matter of life and death
18
3.9
- idiom
- If someone is having a heart attack, it's a matter of life and death to get them help quickly.
- become a matter of life and death
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Watch on YouTubeFacts and truth are matters of life and death.
- Facts and truth are matters of life and death.
- And that's the reason why, I mean, for example, when we did, I think it was a matter of life and death, that album.
- And the difference between these matters or the difference between these methods could be a matter of life and death.
- And he just said, we're not doing that again, you know, And these guys laugh so hard, you know, and when they go on a hunt, it's this is a matter of life and death.
Examples
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Health reform is a matter of life and death.
Blog text (29) -
For many, it is a matter of life and death.
Academic text (1997) -
This is a matter of life and death here.
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It's kind of a matter of life and death.
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This is a matter of life and death.
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Look, is this a matter of life and death?
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Besides, you claimed it was a matter of life and death.
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It's a matter of life and death.
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This is literally a matter of life and death.
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Far from being a pose, for him it was a matter of life and death.
Academic text (1999)
Antonyms
How Serious
18
3.9
1
6.6
72
3.0
∞
3.0
10
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
matter + of + life + and + death
The phrase's meaning is directly compositional: 'matter' (an important issue) combined with the literal terms 'life and death' signals an issue concerning survival, so a learner who knows the constituent words will infer extreme importance. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'cuestión de vida o muerte'), reinforcing its transparency for B1 learners.
Etymology
Matter of life and death shows a simple image: a matter that will decide between life and death. So, it means a very serious situation that could affect 'survival'.