dead drunk
Preserved but no longer current.
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.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “dead drunk” mean?
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.
Is “dead drunk” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.