drop dead

drop dead (third-person singular simple present drops dead, present participle dropping dead, simple past and past participle dropped dead)

1. (intransitive) To die suddenly.
2. (intransitive, figuratively) To be appalled or mortified.
   • 1965, James Holledge, What Makes a Call Girl?, London: Horwitz Publications, page 90:

     `My parents would drop dead if they knew,' she said.

drop dead

1. Used angrily to express disgust, contempt, derision, etc., toward another person.

• drop-dead

• dead drop, dead-drop