land of the living
6
3.8
- noun
:
mundo de los vivos
- After months of illness, she's finally returned to the land of the living.
- back to the land of the living
- return to the land of the living
They go into the dry land, the realm of the dead, which has now become connected in ways it should not be with the land of the living.
- They go into the dry land, the realm of the dead, which has now become connected in ways it should not be with the land of the living.
- So we have to understand that fools, you know, heels amongst the land of the living with us.
Examples
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Welcome back to the land of the living.
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As a citizen in the land of the living, your existence was limited to years, months, weeks, days, and hours.
Fiction book (1992) -
It's time to join the land of the living.
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Back to the land of the living.
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"Your love will bring me back to the land of the living."
Fiction book (1996) -
I believe I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Blog text (15) -
After their glimpse of heaven, they had been sent back to the land of the living.
Fiction book (1994) -
Well, look who's still in the land of the living.
-
I am still on the mend but slowly coming back into the land of the living.
Blog text (11) -
With her third and final task complete, Psyche returned to the land of the living, just outside Venus's palace.
Synonyms
339
3.3
People who are alive rather than the dead
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'land' as a domain or realm combined with 'the living' (those who are alive) yields 'the realm inhabited by the living as opposed to the dead'. This 'land of X' metaphor is common in English and in many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can reliably infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Land of the living comes from old stories that picture two places: one for the dead and a separate land where the living stay. So, when someone says you are back in the land of the living, they mean you are 'alive' and active again.