more dead than alive

1. Exhausted, in poor condition, as in By the time I got off that mountain I was more dead than alive. This idiom may be used either hyperbolically or literally. [c. 1900]

Example Sentences

When the sun finally rose in a brilliant pink sky, it shone on twenty-eight men who were more dead than alive.

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“The purpose is to show why Citigroup has a reason to exist. The stock market says that Citigroup is worth more dead than alive.”

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“A stroke! You upset me, my blood pressure shot up, I collapsed at the top of the cellar steps. Your mother found me on the kitchen floor, unconscious. Your father called an ambulance. They put a tube down my throat, they put something over my mouth. How could I tell anyone where you were? I was more dead than alive.”

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He added: “You have to go back to the money. Jimmy Hendrix died, but the money kept flowing for many, many years afterwards. Sometimes an actress is worth more dead than alive. You've got to look at who's collecting the money now? I don't know. Every time the movie comes on, someone is getting paid. Whoever's got the money knows the truth.”

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“We find that once we show an interest in the animals the perception is that there must be lots of money to be made. Also, these animals are worth more dead than alive, for their bones, teeth and skins, or to be sold as pets. Internationally, animal trafficking is behind only drugs, arms and human trafficking.”

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