Like Death Warmed Up: Origin and Meaning

You look terrible, usually because you are unwell. In other words, you look like you’re dead, but you’re not.

The earliest record of the phrase is in a Soldier’s War Slang dictionary from 1939. The phrase is suggesting that the person looks like a dead person who has been reheated (like last night’s dinner in the microwave today). This idiom is not usually used as an insult, but more for showing sympathy.

– You shouldn’t be working, you look like death warmed up.

– She said she felt okay, but she looked like death warmed up.

– The film was so scary that when the lights went on, we all looked like death warmed up!