dead from the neck up

Extremely stupid, as in That news commentator sounds dead from the neck up. This expression alludes to being “brain-dead.” [Early 1900s]

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Nearby words

dead duck, dead end, dead fingers, dead firing, dead freight, dead from the neck up, dead hand, dead heart, dead heat, dead horse, dead in one's tracks

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.