grave (redirected from graving)

*quiet as a (church) mouse and *quiet as the grave

very quiet. (*Also: as ~.) You'd better be as quiet as a mouse while Grandma takes her nap so you won't wake her up. This town is quiet as the grave now that the factories have closed.

See also: and, mouse, quiet

*silent as the dead and *silent as the grave

completely silent. (Has ominous connotations because of the reference to death. Usually used to promise someone that you will be silent and therefore not betray a secret. *Also: as ~.) I knew something was wrong as soon as I entered the classroom; everyone was silent as the dead. Jessica is as silent as the grave on the subject of her first marriage. If you tell me what Katy said about me, I promise to be as silent as the grave.

See also: dead, silent

carry a secret to the grave and carry a secret to one's grave

Fig. to never reveal a secret, even to the day of one's death. John carried our secret to his grave. Trust me, I will carry your secret to the grave!

See also: carry, secret

dig one's own grave

Fig. to be responsible for one's own downfall or ruin. If you try to cheat the bank, you will be digging your own grave. Those politicians have dug their own grave with their new tax bill. They won't be reelected.

See also: dig

from the cradle to the grave

Fig. from birth to death. The government promised to take care of us from the cradle to the grave. You can feel secure and well-protected from the cradle to the grave.

See also: cradle

have one foot in the grave

Fig. to be almost dead. I was so sick, I felt as if I had one foot in the grave. Poor old Uncle Herman has one foot in the grave.

See also: foot, have, one

rise from the dead and rise from the grave

Fig. to come back to life after being dead. Albert didn't rise from the dead. He wasn't dead in the first place. The movie was about a teenager who rose from the grave and haunted his high school friends.

See also: dead, rise

swear on a stack of Bibles and swear on one's mother's grave

to state something very earnestly, pledging to tell the truth. (~ a Stack of Bibles refers in an exaggerated way to swearing to tell the truth in court by placing one's hand on a Bible.) I swear on a stack of Bibles that I am telling the truth. Of course, I'm telling the truth. I swear on my mother's grave!

See also: Bible, stack, swear

take it to one's grave

to carry a secret with one until one dies. I will never tell anyone. I'll take your secret to my grave. She took the answer to the mystery to her grave.

See also: take

turn (over) in one's grave and roll (over) in one's grave

Fig. to show enormous disfavor for something that has happened after one's death. If our late father heard you say that, he'd turn over in his grave. Please don't change the place around too much when I'm dead. I do not wish to be rolling in my grave all the time.

See also: turn

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be as silent as the grave  (literary)

to be completely silent It was four o'clock in the morning and London was as silent as the grave.

See also: silent

dig your own grave

to do something stupid that will cause problems for you in the future He's dug his own grave really. If he'd been a bit more cooperative in the first place they might still employ him.

See dig into pocket, dig into a hole

See also: dig

from the cradle to the grave

during the whole of your life Free medical care might not be with us from the cradle to the grave, as we once hoped.

See also: cradle

have one foot in the grave  (humorous)

to be very old and likely to die soon He's been telling everyone he's got one foot in the grave for years now.

See also: foot, have, one

this side of the grave  (literary)

while you are alive My mother's generation were taught to expect only suffering this side of the grave.

See be laughing on the other side of face, be the wrong side of 30 etc, err on the side of caution, know which side bread is buttered, let the side down

See also: side, this

turn in your grave  (British, American & Australian) also turn over/spin in your grave (American)

if you say that a dead person would turn in their grave, you mean that they would be very angry or upset about something if they knew She'd turn in her grave if she knew what he was spending his inheritance on.

See also: turn

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dig your own grave

to do something stupid that will hurt you later Martinez dug his own grave when he admitted signing a false name on bank documents.

See also: dig

from the cradle to the grave also from cradle to grave

during the whole period of your life Free medical care might not be with us from the cradle to the grave, as we once hoped.

Etymology: based on the idea that the cradle (small bed for a baby) represents the beginning of a life, the grave (burying place) represents the end of a life

See also: cradle

have one foot in the grave

to be likely to die soon He had one foot in the grave when he volunteered to receive the world's first artificial heart.

See also: foot, have, one

roll over in somebody's grave See: spin in somebody's grave

See also: roll

spin in somebody's grave

to be shocked and upset by what someone has done Hoch said the place was like a cow pasture, which no doubt had his grandmother spinning in her grave.

Usage notes: also used in the forms turn over in someone's grave and roll over in someone's grave; used to show that if someone already dead were present, they would be upset

See also: spin