Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
cold in one's grave en · ADJ
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Dead (usually used in a hyperbolic or metaphorical setting).
I'll be cold in my grave before I call that man of yours a son-in-law of mine!
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(in the negative, not-comparable) Having died a reasonable length of time ago (usually used to suggest that an unseemly short amount of time for a particular purpose has passed since a person's death).
Eunice: We're going to choir practice.
Audrey: Have a good time.
Albert: Don't wait up.
Audrey: Well, well, well.
Jezanna: Can you believe that? My mother's not cold in her grave!
Audrey: Sugar, it's been over two years.
Jezanna: Choir practice? That... that Jezebel!
2000, Alison Bechdel, Post-Dykes to Watch Out For, page 107: