late for one's own funeral
1
8.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
llegar tarde a su propio funeral
- You two are going to be late for your own funeral.
Examples
-
" You'd be late for your own funeral," she'd say.
Fiction book (2001) -
Your wife always used to say you'd be late for your own funeral.
Fiction book (2001) -
The man's going to be late for his own funeral.
Fiction book (2001) -
You always show up late; you'll be late for your own funeral.
-
With his terrible time management, I wouldn't be surprised if he's late for his own funeral.
-
Whenever there's a meeting, you can bet he will be late for his own funeral.
Synonyms
25
3.9
Arriving or happening later than expected
Antonyms
How Late
- Informal
1
8.8
27
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
late + for + one + own + funeral
The expression is a transparent hyperbole: combining 'late' with 'for one's own funeral' creates an immediately inferable meaning of being extremely or absurdly late (so late you would miss even your own funeral). A B1 learner who knows the words 'late', 'own', and 'funeral' can readily derive the humorous, exaggerated sense without prior exposure, making the construction communicatively transparent.
Etymology
The phrase late for one's own funeral paints a funny picture: someone is so late they would miss even their own funeral. So people use it to say someone is 'always late' or 'extremely likely to be late'.