do or die
do or die
1. adjective Of or pertaining to the last chance to succeed in a given situation, such that the utmost energy and effort must be put forth to do so. Hyphenated if used as a modifier before a noun. Trailing by two points with only 45 seconds remaining, the game is now do or die for the home team. I have to get an A on this essay if I'm going to pass the class, so it's a do-or-die situation now.
2. verb To put forth the utmost energy and effort or else fail altogether. This is a cutthroat business, and you must do or die if you wish to survive.
See also: die
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
do or die
Exert supreme effort because failure is close at hand, as in Carol was going to set up the computer, do or die. This hyperbolic expression in effect says one will not be deterred by any obstacle. [c. 1600]
See also: die
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
do or die
persist in the face of great danger, even if death is the result. 1992 Daily Star It's do or die for Britain's fearless Rugby League lads Down Under as they prepare to face the Aussies in the Third and deciding Test.
See also: die
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
do or die
mod. having to try as hard as one can. He has the obsessive do or die attitude.
See also: die
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
do or die, to
To make a last-ditch effort. This extreme measure was first recorded in print in the seventeenth century. An early use occurs in John Fletcher’s play The Island Princess (1621), where a character says, “Do or die” (2.4). Before long it came to be used figuratively, although it reverted to literal use (and changed form) in Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1854): “Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- do or die, to
- blue book
- back and forth
- jet-setting
- highbrow
- appropriate for
- as the day is long
- bulletproof
- black tie
- bleeding edge