[Vocabulary] What's "his day is done"?

[Sinnerman]

Hello,

What does the phrase "his day is done" mean and to what layer of English it is referred?

Is this an idiom or just a set expression?

I didn't find anything in online dictionaries concerning this particular phrase.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Raymott]

What is the context? What do you think it might mean, given the context?
Also, what do you mean by "layer of English"?

 

[Tdol]

It could mean that he has finished work for the day, that his time of fame and importance has finished, or that he has died. As Raymott points out, the context matters.

 

[Sinnerman]

It could mean that he has finished work for the day, that his time of fame and importance has finished, or that he has died. As Raymott points out, the context matters.

In context it means that, as Tdol says, his time of fame and importance has finished.

But I still wonder, is this an idiom in English or what?

 

[MikeNewYork]

When the metaphorical meanings are used, it is an idiom.

 

[Sinnerman]

Is it always so as you say?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I believe so.

 

[Tdol]

There is the old expression The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended,which refers to death and may be where the idea comes from. Most contexts that use the phrase mean death in one way or another- physical death or death of fame and celebrity.

It's idiomatic, but I am not sure that it is sufficiently recognised to be considered an idiom in the way that raining cats and dogs is.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Idioms come in all shapes and sizes.

 

[Tdol]

They certainly do- horses for courses. ;-)