Learn English – Idiomatic English expressions for “dead tired”, “soaking drunk”, “full packed”

adjectivesidioms

I have a question about using pairs of adjectives in everyday English speech.

Italian uses pairs of adjectives to emphasize a quality and some idiomatic and colloquial expressions are commonly accepted:

  • stanco morto, literally "dead tired"

  • ubriaco fradicio, literally "soaking drunk"

  • pieno zeppo, literally "full packed"

Are the above expressions idiomatic English? If not, what are the equivalent English expressions for extremely great tiredness, extreme drunkenness, and extremely great fullness (such as after eating a lot)?

Best Answer

"Dead tired" is a common idiom in English. "Soaking drunk" is not so common but is widely understood. We don't say "full packed", we say "packed full".

I find it amusing that you picked three Italian idioms that all translate nicely to English idioms. I suspect that is just luck and not a sign that you can do that in general.