There are different theories about the meaning and etymological origin of the term bruces. However, the most widespread determines that this word comes from Latin, specifically from “bucceus”, which can be translated as “from the mouth”. And that word, in turn, derives from the noun “bucca”, which is synonymous with “mouth”.
The expression “de buces” or “de bruces” , in this framework, refers to being with the face or mouth down .
For example: “I fell on my face in the street and broke two teeth,” “You can't lie face down in bed all day: Cheer up! Let’s go for a ride!” , “The child tried to walk towards the mother but fell on his face.”
By extension, several sentences can be constructed with this expression. If someone claims that, when leaving a place, they “bumped into” a person, they will be alluding to the fact that they ran head-on into the subject in question, almost colliding with them. Suppose a man named Stephen walks quickly out of a bank branch and, just as he walks through the door, he meets his sister, who wants to enter the place. In this context, it is possible to affirm that Esteban bumped into his sister when leaving the bank.
It is curious to know the history behind the expression “fall on your face.” It is considered to be found in 14th century Scotland. More specifically we can determine that it originates from the king of that country, Robert the Bruce. Specifically, the starting point of that aforementioned expression is found in the death of that monarch, who died by falling from his horse and giving himself a fatal blow when his face collided with the ground.
The expedition that had the objective of taking the lifeless body of that king to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem passed through Spain. In front of it was James Douglas and in it he carried a document in which he came to record the life of the Scottish king and specifically his death. A document that was titled “The Bruce's Death”.
The Spanish monarch of the time, Alfonso XI of Castile, requested that this manuscript be translated. The person in charge of doing it, since there was no similarity in Spanish to the English apostrophe “´s”, chose to title it “The Death of Bruces”. And from there it became popular and became the expression we know today of “falling flat on your face.”
This phrase can also be used in a symbolic sense , when someone encounters something unexpected. Take the case of a young footballer who leaves his country convinced that he has the necessary talent to succeed in Europe. That is why he emigrates with the intention of trying himself in different teams. Two months later, after several rejections, he discovers that his level of play is not enough to play professionally in European football . Faced with this situation, it can be said that the young man came face to face with reality.