die a thousand deaths
To suffer repeatedly (often mentally rather than physically); to suffer extreme embarrassment or anxiety.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I die a thousand deaths whenever I have to speak in public.”
“Waiting for the results of my medical exam, I felt like I was dying a thousand deaths.”
“As she stood before the silent audience, she died a thousand deaths, fearing her forgotten lines would ruin the entire performance.”
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article of death
The moment of death.
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bat a thousand
To achieve success at each attempt.
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cast of thousands
A large number of people in one place or carrying out one action.
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catch one's death
To contract a serious illness, especially a nasty cold or other respiratory ailment and especially as a result of exposure to wet or chilly weather.
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cross my heart and hope to die
Added to a promise or a statement to show how serious one was about being honest in what one said
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death and taxes
Something which is totally certain.
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death by a thousand paper cuts
An ultimate negative outcome, such as the failure of a project, brought about by an excessive number of bureaucratic hurdles.
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death by PowerPoint
The boredom or disengagement that an audience experiences from poorly designed or overly verbose presentations using any type of presentation software.
Last updated August 10, 2026