pop your clogs

[smithers]

is it true that when someone commits suicide by jumping from a height they're shoes come off before/when they land, hence the saying?

[geofbob]

I doubt it. The phrase simply means to die, not to commit suicide. The word "pop" in the expression almost certainly means to pawn, as it does in the song "pop goes the weasel". Presumably, when you die you no longer need your clogs, so they can be pawned.

[Quizmonster]

Click http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pop2.htm and a link will take you to a website that basically agrees with Geofbob's answer above. It also offers other suggestions/information, however.