death on


Very effective against; also, very fond of. For example, “He is a wonderful fielder and sure death on bunts” (Christy Mathewson, Pitching, 1912), or The boss is death on tardiness, or She's death on the latest fashions. [Slang; early 1800s]

Words Nearby death on

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use death on in a sentence

  • Death-on-the-trail Carson formed themselves into a committee of three to ameliorate the monotony.

    Bulldog Carney | W. A. Fraser
  • This laconic epitome of a gigantic event had crystallized into a moniker for Carson, and he became solely "Death-on-the-trail."

    Bulldog Carney | W. A. Fraser
  • Iron Jaw and Death-on-the-trail were swallowed up in a seething mass of clamoring devils.

    Bulldog Carney | W. A. Fraser
  • They reached the old cabin of Death-on-the-trail Reynolds at one oclock, and found there the ranger for that district.

    Boy Scouts in Glacier Park | Walter Prichard Eaton
  • And this death-on-foot carried a white-cloth board black-bordered like a funeral-card.

    H. R. | Edwin Lefevre