for the life of one

prepositional phrase

Even if one's (own) life depended on it; at all.

“Not for the life of him could he remember it.”

Similar
for toffeefor sour applesfor beansto save one's lifeeven if one's life depended on it
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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. colloquialonly with a negativeEven if one's (own) life depended on it; at all.

    Not for the life of him could he remember it.

    3 more examples

    For the life of me, I can't remember the name of that song.

    They were unable, for the life of them, to remember.

    […]Peyró can’t for the life of him fathom why “it’s had less success abroad than Ringo Starr’s solo career”.

    2020 April 9, Sam Jones, “Spanish writer spills beans on UK's saucy secrets”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

    Synonyms: for toffee, for sour apples, for beans, to save one's life, even if one's life depended on it

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositional phraseEven if one's (own) life depended on it; at all.

Similar
for toffeefor sour applesfor beansto save one's lifeeven if one's life depended on it
Also see
for toffeeto save one's life

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 無論如何 /无论如何, 怎麼也 /怎么也
  • 無論如何 /无论如何 (wúlùnrúhé)if my life depended on it
  • 怎麼也 /怎么也 (zěnme yě)if my life depended on it
Finnish kuolemakseen
  • kuolemakseenif my life depended on it
French même si sa vie en dépendait
  • même si sa vie en dépendaitif my life depended on it
German im Leben
  • im Lebenif my life depended on it
Irish beo
  • beoif my life depended on it
Polish za Boga, za skarby świata
  • za Bogaif my life depended on it
  • za skarby świataif my life depended on it
Portuguese de jeito nenhum, pela sua vida
  • de jeito nenhumif my life depended on it
  • pela sua vidaif my life depended on it
  • nem se sua vida dependesse dissoif my life depended on it
  • por nadaif my life depended on it
Russian хоть убе́й
  • хоть убе́й (xotʹ ubéj)if my life depended on it
Scottish Gaelic ged a mharbhadh tu mi, chan urrainn do
  • ged a mharbhadh tu mi, chan urrainn doif my life depended on it
Spanish por más que intente, por su vida
  • por más que intenteif my life depended on it
  • por su vidaif my life depended on it
Cite this entry
APA

for the life of one. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20the%20life%20of%20one

MLA

“for the life of one.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20the%20life%20of%20one. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “for the life of one,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20the%20life%20of%20one.

Source: for the life of one on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.