daze
To confound or bewilder; an ancient form of dazzle used by Spenser, Drayton, &c. This is more obsolete English than slang, though its use nowadays might fairly bring it within the latter category.
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de facto
Actually, in reality; in opposition to de jure, lawfully or rightfully. Thus John was de facto king, but Arthur was so de jure. A legal axiom says : "De jure Judices, de facto Jurat ores, respondent" \ Judges look to the law, juries to the facts.
de jure
See DE FACTO, above. De mortuis nil nisi bonum (de mor' tu is nil nl'sl bo'num) (Lat). Of the dead speak kindly or not at all. "Speak not evil of the dead" was one of the maxims of Chilo (q.v.).
dead
To prevent by disabling; to stop.
dead 'n' buried
completely forgotten or put to an end
dead air
Uncomfortable silence or lack of activity
dead and gone
completely dead or non-existent
Dead and on All Souls' Day
Scott has intro- duced the opening into his Lay of the Last Minstrel.
dead asleep
sleeping very soundly
dead beat
So completely beaten or worsted as to have no leg to stand on. Like a dead man with no fight left in him; quite tired out.
dead cargo
A term used by thieves, when they are disappointed in the value of their booty.
dead cat bounce
A brief, false recovery after a severe decline
dead center
Exactly in the middle or target of something
dead drunk
So intoxicated as to be wholly powerless. Pythagoras has finely observed that a man is not to be considered dead drunk till he lies on the floor and stretches out his arms and legs to prevent his going lower. — S. WARREN.
dead duck
A person or thing that is doomed or hopeless
dead end
A situation with no solution or progress
dead fish
Someone who is unresponsive or expressionless
dead giveaway
An action or sign that obviously reveals a fact or intention
dead hand
One who is a " dead hand " at anything can do it every time without fail. See also HAND, DEAD MAH'S; MORTMAIN.
dead heat
A tie or exact equality in a competition
dead heat
A race in which two (or more) leading competitors reach the goal at the same time, thus making it necessary to run the race over again. See HEAT.
dead inside
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
dead languages
Languages no longer spoken; such as Latin and Sanskrit.
dead last
in the last position, having performed the worst
dead letter
A law n6 longer acted upon. Also a letter which cannot be delivered by the postal authorities because the address is in- correct, or the person addressed cannot be found.
dead lights
Strong wooden shutters to close the cabin windows of a ship.
dead lock
A lock which has no spring catch. Metaphorically, a state of things so entangled that there seems to be no practical solution.
dead loss
Something or someone completely useless or unsuccessful
dead man's hand
It is said that carrying a dead man's hand will produce a dead sleep. Another superstition is that a lighted candle placed in the hand of a dead man gives no light to anyone but him who carries the hand. Cp. DEAD HAND.
dead man's handle
A handle pn the con- troller of an electric vehicle so designed that it cuts off the current and applies the brakes if the driver releases his pressure from illness or some other cause.
dead men
A cant word among journeymen bakers, for loaves falsely charged to their masters' customers; also empty bottles.
dead men
Empty bottles. Down among the dead men let me lie. Let me get so intoxicated as to slip from my chair, and lie under the table with the empty bottles.
dead men tell no tales
Secrets are safe with someone who has died
dead men's shoes
a position or role that someone else has left or been removed from
dead of night
the middle of the night, when it is darkest
dead of winter
The coldest or most inactive part of winter
dead on
Completely accurate or correct
dead or alive
wanted or captured regardless of their condition
dead reckoning
A calculation of the ship's place without any observation of the heavenly bodies. An approximation made by consulting the log, compass, chronometer, the direction, wind, and so on.
dead ringer
Someone who closely resembles another person
dead ropes
Those which are fixed or do not run on blocks.
Dead Sea
The salt lake in Palestine, in the ancient Vale of Siddim; so called by the Romans (Mare Mortuum), also Lacus Asphal- tites. The water is limpid, and of a bluish- green colour; it supports no life other than microbes and a few very low organ-isms. It is about 46 miles long by 10 miles broad; its surface is about 1,300 ft. below sea-level, and it attains a depth of nearly 1,300 ft.
dead silence
Complete silence, often uncomfortable or awkward
dead soldier
an empty beer bottle
dead to rights
Caught or proven guilty with conclusive evidence
dead to the world
completely asleep or unconscious
dead tree edition
A printed version of a publication
dead weight
The weight of something without life; a burden that does nothing to- wards easing its own weight; a person who encumbers us and renders no assistance. Cp. DEAD LIFT.
dead works
A theologian's term (from Heb. ix, 14) denoting such works as^do not earn salvation, or even assist in obtaining it.
dead-against
Decidedly opposed to.
dead-amiss
Said of a horse that from illness is utterly unable to run for a prize.
dead-beat
Utterly exhausted, utterly "done up."
dead-horse
"to draw the DEAD-HORSE;" DEAD-HORSE work—working for wages already paid; also any thankless or unassisted service.
dead-letter
An action of no value or weight; an article, owing to some mistake in its production, rendered utterly valueless,—often applied to any instrument in writing, which by some apparently trivial omission, becomes useless. At the general and large district post-offices, there is a department for letters which have been erroneously addressed, or for which, from many and various causes, there are no receivers.
Dead-letter Office
See BLIND DEPART- MENT, and DEAD LETTER above.
dead-lock
A permanent standstill, an inextricable entanglement.
dead-louse
Vulgar pronunciation of the Dedalus ship of war.
dead-lurk
Entering a dwelling-house during divine service.
dead-man
A baker. Properly speaking, it is an extra loaf smuggled into the basket by the man who carries it out, to the loss of the master. Sometimes the DEAD-MAN is charged to a customer, though never delivered. Among London thieves and low people generally a "dead’un" is a half-quartern loaf.
dead-men
The term for wine bottles after they are emptied of their contents.—Old.—See MARINES.
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