to follow to the grave

8.6

Stay loyal to someone until you die

idiom

Informal

: seguir hasta la tumba

The knight vowed to follow his king to the grave, demonstrating absolute loyalty.

Examples

They shared a bond so deep that they would follow each other to the grave if necessary.
No matter what happened between them, she promised she would follow him to the grave.
He will follow to the grave his father's traditions.
They followed to the grave their beloved leader.
No matter what happened between them, she promised she would follow him to the grave.
The knight vowed to follow his king to the grave, demonstrating absolute loyalty.
They shared a bond so deep that they would follow each other to the grave if necessary.

Antonyms

to abandon

773 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

to betray

397 4.2

Let someone down when they need you

Surface Forms

follow to the grave infinitive

followed to the grave past

followed to the grave past participle

following to the grave present participle

follows to the grave third person singular

Morphology

follow + to + the + grave

The phrase combines the transparent lexical meanings of 'follow' (to go after or adhere to) and 'grave' (a burial place) with the prepositional endpoint 'to the grave' which commonly signals 'until death.' Because understanding the intended sense relies on recognizing the somewhat idiomatic endpoint usage 'to the grave' (a metaphorical extension of literal location), the meaning is partially predictable but not fully literal, so it is semi-transparent.

Etymology

Follow to the grave creates a picture of someone who will follow another person even to their grave, the place where someone is buried. So it means 'to stay loyal until death'.