a matter of life and death
a matter of life and death
a matter of vital importance
RELATED IDIOMS :
at deaths door = at death's door
so ill that you may die
1994 - S. P. - Somtow Jasmine Nights - How stupid of me to trouble her with my petty problems when she's probably at death's door!
be the death of
cause someone's death
Be the death of is generally used as an exaggerated or humorous way of describing the effects of laughter, embarrassment, boredom or similar emotions.
1999 - Chris Dolan - Ascension Day - If her mother ever found out that William Grant was in Glasgow, it'd be the death of her.
be frightened to death
be made very alarmed and fearful - informal
be in at the death
be present when a hunted animal is caught and killed
be present when something fails or comes to an end
catch your death = catch your death of cold
catch a severe cold or chill – informal
a deaths head at the feast = a death's head at the feast
A naked human skull as the emblem of death
the head of the conventional personification of death
I had rather be married to a death's-head with a bone in his mouth.
die a death = die the death
come to an end
cease or fail to be popular or successful
1999 - Linedancer - Our industry must expand otherwise it will die a death with just a few clubs remaining.
do something to death
perform or repeat something so frequently that it becomes tediously familiar
a fate worse than death
a terrible experience, especially that of seduction or rape
1991 - Thomas Hayden - The Killing Frost – He dominated the conversation, holding the Hackett and Townshend women spellbound as he told of how he had broken up a white slave ring in Dublin, and how he had rescued an innocent young girl from a fate worse than death.
like death warmed up
extremely tired or ill – informal
Like death warmed up was originally military slang recorded from the 1930s. The North American version is like death warmed over.
a matter of life and death :
Idioms Index – Previous Page
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