dead

better dead than red: seered.

cut someone dead completely ignore someone.

dead and buried used to emphasize that something is finally and irrevocably in the past.

dead as a (or the) dodo

1 no longer alive.

2 no longer effective, valid, or interesting.

☞ The name dodo comes from Portuguese duodo meaning 'simpleton'. It was applied to the large flightless bird of Mauritius because the bird had no fear of man and so was easily killed, being quickly wiped out by visiting European sailors. The dodo's fate has made it proverbial for something that is long dead and the name has been used metaphorically for an old-fashioned, stupid, or unenlightened person since the 19th century.

2000John CaughieTelevision Drama The once pleasant family hour is now as dead as a dodo.

dead as a doornail (or as mutton) completely dead.

☞ A doornail was one of the large iron studs formerly often used on doors for ornamentation or for added strength; the word occurred in various alliterative phrases (e.g. deaf as a doornail and dour as a doornail) but dead as a doornail is now the only one in common use.

a dead cat bounce a misleading sign of vitality in something that is really moribund. informal

☞ A dead cat might bounce if it is dropped from a great height: the fact of it bouncing does not reliably indicate that the cat is alive after all. The expression was coined in the late 20th century by Wall Street traders to refer to a situation in which a stock or company on a long-term, irrevocable downward trend suddenly shows a small temporary improvement.

dead from the neck (or chin) up stupid. informal

1990Film Comment Steward subscribes to the notion that all women are 'nitwits and lunkheads, dead from the neck up'.

dead in the water unable to function effectively.

☞ Dead in the water was originally used of a ship and in this context means 'unable to move'.

2013Daily Telegraph The relationship had been dead in the water for some time.

a dead letter a law or practice no longer observed.

☞ This phrase was originally used with reference to passages in the biblical epistles in which St Paul compares the life-giving spirit of the New Testament with what he sees as the dead 'letter' of the Mosaic law. Later (until the late 19th century) Dead-letter Office was the name given to the organization that dealt with unclaimed mail or mail that could not be delivered for any reason. The expression has been used metaphorically for an obsolete or unobserved law since the mid 17th century.

2013CNN transcripts Immigration reform is a dead letter because those 80 people in the House are simply not going to pass it.

dead meat in serious trouble. informal

1989Tracy KidderAmong Schoolchildren You're dead meat, I'm gonna get you after school.

dead men's shoes: seeshoe.

the dead of night the quietest, darkest part of the night.

the dead of winter the coldest part of winter.

☞ The sense of dead here and in the previous idiom developed in the 16th century from dead time of -, meaning the period most characterized by lack of signs of life or activity.

dead on your feet extremely tired. informal

☞ This expression was a development from the phrase dead tired, as an exaggerated way of expressing a feeling of exhaustion. Dead is sometimes also used on its own to mean 'exhausted'.

dead to the world fast asleep; unconscious. informal

2000Michael OndaatjeAnil's Ghost The nurse tried to wake him, but he was dead to the world.

dead wood people or things that are no longer useful or productive.

2003Architectural Review Academics cement themselves like limpets to whomever will give them tenure. Australian universities are full of dead wood.

drop dead: seedrop.

flog a dead horse: seeflog.

from the dead

1 from a state of death.

2 from a period of obscurity or inactivity.

get the dead needle: seeneedle.

knock someone dead: seeknock.

make a dead set at make a determined attempt to win the affections of. British

☞ Dating from the early 19th century, this was originally a sporting idiom, referring to the manner in which a dog such as a setter or pointer stands stock still with its muzzle pointing in the direction of game.

over my dead body used to emphasize that you completely oppose something and would do anything to prevent it from happening. informal

wouldn't be seen (or caught) dead in (or with or at) - used to express strong dislike or disinclination for a particular thing or situation. informal

2011The Age (Melbourne) And if you're drinking coffee, feel free to make it the sort of ridiculously fluffy and chocolate-crusted cappuccino you wouldn't normally be seen dead with.