"Dead" Expressions

"Dead" means without life, but in English we also use it to make an expression more lively!

"Dead center" is the exact middle of something: He hit the target dead center.

"Dead of winter" means the coldest, darkest time: She had to travel a long way in the dead of winter.

"Stop dead" means to stop moving: We stopped dead when we heard him shout.

"Dead ahead" means directly in front: When I went up on deck, Hainan Island was dead ahead.

"Dead end" means a street with no exit: I had to back the car out of the dead end.

"Dead heat" means a tie: The two race-horses crossed the finish line in a dead heat.

"Dead letter" means two things: A letter that can't be delivered or a law that's not enforced: Her postcard ended up in the dead-letter office. The law against smuggling is a dead letter.

"Deadline" is the time when something must be done: The deadline for completing the report is noon on June 5.

"Deadlock" means lack of activity because of two equal forces fighting each other: The talks have reached a deadlock because neither side will give up anything.

"Deadpan" means a face without expression: He's got such a deadpan that I never know what he's thinking.

"Dead set" means very determined: She is dead set on going to China this year.

"Deadwood" means a useless person or thing: That company is losing money because it has so much deadwood in its management.

"Dead shot" means very accurate: He is a dead shot with a pistol or rifle.

"Deadbeat" means someone who doesn't pay his debts: I lent him $100, but the deadbeat never paid me back.

Here are some other "death" expressions.

If a girl is drop-dead gorgeous, she is so beautiful that the boys die when they look at her.

If a ship is dead in the water, it has no power.

A person who sleeps very hard is dead to the world.

A dangerous building is a deathtrap.

If you like something very much, you are willing to die to get it; so some people say, "This chocolate cake is to die for."

If a person dies violently, we might say, "He died with his boots on." (This is why in the American West, the cemetery was called Boot Hill--because the people buried there died with their boots on.)

Do you know any other "death" expressions in English?