Chapter De Trop to Deal of D by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

De Trop to Deal

De Trop (French). Supererogatory, more than enough. Rien de trop, let nothing be in excess. Preserve in all things the golden mean. Also "one too many," in the way; when a person's presence is not wished for, that person is de trop.

Dead 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 life left in it.

"Come thou and thy five men, and if I do not leave you all as dead as a door-nail, I pray God I may never eat grass more." -Shakespeare: 2 Henry VI., iv. 10. (Jack Cade.)

"Falstaff. What! is the old king dead?
Pistol. As nail in door."
Shakespeare: 2 Henry IV., v. 3.

   Dead as a herring. (See Herring.)

Dead He is dead. "Gone to the world of light." "Joined the majority."
   The wind is dead against us. Directly opposed to our direction. Instead of making the ship more lively, its tendency is quite the contrary. It makes a "dead set" at our progress.

Dead Let the dead bury the dead. Let bygones be bygones. Don't rake up old and dead grievances.

"Let me entreat you to let the dead bury the dead, to cast behind you every recollection of bygone evils, and to cherish, to love,to sustain one another through all the vicissitudes of human affairs in the times that are to come." - Gladstone: Home Rule Bill (February 13th, 1893).

Dead Drunk So intoxicated as to be wholly powerless.

"Pythagoras has finely observed that a man is not to be considered dead drunk till he lies on the floor and stretches out his arms and legs to prevent his going lower." - S.Warren.

Dead-eye in nautical phrase, is a block of wood with three holes through it, for the lanyards of rigging to reeve through, without sheaves, and with a groove round it for an iron strap. (Dana: Seaman's Manual, p. 92.)
    The holes are eyes, but they are dead eyes.

Dead-flat (A), in ship architecture, one of the bends amidship. (Dana.)

Dead Freight That part of a cargo which does not belong to the freight. Dead freight is not counted in the freight, and when the cargo is delivered is not to be reckoned.

Dead Hand (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.

Dead-heads in theatrical language, means those admitted by orders without payment. They count for nothing. In the United States, persons who receive something of value for which the taxpayer has to pay.
    In nautical language, a log floating so low in the water that only a small part of it is visible.

Dead Heat A race to be run again between two horses that have "tied." A heat is that part of a race run without stopping. One, two, or more heats make a race. A dead heat is a heat which goes for nothing.

Dead Horse 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.

Dead Languages Languages no longer spoken.

Dead Letter A written document of no value; a law no longer acted upon. Also a letter which lies buried in the post-office because the address is incorrect, or the person addressed cannot be found.

Dead-letter Office (The). A department in the post-office where unclaimed letters are kept. (See above.)