shuffle off this mortal coil

verb

"shuffle-off-this-mortal-coil" is a 24-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shuffle off this mortal coil” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
28
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To die; to divest oneself of one's mortal body.

Key facts for shuffle off this mortal coil
PropertyValue
Headwordshuffle off this mortal coil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters28
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shuffle off this mortal coil” sits in English frequency

shuffle off this mortal coil falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for shuffle off this mortal coil is 28 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To die; to divest oneself of one's mortal body.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for shuffle off this mortal coil, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Hamlet by William Shakespeare, see mortal coil. The correct English form is shuffle off this mortal coil, spelled S-H-U-F-F-L-E- -O-F-F- -T-H-I-S- -M-O-R-T-A-L- -C-O-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To die; to divest oneself of one's mortal body.

Etymology

From Hamlet by William Shakespeare, see mortal coil.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shuffle off this mortal coil"?
"shuffle off this mortal coil" is spelled S-H-U-F-F-L-E- -O-F-F- -T-H-I-S- -M-O-R-T-A-L- -C-O-I-L.
What does "shuffle off this mortal coil" mean?
As a verb, "shuffle off this mortal coil" means: To die; to divest oneself of one's mortal body.
What is the origin of the word "shuffle off this mortal coil"?
From Hamlet by William Shakespeare, see mortal coil. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “shuffle off this mortal coil”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-H-U-F-F-L-E- -O-F-F- -T-H-I-S- -M-O-R-T-A-L- -C-O-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list