drop dead

Compare Dutch doodvallen and the expletive "val dood!".

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.
   • 1997, Peter Mehlman, David Mandel, “The Betrayal”, in Seinfeld, season 9, episode 8, spoken by Franklin Delano Romanowski (Michael McShane):

     [to Kramer] Are you dense? I said I wanted you to drop dead. Now... drop dead! [slams the door in Kramer's face]

drop dead (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of drop-dead
   • 1992, Gigi Moers, How and Why Lovers Cheat: And What You Can Do about It, page 96:

     Let's suppose your personality was only a manifestation of the id and you saw a drop dead gorgeous man that really tripped your trigger. Spurred on by your id, you would run up to him and immediately engage him in a sexual encounter.

• dead drop, dead-drop