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Phrase(s): frighten someone or an animal to death [and] scare someone or an animal to death
1. Lit. to frighten a living creature badly enough to cause death. • The roar of the plane engine seems to have frightened the little dog to death. 2. Fig. to frighten someone severely. • The dentist always frightens me to death. • She scared me to death when she screamed.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs