deadbeat
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dead beat
adjective Totally exhausted or fatigued. (Not to be confused with "deadbeat," a lazy, feckless, and/or negligent person.) I was dead beat after working my third 12-hour shift in a row.
deadbeat dad
Slang A father who is not involved in the lives of his child(ren), physically and/or monetarily. Don't be a deadbeat dad, Sean—go see your kids this weekend! I'm no deadbeat dad, I make all of my child support payments!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
dead beat
1. Defeated; also exhausted. For example, That horse was dead beat before the race even began, or, as Charles Dickens put it in Martin Chuzzlewit (1843): "Pull off my boots for me ... I am quite knocked up. Dead beat." [Slang; first half of 1800s]
2. Also, deadbeat. A lazy person or loafer; also, one who does not pay debts. For example, Her housemate knew she was a deadbeat, shirking her share of the chores, or He's a deadbeat; don't count on getting that money back. [Slang; second half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
deadbeat
n. someone who doesn’t pay debts or bills. Some deadbeat with the same name as mine is ruining my credit rating.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.