dead on one's feet

Idioms and Phrases

Also, dead tired . Extremely weary, as in Mom was in the kitchen all day and was dead on her feet , or I'd love to go, but I'm dead tired . The use of dead for “tired to exhaustion” dates from the early 1800s, and dead on one's feet , conjuring up the image of a dead person still standing up, dates from the late 1800s.

Related Words

• annoyed
• bored
• distressed
• drained
• exasperated
• fatigued
• irritated
• overworked
• sleepy
• stale