Nebraska sign

Nebraska sign

slang A flat line on an electrocardiogram (ECG) indicating that a patient's heart has stopped beating. A reference to the fact that Nebraska is almost completely flat. Something's not right—we keep getting a Nebraska sign, even though the patient is right there talking to us! I tried to resuscitate her, but the Nebraska sign never budged.
See also: sign
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Nebraska sign

n. a flat EEG indicating the death of the patient being monitored. (see also flatline. Medical.) I saw the Nebraska sign on my monitor and knew it must not be hooked up right.
See also: sign
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • flatline
  • O-sign
  • the O-sign
  • some rights reserved
  • bulk
  • bulk bill
  • bulk billing
References in periodicals archive
Hagel has taken a different view, writing in a 2008 book that "the genie of nuclear weapons is already out of the bottle, no matter what Iran does." The former senator from Nebraska signed on to an op-edin The Post this September that endorsed "keeping all options on the table" for stopping Iran's nuclear program.
U.S. editorial excerpts -2-
Nebraska signed a deal to sell $10 million worth of wheat to Alimport through commodities trader Louis Dreyfus.
Cuba's foreign trade balance up by 44% as Alimport cuts purchases of U.S. food
Governor Mike Johanns of Nebraska signed a bill repealing a state law that required school nurses to instruct teens how to use the judicial bypass in the state's parental notification law to obtain an abortion without parental knowledge.
State Legislation Round-Up