a matter of life and death
Meaning: Something of the greatest possible seriousness.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “For a diabetic, insulin is a matter of life and death.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The pairing of life and death for the highest stakes is very old and appears in English Bible translations. The phrase is common from the 18th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Spanish: a vida o muerte — literally: at life or death
More idioms — Daily Life
- rough and ready — Crude but good enough for the purpose.
- keep up appearances — To behave as if nothing is wrong, to protect one's reputation.
- at the stroke of a pen — By one quick official decision.
- not on your life — Absolutely not.
- make a clean break — To end something completely rather than gradually.
- a bit on the side — A secret lover; an affair.
More English idioms
- shoulder to shoulder — Side by side, working together.
- grow like wildfire — To spread very fast.
- tread carefully — To act with great caution in a delicate situation.
- pull the other one — Said to someone telling an obvious lie.
- use someone as a cat's paw — To get someone else to do one's dirty work.
- look out for number one — To put one's own interests first.
From our compliments & insults
- È un mammone — An overgrown man who can't make a decision without his mother — the Italian archetype of…
- Che piagnucolone — A relentless crybaby who finds something to complain about in every situation.
- È un orso — Gruff, anti-social, and impossible to approach — they growl when spoken to and hibernate…