close as the grave
Preserved but no longer current.
Very secret indeed. It's enough to make him turn in his grave. Said when something happens to which the deceased person would have strongly objected. Someone is walking over my grave. An ex- clamation made when one is seized with an involuntary convulsive shuddering.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “close as the grave” mean?
Very secret indeed. It's enough to make him turn in his grave. Said when something happens to which the deceased person would have strongly objected. Someone is walking over my grave. An ex- clamation made when one is seized with an involuntary convulsive shuddering.
Is “close as the grave” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.