deadhead

deadhead

1. verb To drive a vehicle that is empty of freight or passengers. Can you deadhead this truck back to its point of origin?
2. noun One who is regarded as dumb, dull, or stupid. Did you see the guy who's wearing two different shoes? What a deadhead.
3. noun A fan of the rock band the Grateful Dead. I used to be a deadhead when I was younger, but I've lost interest in the Grateful Dead over the years.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

deadhead

1. n. a stupid person. Wow, are you a deadhead!
2. tv. & in. [for someone] to return an empty truck, train, airplane, etc., to where it came from. I deadheaded back to Los Angeles.
3. n. a follower of the rock group the Grateful Dead. My son is a deadhead and travels all over listening to these guys.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • beater
  • angle
  • angling
  • fire and brimstone
  • high
  • high, wide, and handsome
  • wear (one's) apron high
  • bummer
References in periodicals archive
Use a garden vacuum to clear up after trimming and deadheading, especially on plants which can be deadheaded in one go using shears, such as lavender.
“RYDE's motorcoaches are a perfect social ridesharing solution for the Deadhead community at these festivals, and Deadhead Productions shows that they are committed to enhancing fan access while also hyping up the fun factor.
Deadhead Social Science: You Ain't Gonna Learn What You Don't Want to Know.
In the Barefoot Marketing newsletter of the Wauwatosa, Wisconsin-based marketing company Mind Your Business, editor Dana Burke warns against writing "deadheads."
If there was ever a group that would be open to libertarian thought, I figured it would be Deadheads and other jam band fans.
In those cases it's cheaper to send the flight back to base empty than to have it wait around--this is called a "deadhead" leg.
I still have lots of Deadheads, and the Bushmaster bow Ben gave me, nicely inscribed from one good friend to another.
An aircraft returning empty from a flight after discharging passengers or traveling empty to pick up passengers (a "deadhead" flight) is treated as having the same amount of seat miles or seat hours as the legs of the trip in which passengers were aboard.
Cut rose blooms for the house and regularly deadhead the bushes.
Always deadhead spent flowers, and feed with indoor plant food about once a month in summer, much less in the winter.
DEADHEAD early daffodils after flowering to conserve the strength of the bulb.
A daily patrol to get rid of deadhead will reap rewards.
A ADRIENNE SAYS: Pack several plants of the same variety in pots for the boldest display and deadhead regularly and they should reward you with a continuous show of flowers from autumn to early summer.
Water hanging baskets and containers daily to stop them drying out Prune early-flowering shrubs such as lilac and deutzia Make a sowing of winter-flowering pansies for display next winter or spring Remove growing points from early peas which have finished flowering to concentrate energies on pod production Boost gladioli with a liquid feed Remove young green gooseberries for cooking or preserving, leaving enough to mature for dessert n Cut back rock plants after flowering and trim invasive plants in rock garden n Deadhead roses to encourage repeat flowering unless being grown for the colour and profusion of their hips n Take cuttings of carnations, fuchsias, herbs and shrubs to root in greenhouse
'He's also a Deadhead and knows more about what we've done than I do.