drop dead

Compare Dutch doodvallen and the expletive "val dood!".

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drop dead (third-person singular simple present drops dead, present participle dropping dead, simple past and past participle dropped dead)

1. (intransitive) To die suddenly.
   • 1953, Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451:

     Stuff your eyes with wonder […] live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.

   • 1988 November 23, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes:

     Boy, I'm in a bad mood today! Everyone had better steer clear of me! I hate everybody! As far as I'm concerned, everyone on the planet can just drop dead. People are scum.

2. (intransitive, figuratively) To be appalled or mortified.
   • 1965, James Holledge, What Makes a Call Girl?, London: Horwitz Publications, page 90:

     `My parents would drop dead if they knew,' she said.

drop dead

1. Used angrily to express disgust, contempt, derision, etc., toward another person.
   • 1967, Trudy Baker, Rachel Jones, Donald Bain (uncredited), Coffee, Tea, or Me?: The Uninhibited Memoirs of Two Airline Stewardesses, New York: Bantam Books, pages 7–8:

     “Whatta ya say, goils? I'll take the botha ya, only later, like, well, you know, like later onea ya can split and go home.” […] “Drop dead,” Rachel said with a smile.

   • 1997, Peter Mehlman, David Mandel, “The Betrayal”, in Seinfeld, season 9, episode 8, spoken by Franklin Delano Romanowski (Michael McShane):

     [to Kramer] Are you dense? I said I wanted you to drop dead. Now... drop dead! [slams the door in Kramer's face]

drop dead (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of drop-dead
   • 1992, Gigi Moers, How and Why Lovers Cheat: And What You Can Do about It, page 96:

     Let's suppose your personality was only a manifestation of the id and you saw a drop dead gorgeous man that really tripped your trigger. Spurred on by your id, you would run up to him and immediately engage him in a sexual encounter.

• dead drop, dead-drop