dead man walking

dead man walking

1. A (male) prisoner on death row who is walking to the place of execution. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. It's been my duty to accompany each dead man walking as he takes his last steps in this world.
2. By extension, any man who is in great trouble or difficulty and is certain to face punishment, especially the loss of a job. John really screwed up that business deal; I'd say he's a dead man walking at this point. I lost all of our savings in the casino last night—I'm a dead man walking.
3. Any man who is near death or certain to die. They just discovered that I've got cancer, and it's already spread to my lymph nodes—I'm a dead man walking. Don't worry about him, he's a dead man walking; we'll make sure that stool pigeon never talks.
See also: dead, man, walking
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • see to some place
  • escort
  • escort (one) from (something)
  • escort from
  • show (one) out of (some place)
  • show into
  • show (one) into (some place)
  • see (one) to (something)
  • see someone off
  • escort (one) to (something)
References in periodicals archive
Dead Man Walking spent 31 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list.
In the twelve years since the publication of Dead Man Walking, the U.S.
Sister Prejean wrote about her experiences of visiting an inmate on death row, which was the inspiration for the 1995 film Dead Man Walking, the story of death row prisoner Matthew Poncelet.
In Dead Man Walking Helen Prejean showed us that this faith in violence and revenge is an un-Christian sort of insanity.
And yet a kind of unadorned, gently touching sobriety seems to be just what the creators of "Dead Man Walking," the opera based on the book that also inspired the acclaimed movie, are striving for.
He named his doomed lineages "Dead Clade Walking," alluding to the film Dead Man Walking, about a death-row inmate.
Dead Man Walking (1995) contains a moment of magic as Susan Sarandon, playing Catholic nun Helen Prejean, tries to get through to the convicted killer played by Sean Penn and gently asks him, "Have you heard of Jesus Christ?" She doesn't speak much above a whisper, but it's all she needs.
He had a global following and wrote part of the soundtrack to the hit film Dead Man Walking.
Though Dole's advisers had dissuaded him from making reference to The American President - the line "no President has been closer to Hollywood" was dropped - the Republican front-runner could not avoid being characterized on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer as "a grumpy old man" (Hollywood wags would soon be calling him "dead man walking").
The idiot god called Market ordained that Dead Man Walking would be sent into movie houses in December, there to mingle with the full range of American wares: a nightmare for children starring Robin Williams, a chest-thumping contest between alpha-male actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, a Geena Davis swashbuckler.
Former EastEnders star Rita Simons talks to KERRIANN ROPER about new film The Krays: Dead Man Walking and why it was important that her new role was as far removed from Roxy Mitchell as possible I RITA SIMONS believes in the law of attraction.
Pardew is a dead man walking at the top-flight basement side after just one win in 16 league games.
Or perhaps they fail to notice that if Osama bin Laden really is sauntering jauntily into Cabinet rooms he must be a dead man walking.
Sister Helen Prejean, the death penalty critic and author of the 1993 book "Dead Man Walking" that was later made into an Oscar-winning film, will speak at 2 p.m.
CRIME boss Ger Dundon begged to be put protective custody behind bars after being warned: "You're a dead man walking."