Eerily familiar? From W. Goldman's "Princess BRide"

[mycrofft]

(Miracle Max checks his protocols)

​

"You see, there's different kinds of dead; there's sorta dead, mostly dead, and all dead. This fella here, he's only sort of dead, which means there's still still a memory inside, there's still bits of brain.You apply a little pressure here, a little more there, sometimes you get results".

 

[Aidey]

I'm pretty sure that 99% of us that use "sorta dead" and "mostly dead" got it from that book/movie.

 

[NomadicMedic]

My wife, the vet, uses the phrase "mostly dead" all the time. It always cracks me up.

 

[Veneficus]

I am a fan of "really most sincerely dead."

But I confess to using "mostly dead" a lot.

 

[mycrofft]

It reminds me of CPR training. "A little pressure here, some more over there...".