drive a nail into one's coffin
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To do something that causes you serious and permanent harm: “I told my uncle that every time he lights a cigarette, he's driving another nail into his coffin.”
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Words nearby drive a nail into one's coffin
drisheen, drivability, drivage, drive, drive a hard bargain, drive a nail into one's coffin, drive at, driveaway, drive-by, drive-by download, drive-by shooting
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.