Yes, we used this one a lot in the North East, again as "a long time dead". Mind you, we seemed to have more sayings than most up there, some of them unrepeatable without the odd asterisk. Hard to imagine now that when I used to ask what was for tea, the usual answer from my busy mother was "s..t and sugar"!
nightowl - your post about your mum really touched me.
And I would add some flowers and bold your name if only I could work out how to do it....the hints below don't seem to work for me.