kill with kindness

kill someone with kindness

Fig. to be enormously kind to someone. You are just killing me with kindness. Why? Don't kill them with kindness.

kill somebody with kindness

to get what you want by being very kind to another person While most coaches can be very tough, ours kills his players with kindness.

See also: kill, kindness

kill somebody with kindness

to be too kind to someone Rob's killing me with kindness - he phones me all the time to see if I'm alright when really I just need to be left alone.

See also: kill, kindness

kill with kindness

Overwhelm or harm someone with mistaken or excessive benevolence. For example, Aunt Mary constantly sends Jane chocolates and cake and other goodies, even though she's been told Jane's on a diet-nothing like killing with kindness . This expression originated as kill with kindness as fond apes do their young (presumably crushing them to death in a hug) and was a proverb by the mid-1500s.

See also: kill, kindness

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Dodd	[dɔd]
Cecilio	the-THEE-lyo (Spanish), se-SEE-lyo (Latin American Spanish), che-CHEE-lyo (Italian)	Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
LomÁN	-	Irish
CÚC	-	Vietnamese
No'ah	-	Biblical Hebrew
Melanthios	-	Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek