deader


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deader than a doornail

Definitively, undeniably dead. (Doornails were hammered in a such a way that they could not be reused.) I poked that squirrel with a stick and, yeah, it's deader than a doornail.
See also: deader, doornail
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

*dead as a dodo

 and *dead as a doornail; deader than a doornail
dead; no longer in existence. (*Also: as ~.) That silly old idea is dead as a dodo. When I tried to start my car this morning, I discovered that the battery was deader than a doornail.
See also: dead, dodo
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

dead as a dodo

BRITISH
If something is as dead as a dodo, it is no longer active or popular. The foreign exchange market was as dead as a dodo. Note: The dodo was a large flightless bird that lived on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion. It became extinct in the late 17th century as a result of hunting and the destruction of its nests by pigs belonging to settlers on the islands.
See also: dead, dodo
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

dead as a (or the) dodo

1 no longer alive. 2 no longer effective, valid, or interesting. informal
The name dodo comes from Portuguese duodo meaning ‘simpleton’. It was applied to the large flightless bird of Mauritius because the bird had no fear of man and so was easily killed, being quickly wiped out by visiting European sailors. The dodo's fate has made it proverbial for something that is long dead and the name has been used metaphorically for an old-fashioned, stupid, or unenlightened person since the 19th century.
2000 John Caughie Television Drama The once pleasant family hour is now as dead as a dodo.
See also: dead, dodo
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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