dead-man's fingers

[ ded-manz, -muhnz ]

/ ˈdɛdˌmænz, -mənz /

Save This Word!

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.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of dead-man's fingers

First recorded in 1595–1605

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use dead-man's fingers in a sentence

In the first episode, an officer is shown video of himself shooting and killing a man.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That man was Xavier Cortada, a gay man who wrote of his frustration that he and his partner of eight years were unable to marry.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is the summit of human happiness: the surrender of man to God, of woman to man, of several women to the same man.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But no more so than the Sodexo building maintenance man or the two cops who were also killed in the crossfire.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The cartoonist, better known as Charb, was shot dead Wednesday.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Davy looked around and saw an old man coming toward them across the lawn.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
The supernaturalist alleges that religion was revealed to man by God, and that the form of this revelation is a sacred book.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
He remembered something—the cherished pose of being a man plunged fathoms-deep in business.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
A little boy of four was moved to passionate grief at the sight of a dead dog taken from a pond.
Children's Ways|James Sully

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