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Reader question: Please explain this sentence, particularly “bucket list goal” in this: Learning a new language is a bucket list goal for many. My comments: If a goal is a “bucket list” goal, then it is a life-long pursuit. Here it means it is something they want to do before they die. Indeed, many ambitious elder folk make learning a new language their lifetime goal, something they want to master before they die. The question is, what has death got to do with it? Well, the phrase “bucket list” is derived from the age-old expression “kicking the bucket”, and that “bucket” is about death. Apparently in the old days, some people who committed suicide did so hanging themselves by standing upon a bucket instead of, more commonly, a stool. They would turn the bucket upside down, climb on top of it and hang their neck through a noose on a beam. When ready, they would kick the bucket away and let go. And that’s how “bucket” came to be associated with death. Hence and therefore, a bucket list becomes one’s wish list before death. No more ado, let’s just examine a few examples of what people put on their bucket list, or the ultimate to-do list: 1. In his free time apart from being a model-railway enthusiast with a massive home layout reminiscent of the New York central and Pennsylvania railroads in the 1940s, Rod is still passionate about his soccer and plays for the L.A. Exiles. His love of the Celtic United Football Club in Britain is legendary, and he always pays tribute to them in the show, kicking soccer balls out into the audience. | 
