a dead giveaway

a dead giveaway

A clue, detail, action, etc. that obviously reveals something else. Your shoes are totally sticking out of the blankets! That's a dead giveaway that you're planning on sneaking out as soon as mom says good night to us. The homemade card was a dead giveaway that they had forgotten to buy us a gift.
See also: dead, giveaway
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

dead giveaway

something that reveals a fact or an intention completely. The car in the driveway was a dead giveaway that someone was at home.
See also: dead, giveaway
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • dead giveaway
  • giveaway
  • make any sense (out) of (something)
  • make some sense (out) of (something)
  • act of faith
  • an act of faith
  • stick to
  • stick to (something)
  • make sense (out) of (something)
  • make sense of something
References in periodicals archive
For years, archaeologists wondered what these containers held, even though the poppy-seed head was a dead giveaway.
Going for a few jars in BC Cyprus
Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel, PS22.50 The party season pays havoc with our eyes and puffiness under the peepers is a dead giveaway of late-night revelling.
face time
The 50-year-old actor said that the fact that he's wearing a chick's ring on his finger was probably a dead giveaway, the Mirror reported.
It's official! Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are engaged
But because winning the game motivates this bird, rather than saving money, Lesser Jumpers proudly display their gate-crashing success for all to see (a perpetual sly smile is often a dead giveaway).
Conventional guide to birds of a feather: Dyrli picks up where Audubon left off, with a lighthearted look at the wildlife characters we all encounter at conventions. Bring binoculars to your next professional conference, and see how many you can spot
The administration's support for the La Raza agenda should be a dead giveaway that the high-profile rotation of a few thousand National Guard troops to the border and the sudden flurry of Customs and Border Patrol raids are simply election-year tactics aimed at winning back the Republican Party's "loyal core" that have abandoned President Bush because of his refusal to protect the border and enforce the law.
"The Race" to win America: La Raza ("The Race") presented a moderate image at their recent Los Angeles conference, but the group's ultimate goal is a radical reconquest of the southwestern U.S. for Mexico
Squishy cork-like bark is a dead giveaway for Abies lasiocarpa arizonica, a variety commonly known as corkbark fir that grows at high elevations in Arizona and New Mexico.
An Olympic undertaking: in the holy grail of arborism, in search of a national champ
But the corpse's cold, stiff hand was a dead giveaway. The clerk called the cops.
Dumb and dumber: even more proof that truth is stranger than fiction
Mustaches on single relatives of either sex are a dead giveaway. Uncles who give the original cast album of Hairspray as Christmas gifts this year should be kept under watchful eyes at all times.
Children of the damned? (notes from a blond)
For a kickoff his grey/white beard is real not cotton-wool (a dead giveaway when you're six) and his suit is exquisite.
He's the biz
A "smoking" system is a dead giveaway that fluid is leaking.
Fire prevention in thermal oil heat transfer systems
The chapter headings are a dead giveaway. What is there to say about chapters with headings like: It's a Sin to Get a Mexican Divorce; Chasing Chinchilla Coats; Dad Is Not at the Dining Room Table Any More; The Madness of Two Georges; Read My Hips.
The Decline (and Fall?) of the Income Tax
And the Doc Marten boots were a dead giveaway. Still, at least the bag looked right, Jo.
One of these women is the Princess of Wales. Can you guess which?
THE chubby cheeks and bulldog scowl are a dead giveaway...it's Sir Winston Churchill as a young lad.
Pup with bulldog spirit
Such behavior is a dead giveaway that the visible disk of these galaxies lies embedded in a much larger and more massive halo of unseen material.
Light halo hints at galaxy's dark matter
It wasn't hard to spot Aston, driving around in his souped-up Audi, below - that JLS number plate is a dead giveaway. Hmm, if he can afford such a flash car, he should splash out on a belt to keep his trousers up.
It's Ass-ton Merrygold!