valley of death

Likely derived from the Old Testament, Psalm 23: valley of the shadow of death.

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valley of death (plural valleys of death)

1. (figurative) Death, or a place or period where death is impending.
   • 1854 December 9, Lord Alfred Tennyson, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, in The Examiner:

     Into the valley of Death / Rode the six hundred.

2. (idiomatic) A place of great danger.
4. (idiomatic, business) The phase of a startup business beginning with the entrepreneur's fulltime commitment to it and ending when the business has achieved sustainable cash flow.