dead man walking

British  

noun

1. a condemned man walking from his prison cell to a place of execution

2. informal any person in a doomed or untenable situation, esp one about to lose his or her job

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Example Sentences

One involves Isaac Poobalan, rector of St Andrew's Cathedral in Aberdeen, who said he felt like "a dead man walking" because he believes Bishop Dyer tried to drive him out.

From BBC

It was also the setting for the popular book and movie “Dead Man Walking.”

From Salon

She was in the original off-Broadway production of “Steel Magnolias”; has appeared on the series “The Millers,” “The Good Wife” and “Mrs. America”; and has roles in such movies as “August: Osage County,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “The Hours,” “Dead Man Walking” and “Days of Thunder.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Dead Man Walking,” his operatic debut from 2000 about a convicted murderer on death row, has become the most frequently performed new opera of the 21st century.

From Seattle Times

Only a month after “Dead Man Walking” opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023-24 season in a new production, Houston Grand Opera premiered Heggie’s “Intelligence,” which was inspired by the true story of two women spies — one free, one enslaved — working together during the Civil War.

From Seattle Times