drive a nail into one's coffin

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.”

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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, drive home, drive screw, drive shaft, drive someone crazy
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.