a dead giveaway

a dead giveaway

A clue, detail, action, etc. that obviously reveals something else. Your shoes are totally sticking out of the blankets! That's a dead giveaway that you're planning on sneaking out as soon as mom says good night to us. The homemade card was a dead giveaway that they had forgotten to buy us a gift.
See also: dead, giveaway

dead giveaway

something that reveals a fact or an intention completely. The car in the driveway was a dead giveaway that someone was at home.
See also: dead, giveaway
References in periodicals archive ?
It wasn't hard to spot Aston, driving around in his souped-up Audi, below - that JLS number plate is a dead giveaway.
It's Ass-ton Merrygold!
That secret MSM handshake should have been a dead giveaway that I was accepted into the program, a Republican allowed in like an affirmative action quota.
REPUBLICAN MSM NOT AN OXYMORON
But the corpse's cold, stiff hand was a dead giveaway.
Dumb and dumber: even more proof that truth is stranger than fiction
Mustaches on single relatives of either sex are a dead giveaway.
Children of the damned? (notes from a blond)
That's why we have utilized our IP Intelligence technology to build the IP Inspector E-scam solution: thieves may be able to appear as someone else, but they can't hide their location, which is usually a dead giveaway.
Digital Envoy Introduces New Product Line to Address Growing Trends in Online Fraud; New `Phish'-Fighting Tool Uses IP Intelligence to Combat Online Identity Theft
If you're walking around with a T-shirt on, it's a dead giveaway whether you're in great shape or not.
HOLIDAYS OVER; THIN IS BACK IN HEALTH NUTS GET SERIOUS AND SOME BUSINESSES BOOM
Such behavior is a dead giveaway that the visible disk of these galaxies lies embedded in a much larger and more massive halo of unseen material.
Light halo hints at galaxy's dark matter
The 77-year-old actor's hair may have turned a distinguished shade of silver, but the distinctive eyes are a dead giveaway.
Eye, eye Columbo
A dead giveaway might've been Bela Lugosi's crest of ``Count Dracula'' ring on one finger, and Boris Karloff's ring from ``The Mummy'' on another.
A GHOUL'S BEST FRIEND FANTASY FAN FIGHTS FOR RIGHT TO FRIGHT
It's different, there's a bit of culture shock I guess when you get away from North Carolina,'' Robinson said, noting that the twang in his accent is a dead giveaway that he is a Southerner.
UPDATE; JETHAWKS PLAYERS SPAN MAP TEAM'S ROSTER REFLECTS DIVERSITY
Decorated but outed as a weak link - his revulsion toward those rare, juicy steaks the cavalry enjoys is a dead giveaway - Boyd is assigned to a woebegone mountain outpost in newly conquered California.
`RAVENOUS' GETS A BIT TOO MEATY
Toledo's shellshocked expression was a dead giveaway.
UCLA'S TOLEDO HAS COLLISION WITH REALITY
This was in lieu of taking notes, which had become a dead giveaway to an astute waiter that a critic was in house.
PARTY ATMOSPHERE, FOOD AND FUN STILL GRAND AT THE GREAT GREEK
They do that instead of using the coupons - a dead giveaway to others at the checkout lane that they are on public assistance.
PAPER FOOD STAMPS PHASING OUT
But the convention's Halloween atmosphere - complete with tastefully placed coffins, a bloodmobile where guests can part with a pint of plasma, and a bar offering Bloody Marys - is a dead giveaway that this will be more pleasure than business.
COFFIN BREAK; AFICIONADOS READY FOR BLOODY GOOD TIME AT DRACULA '97
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