This saying, found in its earliest form in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, is a warning that the happiest life may turn tragic at any time. Death of children or loved ones, disease, scandal, war, all of these things can take a previously happy life and make it terrible. So the saying says that you can't call any man's (or woman's) life happy until they have died without tragedy or dishonor. Bernie Madoff is a great example.
From 'Agamemnon' by Aischylos.
Funny
He is a widower.
a guy
mr. Fredrickson in Up
a guy
He is alive; that's why they call him The Dead Man Rises.
How can he be a "dead" man, he's alive...isn't he? I think that the reason they call him that is because it's probably his acting look.
A man whose wife is dead is called a widower.
Dead.
The term is "widower."
dead