The expression "dead before they hit the ground"

[MoPHo]

When you hear the phrase that someone was dead before they hit the ground, do you assume the person was actually dead before falling or that they were so injured that there was nothing anyone could do for them?

I always assumed that the person actually died but a friend of mine says the second meaning of the expression is correct.

 

[ChaoZ]

The former.

 

[FoBoT]

it depends on the definition of dead, i guess
but i think "technically" , it would take longer to die than a body could remain upright without motor control

so i guess i agree with your friend

 

[nageov3t]

dead before they hit the ground = dead... before they hit the ground.

 

[ManyBeers]

It means what it says. Check out some You Tube hunting videos for graphic evidence.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

It seems fairly clear to me, why you'd interpret it as anything other than what it says seems strange.

 

[Number1]

dead before they hit the ground = dead... before they hit the ground.

Exactly. If somebody blows your head off, your dead before you hit the ground. However, if you get a bullet in the chest, fall down, squirm and wiggle a bit on the ground and die, then you died on the ground.

Any questions?

 

[MoPHo]

Exactly. If somebody blows your head off, your dead before you hit the ground. However, if you get a bullet in the chest, fall down, squirm and wiggle a bit on the ground and die, then you died on the ground.

Any questions?

Getting head blown off, we had consensus. But for something like getting shot or stabbed in the heart.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Getting head blown off, we had consensus. But for something like getting shot or stabbed in the heart.

Then you're almost certainly not dead before you hit the ground. What is it you find confusing about this?

 

[911paramedic]

It could mean both. Like Number1 said, a bullet through the brain would cause you to be dead before you hit the ground.

I think this phrase is more figurative though; like if you jumped off a building you are dead before you hit the ground. (Although you are alive, there is nothing that is going to keep you that way.)

 

[Leros]

Its what happens when an emo kid jumps off a bridge. They're dead on the inside before they hit the ground.

 

[SunSamurai]

Your friend was either fucking with you or they are one of those people that confuse the fuck out of simple shit in their head till they dont know what the hell is up from down.

Also, if youre shot in the head, or decapitated, ect youre dead before you hit the ground, so its not exactly impossible.

 

[SunSamurai]

It could mean both. Like Number1 said, a bullet through the brain would cause you to be dead before you hit the ground.

I think this phrase is more figurative though; like if you jumped off a building you are dead before you hit the ground. (Although you are alive, there is nothing that is going to keep you that way.)

No one has survived jumping off a bridge.

They would be alive before they hit the ground. There is nothing figurative there, its physics and biology.

 

[theflyingpig]

It means what it says. Check out some You Tube hunting videos for graphic evidence.

Yes. There is a video of a lion charging a group of hunters. One of the hunters shoots it in the head, and you can actually see it die before it hits the ground. It's an amazing video.

 

[sandorski]

This Thread was Dead before it hit the Ground.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

It's a figure of speech. All it means is that death was so quick that for all practical purposes it was instantaneous.

 

[ManyBeers]

its what happens when an emo kid jumps off a bridge. They're dead on the inside before they hit the ground.

lol

 

[ManyBeers]

It's a figure of speech. All it means is that death was so quick that for all practical purposes it was instantaneous.

uh....no. I have seen animals shot that were killed instantly. They were dead before they hit the ground.

 

[911paramedic]

No one has survived jumping off a bridge.

They would be alive before they hit the ground. There is nothing figurative there, its physics and biology.

Did you forget to add the /sarcasm tag? Quite a few people have survived jumping from the Golden Gate bridge.

 

[Fingolfin269]

uh....no. I have seen animals shot that were killed instantly. They were dead before they hit the ground.

I think the whole "figure of speech" thing whooooooshed over your head. Yes things can die before they hit the ground but the phrase also carries a broader meaning.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

uh....no. I have seen animals shot that were killed instantly. They were dead before they hit the ground.

That it's a figure of speech doens't mean that instant can't happen. If someone has a stroke though that person may or may not die before the ground stops their fall. No one really says "How do you KNOW they were dead first", well not if they have functioning neurons.

 

[ManyBeers]

I think the whole "figure of speech" thing whooooooshed over your head. Yes things can die before they hit the ground but the phrase also carries a broader meaning.

Yeah, I'm sure it did. LOL

 

[Fingolfin269]

Yeah, I'm sure it did. LOL

Speaking of manybeers, my tailgating has begun woo!

 

[RoloMather]

A person that jumps off a building is not dead "before" they hit the ground.

They might be dead "after" they hit the ground, but not before.

 

[alrocky]

If somebody blows your head off, your dead before you hit the ground. Any questions?

Wasn't there a chicken with it's head cut off that managed to live for a couple of years before it died?

Which brings up the expression: "Running around like a chicken with it's head cut off."