deadhead 1. n. a stupid person. Who’s
the deadhead in the plaid pants? Wo w,
are you a deadhead! 2. tv. & in. [for some-
one] to return an empty truck, train, air-
plane, etc., to where it came from. I
deadheaded back to Los Angeles. Who is
supposed to deadhead this truck to Miami?
- n. a follower of the rock group The
Grateful Dead. What do these dead-
heads see in that group? My son is a
deadhead and travels all over listening to
these guys.
dead horsen. a dead issue, especially one
that is referred to continually. (Often
with beat, whip.) Forget it! Don’t waste
time whipping a dead horse. The whole
business is a dead horse. Forget it.
dead in the watermod. stalled; immobile.
(Originally nautical.) This whole com-
pany is dead in the water. The project
is dead in the water for the time being.
dead issuen. an issue that doesn’t matter
anymore. It’s a dead issue. Forget it.
The question of my late arrival is a dead
issue.
dead letter 1. n. a letter that cannot move
through the post office because the ad-
dressee does not exist or because the ad-
dress is wrong or illegible. (Standard En-
glish.) Every now and then they open
the dead letters to see if they can figure out
who they were meant for. Sometimes
dead letters have return addresses in them.
- n. an issue that does not matter any-
more. This contract is a dead letter. For-
get it! The mayor’s plan for our raises
is a dead letter.
deadly (dull)mod. very dull. The lec-
ture was deadly dull, and I went to sleep.
What a deadly dull prof. Her story
was really deadly. I am sorry I was awake
for part of it.
dead manGo to dead soldier.
dead marineGo to dead soldier.
deadneckn. a stupid person. What
deadneck put sugar in the salt shaker?
Who’s the deadneck who painted the fence
purple?
dead onmod. exactly right; on target.
That’s a good observation, Tiffany. You are
dead on. Your criticism is dead on!
dead oneGo to dead soldier.
deadpan 1. n. <an expressionless face.>
(See also pan.) This guy has a super
deadpan. Remember the deadpan she
used to put on? 2. n. a person with an ex-
pressionless face. The guy’s a perfect
deadpan. When you come on stage, look
like a deadpan. 3. mod. dull and lifeless.
(Usually said of a face, expression, etc.)
What a deadpan expression! Her face
is totally deadpan. He has such a dead-
pan approach to everything.
dead presidentn. a piece of U.S. paper
money. (Refers to the pictures of presi-
dents on the bills.) This silly magazine
costs three dead presidents!
(dead) ringer (for someone)n. someone
who is an exact duplicate of someone
else. You are sure a dead ringer for my
brother. Isn’t he a ringer for Chuck?
dead soldier and dead man; dead ma-
rine; dead one 1. n. an empty liquor or
beer bottle. Toss your dead soldiers in
the garbage, please. A dead marine fell
off the table and woke up all the drunks.- n. a cigarette butt. (Less common than
sense 1.) The bum found a dead soldier
on the ground and picked it up. He col-
lected dead soldiers to use in building a
whole smoke.
dead to rightsGo to (bang) dead to
rights.
dead to the world 1. mod. sound asleep.
After all that exercise, he’s dead to the
world. He’s dead to the world, and I
can’t rouse him. 2. mod. alcohol intoxi-
cated. Six beers and he was dead to the
world. By midnight almost everybody
was dead to the world.
deadwoodn. nonproductive or nonfunc-
tional persons. We’ll have to cut costs
by getting rid of the deadwood. Is there
any way to make the deadwood productive
again?
deal stockn. a stock that is a takeover can-
didate. (Securities markets.) I try to
deal stock