dead on one's feet
2
7.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
muerto de cansancio
- Topsy was dead on her feet, smoke coiling around her.
Examples
-
You're dead on your feet.
-
She's dead on her feet!
-
It's not my fault this bitch is dead on her feet.
-
I'm dead on my feet.
-
Phew, girl, I am so dead on my feet.
-
"Poor kid, she's dead on her feet," my mother says.
Fiction book (1991) -
She's dead on her feet.
Fiction book (2002) -
He is dead on his feet.
Fiction book (1998) -
Dead on his feet, he leans against a car.
Fiction book (1992) -
After running the marathon, I was completely dead on my feet and just wanted to rest.
Synonyms
131
6.6
Extremely tired and with no energy after hard work
13
4.1
Feeling very tired and having no energy
9
7.4
Extremely tired with no energy
7
7.2
Being very tired or worn out and about to break down
6
8.4
Moving slowly and not fully aware because you are very tired
5
6.7
Very tired and without energy
3
8.5
Feeling very tired and having no energy
1
5.1
Being very tired and without energy
Feeling very tired and unable to do much
Very tired all through your body so you can barely move
Very low on energy and unable to do much
Feeling tired and weak
Antonyms
How Tired
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is built from a metaphorical use of 'dead' (completely exhausted) plus the locative 'on one's feet', so a learner who knows the constituents can often infer it refers to being extremely tired. However, the expression is a fixed idiomatic pattern and the non-literal use of 'dead' is somewhat metaphorical, so the relation is only partially predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Dead on one's feet may come from the image of a person so tired they stand without moving, as if dead but still on their feet. So, the phrase now means 'extremely tired'.