Flogging a dead horse. Attempting to revive a question already settled. John Bright used the phrase in the House of Commons. Working for a dead horse. Working for wages already paid. Sou…
In theatrical sharing companies three or more supernumerary shares are so called. The manager has one or more of these shares for his expenses; a star will have another; and sometimes a sha…
Killer bees, termites wreak havoc in the U.S. by David Johnson Killer bees have killed an estimated 1,000 people in the Americas. Where are the killer bees establi…
Dead as a door-nail. The door-nail is the plate or knob on which the knocker or hammer strikes. As this nail is knocked on the head several times a day, it cannot be supposed to have much l…
The City Dead-HouseBy the city dead-house by the gate,
As idly sauntering wending my way from the clangor,
I curious pause, for lo, an outcast form, a poor dead prostitute brought,
Her corpse …
The bell rings out, and tells me in him, that I am deadAt Inde Mortuus Es, Sonitu Celeri, Pulsuque AgitatoMeditationJohn Donne THE bell rings out, the pulse thereof is changed; the tolling was…
I am at a dead lift. In a strait or difficulty where I greatly need help; a hopeless exigency. A dead lift is the lifting of a dead or inactive body, which must be done by sheer force. So…
(A). A first-rate. One that would dead-beat. (See Mortmain.) “First-rate work it was too; he was always a dead hand at splitting.” —Boldrewood: Robbery Under Arms, xv. …
A lock which has no spring catch. Metaphorically, a state of things so entangled that there seems to be no practical solution. “Things are at a dead-lock.” —The Times. D…
He made a dead set at her. A pointed or decided determination to bring matters to a crisis. The allusion is to a setter dog that has discovered game, and makes a dead set at it. To be at a…
Cite