cold in one's grave

adjective

Dead (usually used in a hyperbolic or metaphorical setting).

“I'll be cold in my grave before I call that man of yours a son-in-law of mine!”

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Meanings

adjectivecold in one's grave (not comparable)
  1. not comparableDead (usually used in a hyperbolic or metaphorical setting).

    I'll be cold in my grave before I call that man of yours a son-in-law of mine!

  2. not comparableHaving died a reasonable length of time ago (usually used to suggest that an unseemly short amount of time for a particular purpose has passed since a person's death).

    Eunice: We're going to choir practice. Audrey: Have a good time. Albert: Don't wait up. Audrey: Well, well, well. Jezanna: Can you believe that? My mother's not cold in her grave! Audrey: Sugar, it's been over two years. Jezanna: Choir practice? That... that Jezebel!

    2000, Alison Bechdel, Post-Dykes to Watch Out For, page 107
Cite this entry
APA

cold in one's grave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20in%20one's%20grave

MLA

“cold in one's grave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20in%20one's%20grave. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cold in one's grave,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20in%20one's%20grave.

Source: cold in one's grave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.