drop-dead

[ drop-ded ]

adjective

1. inspiring awe, astonishment, or envy:

   a drop-dead guest list; a drop-dead sable coat.

2. being the most extreme limit or possibility:

   What's the drop-dead date for handing in term papers? That is our drop-dead offer.

drop-dead

adverb

1. informal.
   outstandingly or exceptionally

   drop-dead gorgeous

Word History and Origins

Origin of drop-dead¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Idioms and Phrases

An expression of anger, rejection, or indignation toward someone. For example, I should do all that work for you? Drop dead! This rude imperative is usually hyperbolic, that is, the speaker is not literally asking someone to die on the spot. [c. 1930] Curiously, the adjective (and adverb) drop-dead is not at all insulting. Rather, it means “dazzling” or “awe-inspiring,” as in She wore a drop-dead outfit that all the other women admired . This usage originated in slangy journalism in the 1960s.

Example Sentences

And if so, can it cause you to literally drop dead from that ominous condition called “sudden death”?

From The Daily Beast

Karly Hopper is a drop-dead gorgeous woman with an IQ of 65 and a childlike sense of the world.

From The Daily Beast

And Netanyahu has told him to drop dead, which politically, he may soon do.

From The Daily Beast

And Netanyahu has told him to drop dead, which politically, he may soon do.You got Obama wrong.

From The Daily Beast

But Stacey Dash is drop dead gorgeous, so people take a special interest when she voices an opinion.

From The Daily Beast

Suppose I drop dead, Susan, will you like to be a bewitching young widow so soon?

From Project Gutenberg

Then, when he started home again, to take his punishment, the first thing he did was to drop dead.

From Project Gutenberg

The idolized only daughter of the Carr family hoped that she would drop dead from mortification, but nothing happened.

From Project Gutenberg

It's a very common superstition among English country folk that shrews always drop dead if they attempt to cross a road.

From Project Gutenberg

And she had a curious feeling that she should drop dead if her mother should clutch her.

From Project Gutenberg