A: I’m going to take the car tonight, Dad.

    B: Over my dead body!

    Note: If you say that something will happen over your dead body, you mean that you will do everything you can to prevent it. The phrase uses an adverbial phrase to mean, “but you have to kill me first,” or at least, “that can only happen if I’m dead.” In other words, “I will take an extreme measure to see that it doesn’t happen.” For example, an angry father may say to some young man he doesn’t like, “Sure you can marry my daughter — over my dead body.” Those are flippant examples, but it probably started out very seriously. A general could have said of his enemies, “If his forces cross the river, it will be over my dead body — and those of my troops.”