dead man noun phr. [dɛd 'man] Pl. dead men ['mɛn]. Also (now rare) deadman ['dɛdman], pl. deadmen. OE.
[from DEAD adjective + MAN noun.]
I. lit.
1. A man who is dead. OE.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲

dead man
II. transf. & fig.

2. In pl. Empty liquor bottles. slang. L17.

3. A loaf charged to a customer but never delivered. slang. M18-L19.

4. A dummy at whist etc. Only in L18.

5. Nautical. In pl. Reef- or gasket-ends left dangling when a sail is furled. E19.

6. Any of various objects buried in or secured to the ground for the purpose of providing anchorage or leverage. M19.

7. A scarecrow. dial. M19.
Phrases: dead man's bells, dead men's bells Scot. the foxglove. dead man's eye = deadeye s.v. DEAD adjective etc. dead man's fingers, dead men's fingers (a) any of various orchids, esp. the early purple orchid; (b) a soft coral, Alcyonium digitata; (c) the divisions of the gills in a crab or lobster. dead man's hand (a) = dead man's fingers (a), (b) above; (b) the male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas. dead man's handle, dead man's pedal, etc., a control in an electric train etc. which acts as a safety device by automatically cutting off the current if released; an emergency brake in a motor lorry etc. dead man's thumb (a) the early purple orchid; (b) = dead man's fingers (b) above. dead men's bells, dead men's fingers: see dead man's bells, dead man's fingers above. dead men's shoes: see SHOE noun.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲