drop-deadadj.adv.

1962 N.Y. Herald-Tribune 18 Jan. 14 Fashions from Florence not drop-dead... For almost the first time in history Simonetta failed to deliver an absolutely drop-dead collection.

1970 J. G. Vermandel Dine with Devil i. 3 She's a tall, creamy redhead with marvelous cheekbones, long, elegant legs and a drop-dead sort of arrogance she wears like a crown.

1977 New Yorker 11 July 76/1 They continue to form at least a part of collections at both ends of the fashion spectrum—from the old Guard, schooled in an earlier tradition of drop-dead glamour, and from those of the younger generation who have not grown out of their years of startlingly anti-establishment rebellion.

1983 Time 2 May 52/3 They show a tantalizing impishness, a mockery of glamour, and a drop-dead beauty that justifies the arrogance.

1992 I. Banks Crow Road iii. 69 Darren had been there; blond, lean, drop-dead bone structure, and exuding style.

1996 Chicago Tribune 24 Nov. xvi. 5 Realty agent James Rogers sells apartments in the Hancock Building and describes the top-floor panorama as ‘drop dead’.

1966 Missiles & Rockets 4 Apr. 16 February was the ‘drop-dead’ point for developing a '69 Mars probe and any late starting date would be inordinately costly.

1983 Daily Tel. 1 Nov. 1/8 The 300-day rule is known as the ‘drop-dead’ date in the shipyard contracts, being the moment an order can be abandoned without legal claim.

1998 N.Y. Times 3 Mar. a15/3 Republicans who support setting a drop-dead date for the current system believe that is the best way to force a decision on an issue that will put members of Congress in the line of fire from nearly every special interest group.

1980 Washington Post 13 July c2/3 For drop dead chic food, Harborplace has a sushi and tempura bar.

1985 Time (Nexis) 25 Feb. 96 Trim, smart and drop-dead gorgeous, Pfeiffer has been nibbling at stardom since her stints in Grease II and Scarface.

1992 City Limits 2 July 28/2 It's as drop dead fabulous an American unrequited love story as you could wish for.

1994 Sun Zoom Spark Dec. 36/3 [He] generally looked so drop dead cool that every boy in the audience felt themselves miserably failing to suppress the latent homosexuality that exists in all of us.

1999 R. T. Davies Queer as Folk: Scripts (rear cover) Stuart has got it all—he's rich, drop-dead gorgeous and always the centre of attention.