a fate worse than death

fate worse than death

A hyperbolic phrase referring to a situation or experience that is very unpleasant. I appreciate Gina inviting me to go with her to the theater, but having to listen to those opera singers would be a fate worse than death.
See also: death, fate, worse
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a fate worse than death

If you describe something that could happen as a fate worse than death, you mean that it is extremely unpleasant. They were forced to share the same office space as me — a fate worse than death. Why is it considered a fate worse than death to stay at home and rear children? Note: This expression is often used humorously to show that you do not think that the thing is really very bad.
See also: death, fate, worse
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a fate worse than death

a terrible experience, especially that of seduction or rape.
1991 Thomas Hayden The Killing Frost He dominated the conversation, holding the Hackett and Townshend women spellbound as he told of how he had broken up a white-slave ring in Dublin, and how he had rescued an innocent young girl from a fate worse than death.
See also: death, fate, worse
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a ˌfate worse than ˈdeath

(often humorous) a terrible experience: Go on a trip with the Trumans? You’re joking. It would be a fate worse than death.
See also: death, fate, worse
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

fate worse than death, a

Seduction or rape of a woman. This term, originating about the mid-seventeenth century, became a cliché in the late nineteenth century, when it also began to be used in a jocular fashion for sexual relations among willing partners. E. R. Burroughs, however, still meant it seriously: “The ape . . . bearing Jane Porter away toward a fate a thousand times worse than death” (Tarzan, 1917).
See also: fate, worse
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • fate worse than death
  • fate worse than death, a
  • boiling hot
  • since the beginning of time
  • couldn't get elected dogcatcher
  • elect
  • fall out with (someone) about (something)
  • come to a bad end
  • come to a bad/sticky end
  • hell hath no fury like a (certain type of person) scorned
References in classic literature
Behind her lay a fate worse than death, at the hands of human beings.
The Beasts of Tarzan
Therein lies Black Mirror's true brilliance -- technology often delivers a fate worse than death. More often than not, the remarkable solutions that humanity has developed end up as a source of enslavement, insanity and heartbreak for the helpless protagonists who can neither run nor hide from the devices and data that governs the world.
Black Mirror: could technology deliver a fate worse than death?
If we are not going to bring back the death penalty for murder then imprisonment for murderers should be a fate worse than death, and should only be released from prison when they come our feet first.
Why we should execute killers
I can't stand it when people do that" Musician Jarvis Cocker, who has resorted to "celebrity DJING" "People talk about 'a fate worse than death', but what could be worse?" Crime writer PD James "I don't know.
THEY SAID WHAT?
But Bryan isn't the sort of bloke to simply sit at home worrying about things - instead, he uses all his old skills to hunt down those responsible and, of course, to save his offspring from a fate worse than death.
Taken (Film4, 9pm); Tonight's TV
Fighting in a lesser known front of China, India, and Burma, he tells a story of a man pulled away from life and the struggles of survival where one wrong move could mean a fate worse than death. "Rough War" is a riveting war story, highly recommended.
The military shelf
That whinygirl voice, those syrupy songs, it's a fate worse than death!" " Bring her to the show, yo!
Abhi ' hooked' to teen idol Justin Bieber
Try to ignore the little voice in your head saying that becoming Mrs Sam Dingle must be a fate worse than death and concentrate instead on how lovely the bride looks in her lacy head-dress - for all the world like a young Mia Farrow.
WE LOVE TELLY!: SOAPWATCH EMMERDALE ITV1, 7pm
BEING sent to the salt mines was a fate worse than death for dissidents in the old Soviet Union - now they're being used to cure kids of asthma.
Take a deep breath - salt mine is asthma cure
The top flight of English football appears to be suffering a fate worse than death - total predictability.
THE VOICE OF Mirror sport: Shock us!
British Intelligence places him in the worst school situation ever, isolated in the Alps above Grenoble, where he is threatened by a fate worse than death (well, death after the students in biology class dissect him while he is still alive, without anesthetic).
Point Blank
Spokesman for the charity, Mr Jonathan Owen, said: "We are very concerned that British dog breeders may be exporting their pedigrees for a fate worse than death, where they can be kept in squalor."
Breeders warned of dog cruelty
My story isn't unique; it's representative of the way our society tells us that "disability is a fate worse than death."
A Chosen Death: The Dying Confront Assisted Suicide
This poor girl has suffered a fate worse than death - even losing a second child when she was just 14.
IRISH DAILY MIRROR COMMENT : Please end this horror