kill oneself

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Thân thiện
Definition
  1. Verb (reflexive):
    • To exert oneself excessively or beyond healthy limits: To push oneself too hard in work, effort, or activity, often to the point of physical or mental strain. This is an idiomatic expression and does not refer to literal suicide.
Usage and Examples
  • Verb:
    • Don't kill yourself trying to finish that report tonight; you can complete it tomorrow. (Do not exhaust yourself by working too hard to finish the report tonight.)
    • She's been killing herself at the gym to get ready for the marathon. (She has been pushing herself extremely hard during her gym workouts.)
    • You'll kill yourself if you keep working 80-hour weeks. (You will harm your health through overwork if you continue this schedule.)
Advanced Usage and Nuances
  • The phrase is hyperbolic and figurative. It emphasizes the extreme or unreasonable nature of the effort being made.
  • It often implies the effort is unnecessary, misguided, or unsustainable.
  • Commonly used in negative imperatives or warnings ("Don't kill yourself...") to advise someone to slow down.
Variants and Related Expressions
  • Work oneself to death: A similar idiom meaning to work excessively hard.
  • Burning the candle at both ends: To overwork by staying up late and getting up early, exhausting one's resources.
  • Overexert oneself: A more formal, non-idiomatic way to express the same idea.
Synonyms
  • Overwork oneself
  • Drive oneself too hard
  • Push oneself to the limit
  • Strain oneself
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
  • Run oneself ragged: To make oneself very tired by doing too much.
    • She ran herself ragged organizing the charity event.
  • Work oneself into the ground: To work so hard that one becomes exhausted or ill.
    • He worked himself into the ground to meet the deadline.
Notes on Meaning
  • CRITICAL DISTINCTION: The phrase "kill oneself" in this idiomatic sense never refers to the act of suicide. The literal meaning of suicide is a completely separate sense of the verb phrase. This entry covers only the idiomatic meaning of overexertion.
  • The reflexive pronoun () is essential for this idiomatic meaning.
Verb
  1. strain oneself more than is healthy

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