dodo
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(as) dead as a dodo
The "dodo" is an extinct bird.
1. Totally, unquestionably dead. A: "Are you sure the goldfish is dead?" B: "Oh yeah—dead as a dodo." I poked that squirrel with a stick and, yeah, it's as dead as a dodo. Any animal unlucky enough to run out into this busy street will end up dead as a dodo.
2. Outdated or unpopular. Although popular in the 1970s, disco music is as dead as a dodo today. Things like poodle skirts were dead as a dodo when the show Happy Days aired—it was capturing nostalgia for a bygone era, the 1950s. Myspace was king in the early 2000s—and dead as a dodo after Facebook came along.
be (as) dead as a dodo
The "dodo" is a now-extinct bird.
1. To be totally, unquestionably dead. A: "Are you sure the goldfish is dead?" B: "Oh yeah—it's dead as a dodo." I poked that squirrel with a stick and, yeah, it's as dead as a dodo. Any animal unlucky enough to run out into this busy street will be dead as a dodo in a matter of seconds.
2. To be outdated or unpopular Although popular in the 1970s, disco music is as dead as a dodo today. Things like poodle skirts were dead as a dodo when the show Happy Days aired—it was capturing nostalgia for a bygone era, the 1950s. Myspace ruled the early 2000s but was dead as a dodo after Facebook came along.
be (as) dead as a herring
To be definitively, undeniably dead. Likely refers to the offensive smell that emanates from a dead herring. I poked that squirrel with a stick and, yeah, it's as dead as a herring. A: "Are you sure the goldfish is dead?" B: "Oh yeah—it's dead as a herring." Any animal unlucky enough to run out into this busy street will be dead as a herring in a matter of seconds.
dumb-dodo
slang Someone who is very stupid. Can you believe that dumb-dodo is still pushing the door marked "pull"? Oh, right, like I would listen to that dumb-dodo. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about! Yeah, he's a linebacker for the football team, but he's no dumb-dodo—he's at the top of his class academically.
go the way of the dodo
To become outdated or obsolete. (The "dodo" is an extinct bird.) The prevalence of cell phones today has caused landlines to go the way of the dodo. What am I going to do with my cassette collection now that cassette tapes have gone the way of the dodo? Considering that rotary phones have gone the way of the dodo, I'm amazed this thing still works!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*dead as a dodo
and *dead as a doornail; deader than a doornaildead; 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.
go the way of the dodo
and go the way of the horse and buggyFig. to become extinct; to become obsolete. The floppy disc has gone the way of the horse and buggy.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
dead as a doornail
Also, dead as a dodo or herring . Totally or assuredly dead; also finished. For example, The cop announced that the body in the dumpster was dead as a doornail, or The radicalism she professed in her adolescence is now dead as a dodo, or The Equal Rights Amendment appears to be dead as a herring. The first, oldest, and most common of these similes, all of which can be applied literally to persons or, more often today, to issues, involves doornail, dating from about 1350. Its meaning is disputed but most likely it referred to the costly metal nails hammered into the outer doors of the wealthy (most people used the much cheaper wooden pegs), which were clinched on the inside of the door and therefore were "dead," that is, could not be used again. Dead as a herring dates from the 16th century and no doubt alludes to the bad smell this dead fish gives off, making its death quite obvious. Dead as a dodo, referring to the extinct bird, dates from the early 1900s.
dodo
see under dead as a doornail.
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.
dead as a dodo
BRITISHIf 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.
dead as a doornail
1. If a person or animal is as dead as a doornail, they are completely dead. From the start of the movie it is clear that she will be as dead as a doornail by the time the credits roll.
2. If something or someone is as dead as a doornail, they are no longer active or popular. My $2,500 computer was dead as a doornail. Nobody will hire him now. He's finished. Dead as a doornail. Note: It is not certain what `doornail' actually refers to. In medieval times, it may have been the plate or knob on a door which was hit by the knocker. It was thought that anything that was struck so often must have been dead. Alternatively, doornails may have been the thick nails which were set into outer doors. It is not clear why these nails should be described as `dead'.
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. informalThe 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.
dead as a doornail (or as mutton)
completely dead.A doornail was one of the large iron studs formerly often used on doors for ornamentation or for added strength; the word occurred in various alliterative phrases (e.g. deaf as a doornail and dour as a doornail ) but dead as a doornail is now the only one in common use.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(as) dead as a/the ˈdodo
(informal) no longer in existence; very old-fashioned: Old business practices are as dead as a dodo in the computer age.The dodo was a large bird that could not fly. It is now extinct (= it no longer exists).
(as) ˌdead as a ˈdoornail
(informal) completely deadFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
dumb-dodo
(ˈdəmˈdodo) n. a very stupid person. What a dumb-dodo you are!
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
dead as a doornail
Undoubtedly dead.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
dead as a doornail
Dead, unresponsive, defunct. This simile dates from the fourteenth century and the source of it has been lost. A doornail was either a heavy-headed nail for studding an outer door or the knob on which a door knocker strikes. One plausible explanation for the analogy to death is that it alluded to costly metal nails (rather than cheap wooden pegs), which were clinched and hence “dead” (could not be re-used). The expression was used in a fourteenth-century poem of unknown authorship, William of Palerne, and was still current when Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol (1843). There have been numerous similar proverbial comparisons—dead as a mackerel, dead as mutton, dead as a herring, dead as a stone—but this one, with its alliterative lilt, has survived longest.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer