Also: Dead tired
Meaning
To be dead on your feet means to be very tired; exhausted. Synonyms are dead tired, dog tired, and worn out.
Examples Of Use
“I have to get some sleep, I worked two shifts and I’m dead on my feet.”
“I finished the race, but I’m dead on my feet.”
Origin
This idiom is related to dead tired and both are exaggerated ways of expressing a feeling of tiredness, by comparing it to being dead. This use of ‘dead’ for tired dates back to the early 1800’s while this particular idiom came about in the late 1800’s. The obvious allusion here is no mystery. It alludes to a person who is dead but still standing up. The newer way of expressing the same feeling would be “I feel like a zombie.”
25 Body Parts Idioms | Idioms Online Video
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More Idioms Starting with D
- Dead Weight Meaning
- Dead Wood Idiom Meaning
- Dead Silence Meaning
- Dead of Night Meaning
- Dead Certain Meaning
More Body Part Idioms
- Wet Behind the Ears Meaning
- Go Belly Up
- Stand On Someone’s Shoulders
- In One’s Face
- Give Someone the Cold Shoulder
- Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand Meaning
- Out of the Corner of One’s Eye
More ‘Dead’ Idioms
- Dead Weight Meaning
- Dead Wood Idiom Meaning
- Dead Silence Meaning
- Dead of Night Meaning
- Dead Certain Meaning
More Foot/Feet Idioms
- Foot the Bill
- Put Your Foot Down Meaning and Use
- Shoe is On the Other Foot, the
- Light On Your Feet
- Two Left Feet
More Tired Idioms