come back from the dead
1. To become reanimated after death. If you don't do exactly what I want at my funeral, I'll come back from the dead and harass you all! Things weren't looking good, but, thankfully, the patient came back from the dead once we used the defibrillator on her. We thought we were simply moving a dead bird out of the street! That's why we freaked out—the thing suddenly came back from the dead and started moving!
2. To reappear or regain popularity after a period of absence or decline. I haven't seen her in years, and now she's suddenly come back from the dead, so she must want something. I bought bell-bottoms because '70s fashions are coming back from the dead. The electric piano has come back from the dead, huh? It's not just relegated to soft rock ballads anymore.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
come back from the dead
or rise from the dead
If someone or something comes back from the dead or rises from the dead, they become active or successful again after a period of being inactive or unsuccessful. I could not believe I had done it. I had come back from the dead and my career had survived the ultimate test. After all, this was a company that, by all appearances, had risen from the dead. Note: You can also say that someone raises something from the dead when they make it active or successful again after a period of being inactive or unsuccessful. The company has been working on the scheme to raise this inner-city area from the dead since 1982.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012