ENGLISH
REFERENCE

wouldn't be seen dead

idiom
Meaning

To find incredibly horrifying; embarrassing or otherwise entirely unsuitable for oneself.


Examples
SIMPLE

I wouldn't be seen dead wearing that ugly hat.

CONTEXTUAL

She loves modern art, but she wouldn't be seen dead in that old-fashioned museum.

COMPLEX

Despite his family's insistence that he attend the gala, he declared he wouldn't be seen dead at such a pretentious event.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    beat a dead horse

    To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.

  2. 02

    brown bread

    [Cockney slang]dead

  3. 03

    butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth

    The identified person appears to be benign, mild-mannered, or calm (but with an integral suggestion that, to the contrary, they really are untrustworthy, disagreeable, or mean-spirited).

  4. 04

    come back from the dead

    To experience a resurgence after one's productive years are assumed to have ended.

  5. 05

    dead 'n' buried

    Contraction of dead and buried.

  6. 06

    dead air

    An unintended interruption in a broadcast during which nothing is transmitted: a silent period on radio or a silent period with no picture on television.

  7. 07

    dead and buried

    Of an issue, moot, passed, irrelevant, forgotten.

  8. 08

    dead asleep

    Sleeping in a deep sleep

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