dead-man's fingers

[ ded-manz, -muh nz ]

/ ˈdɛdˌmænz, -mənz /

noun

any of various fungi, sponges, plant roots, animal parts, etc., having fingerlike projections and a pale or dull color, as the gray-black woodland fungus Xylaria polymorpha or the whitish spongy gills of a food crab.

Nearby words

dead-ball line, dead-beat, dead-cat bounce, dead-end, dead-end host, dead-man's fingers, dead-man's float, dead-melt, dead-nettle, dead-on, dead-reckon

Origin of dead-man's fingers

First recorded in 1595–1605

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for dead man's fingers

dead man's fingers

noun

(functioning as singular) a soft coral, Alcyonium digitatum, with long finger-like polyps

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012