if (one's) life depended on it



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if (one's) life depended on it

Under any circumstances; no matter what. (Used almost exclusively with a negative statement regarding something that one couldn't or wouldn't do.) No way am I going to karaoke night. I couldn't sing if my life depended on it! No thanks, I wouldn't see that film if my life depended on it.
See also: depend, if, life, on

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Nirmalaneer-MAH-lah (Indonesian)Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Nepali, Indonesian
Joanna[dʒəu'ænə]
Hermogenes-Ancient Greek
ClaudKLAWDEnglish
TadeÁŠ-Czech, Slovak
Goyathlay-Native American, Apache