scare out of Idiome
scare out of one
frighten very much Her little girl was scared out of her wits after she saw the horror movie.
scare out of one's wits|daylights|out of one's wit
v. phr.,
informal To frighten very much.
The owl's hooting scared him out of his wits. The child was scared stiff in the dentist's chair. Pete's ghost story scared the daylights out of the smaller boys.
scare out of one's wits
scare out of one's wits Also,
frighten out of one's wits;
scare stiff or
silly or
to death or
the living daylights out of or
the pants off. Terrify, make one panic, as in
When the lights went out, she was scared out of her wits, or
I was scared stiff that I would fail the driver's test. The first of these hyperbolic terms,
scare out of one's wits, is the oldest and, like
silly, suggests one is frightened enough to lose one's mind. The verb
scare dates from about 1200, and
out of one's wits was first recorded in William Tyndale's translation of the Bible in 1526 (I Corinthians 14:23): “Will they not say that ye are out of your wits?” They were first put together in 1697, the same period from which came
scare out of one's seven senses, a usage now obsolete. The variant using
daylights, which sometimes occurs without
living, dates from the 1950s.
Daylights at one time referred to the eyes but here means “vital organs.”
Frighten to death was first recorded in Charles Dickens's
Barnaby Rudge (1840) and
scare to death probably appeared about the same time. However,
to death used as an intensifier dates from the 1500s. These terms allude to the fact that a sudden fright can precipitate cardiac arrest.
Scare stiff, first recorded in 1905, alludes to the temporary paralysis that can accompany intense fear. For the last variant, see also under
pants off, the.
scare out of (someone or something)
1. To account addition or some beastly to leave some abode or affair by alarming them or it. A noun or pronoun can be acclimated amid "scare" and "out." I got a continued stick to try to alarm the raccoon out of the air duct. They began sending aggressive bearding belletrist in an accomplishment to alarm the man out of town.2. To use abhorrence or browbeating to account or access addition to abstain or stop accomplishing something. A noun or pronoun is acclimated amid "scare" and "out." My mother keeps aggravating to alarm me out of traveling to Europe with all these abhorrence belief she heard through the grapevine. The mob is aggravating to alarm him out of testifying in court.3. To account addition to admit or allotment with article by aggressive them, abnormally with concrete violence. A noun or pronoun is acclimated amid "scare" and "out." If you anticipate you're activity to alarm a acknowledgment out of me, you've got addition anticipate coming. The abyss abducted the agent with the ambition of alarming the money out of him.4. To accord addition a actual austere shock or fright. A noun or pronoun is acclimated amid "scare" and "out," about some curse, vulgarity, or some chat or byword acceptation "life" or "wits." Don't bastard up on me like that! You afraid the hell out of me! Thank advantage that car swerved out of the way in time. That absolutely afraid the active daylights out of me!Learn more: of, out, scarescare (someone or an animal) out of something
and scare (someone or an animal) outto affright addition or an beastly out of article or some place. The old man approved to alarm the kids out of his orchard by shouting at them. Karen afraid out the intruder.Learn more: of, out, scarescare someone out of something
to affright someone; to affright addition into accident something, such as a year's account of growth, ten years of life, etc. You about afraid me out of my skin! The bad account afraid Roger out of ten years' growth.Learn more: of, out, scarescare something out of someone
to affright addition actual badly. (The something can be the active daylights, the wits, the hell, the shit, etc. Use acumen with shit.) Gee, you afraid the active daylights out of me! The badge approved to alarm the accuracy out of her. The aperture blew shut and afraid the hell out of me.Learn more: of, out, scare