
The coming of the auto has divided pedestrians into two groups: The quick and the "dead." And it does a dead man little good to know that he had the right of way. Last year nearly half of all motor vehicle fatalities were pedestrians--the man on the street.
For centuries a man that walked had the right of way over all other forms of transportation. But recently only four out of 30 large cities queried, admitted the pedestrian had this right over motor cars at all times and places.
End Quote
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82016181/1936-03-21/ed-1/?sp=19&q=quick+and+the+dead&r=-0.176,-0.089,1.129,0.577,0
Next up we’ll look at just how the phrase is used today, but first, a quick thank you - the rapid version - and an announcement for anyone who doesn’t follow us on Patreon.
A Quick Thank You
Dan:
That’s right Shauna. We recently announced on our Patreon that episode 325 will be the final episode of Bunny Trails.
Shauna: It’s been a wonderful run, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.
Dan:
These 9 seasons have been brought to you by our amazing Patrons on Patreon.
Shauna:
Thanks to everyone who has supported the show over the years, including Heather, Dustin, Cheryl, Ad-sceptic, Charlie, Jill, Erica, Chris, Allan, Donna, and Ernest. Plus special thanks to some of our higher tiers, including Jan and Emily as well as Pat Rowe and JGP. And of course, thank you to our top spot, Mary Halsig Lopez.
Dan:
You can find tons of content from the show’s 9 seasons on Patreon at patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
We also have links to the episodes and transcripts or show notes for each episode on our forever home, bunnytrailspod.com
How it's used today
1995
The 1995 movie, The Quick and the Dead, was directed by Sam Raimi and featured Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio, so a bit of a star-studded cast for the time.
This movie uses the phrase in a literal and figurative sense. The movie is considered a nontraditional western. The title implies that one is either quick … on the draw … or dead. Here is the synopsis as shared on Rotten Tomatoes,
Quote
A mysterious woman gunslinger, Ellen (Sharon Stone), saunters into the town of Redemption looking for revenge. Her father was killed by the town's sadistic mayor, Herod (Gene Hackman), who is in the midst of organizing a quick-draw tournament. The lady enters, joining a cast of miscreants and outlaws for a brutal competition in which the loser dies. Among the competitors is "The Kid" (Leonardo DiCaprio), an upstart who has his own score to settle with Herod.
End Quote
https://youtu.be/Uq9ZdhcQ4xw?si=1MWd9qGtDXBjdGj-
Current
The Quick and The Dead is a high quality reproduction giclee print of Gene Hackman as the lead villain John Herod, from an original painting for sale by the artist, listed under FroehlichArtStudio.
This is a neat recreation. It’s very colorful and cartoon style. It’s not simply a copy of a paused screen. I enjoy the vibe of this one.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1030863237/the-quick-and-the-dead-print-poster?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=quick+and+the+dead&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&content_source=c6794f65-fdad-4df7-b73f-89c13ede35a0%253ALT392f12e26163f486fd97c8d628cab68e8a17f42a&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=c6794f65-fdad-4df7-b73f-89c13ede35a0%3ALT392f12e26163f486fd97c8d628cab68e8a17f42a
2022
The phrase is still turning up in popular culture. "Quick and the Dead" by Chaotic Resemblance is from their album Nazarites released in 2022.
Here, the quick and the dead refers to the living and the dead in the context of final judgment. Here is a short bit from the chorus,
Quote
The end of all is at hand
Be ye sober my friend
Are you baptized in red
The King is ready to judge
The quick and the dead
End Quote
https://www.invubu.com/music/show/song/Chaotic-Resemblance/Quick-and-the-Dead.html
https://youtu.be/R-fsCe-HJfo?si=zk_ap5qIZYJurQ4S
Shauna:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included, reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod, or comment on our website, bunnytrailspod.com
Poll question
Dan:
It’s poll time!
Recently we asked our Patrons: How do you discover new-to-you podcasts?
It turns out, everyone seems to get their podcasts in different ways. Word of mouth, either through people you know or genuine recommendations from podcasters are common among our Patrons, as well as crossovers or guests on an existing podfeed. There are even several who listen to something new based on their podcast app recommendations.
Jan said:
Quote
I don’t remember how I found Bunny Trails, but glad I did. I’ve had friends recommend some good ones. I’ve found some by just browsing and keyword searches, and a few pop up as recommendations. Gastropod is pretty high on my list of newer finds.
End Quote
Shauna:
Jill said:
Quote
Mentions in articles I read in Substack and newspapers.
End Quote
JGP shared:
Quote
I probably most often find new ones due to guest appearances - especially when its one of those 'celebrate an X number of episodes' when a whole bunch of podcasts with similar themes do little bits and I'll just open up my podcast app and check out each one as they're introduced. I'm pretty sure that's how I found Bunny Trails, from a little spot you did back when Lexitecture celebrated its 100th episode.
End Quote
That’s pretty cool! I found several new shows from that episode as well. And it’s also the way I typically find new podcasts to listen to as well. It’s a great method if you listen to things that might be a tad more niche.
Dan:
Most of my podcasts these days come from word of mouth, with many coming from people who know me or have similar tastes, and a few coming from podcasters recommending the shows they listen to on a regular basis.
Outro
Dan:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,
Together:
Words belong to their users.
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