scare the life out offrighten/scare the life out of (someone)
to make someone feel very frightened.
She frightened the life out of me, shouting like that.
(redirected from scare the life out of)
frighten the life out of (one)
To shock or frighten one very suddenly and/or severely. (Hyperbolically alludes to frightening someone so severely as to cause them to die.) Don't sneak up on me like that, you frightened the life out of me!That car accident seems to have frightened the life out of Janet—she's still shaken by it.