A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

dead heat • deadly heat
dead heat—said of a race in which competitors finish at the
same time: The horses came to the finish in a dead heat, and,
without a photograph, the results were too close to call.
deadly heat—extreme or excessive heat : These times of
deadly heat demand all of our concern and commitment to
prevent heat-related tragedies.
dead house • death house
dead house —
1
. (dated) a mortuary; a morgue: When they
reached the Ferry Beach they made all speed to the hospital
and to the “dead house,” which held seven coffins. 2. (sl.) an
uninhabited house: We thought it was a “dead” house, but we
walked into a girl’s room and she squealed.
death house —(U.S. Prison) a group of death cells for persons
awaiting execution: He has three murders behind him, and
the grey doors of the death-house in front of him.
dead line • deadline
dead line —
1
. an article which a shopkeeper has stopped
dealing in because customers have no more interest in it: Silk
stockings have been a dead line for years and years, Madam!
2. (also: dead wire) a cable through which no electricity passes:
It was as if she had been calling on a dead line to an empty
building. 3. a straight line: The equipment is designed to
guide the aircraft along a localizer beam to keep it in dead line
with the center of the runway.
deadline —time or date fixed in advance by which smth. must
be done: As a journalist, I always have to work to a deadline.
dead loss • total loss
dead loss —
1
. said of smth. totally unsuccessful: The defense
budget was not a dead loss: the economies of South Africa
and Namibia got a shot in the arm as a result of this. 2. (coll.)
said of a person who is quite worthless: We’d better fire Smith
now — he’s a dead loss.
total loss —(Insurance) an irreparably damaged vehicle: The
natural inclination is to under-insure and take the chance of
not having a total loss.