You were barely dead.

Question

In the movie Star Trek Into Darkness, Kirk wakes from a coma after getting a transfusion of Kahn's blood.
McCoy: Oh, don't be so melodramatic. You were barely dead. It was the transfusion that really took its toll. You were in a coma for two weeks.
Kirk: Transfusion?

What does McCoy mean "You were barely dead"?
Simply that Kirk were not dead?
And why is it that he used the past tense 'were' instead of the present tense 'are'?

The conversation is at the beginning of this clip:

Philip · Accepted Answer

Barely normally means "almost not". [ He was barely able (it was very difficult0 to read the sign, because he had forgotten his eyeglasses. // We barely got to (almost didn't arrive) the concert on time because of the traffic jams. ] McCoy is being a little sarcastic here, I think.

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks, Philip.
Could you please explain what exactly about his wording makes him sound sarcastic?
Do you mean he's being somewhat flippant or frivolous?

Anonymous · Answer

I believe the sentence in question is:  "You're [that is, "You are"] barely dead."  This is an unusual thing to say, and I believe it has to do with the fact that Kirk got a transfusion of a space alien's blood, moreover, one who is a mortal enemy of Kirk's (Kahn).   The transfusion was apparently necessary to save Kirk's life, but it was risky because of the negative side effects from the alien blood, which have almost killed Kirk.  He's out of danger now, and so McCoy can be a little joking, and he kids Kirk that, although the transfusion almost killed him, it nevertheless saved his life and now he's is alive - normally you might say, "You're barely alive.", but here McCoy, the intellectual on the Enterprise, twists it around and says, "You're barely dead.", which still means "You're alive.".

You were barely dead.

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