dead man walking
Britishnoun
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a condemned man walking from his prison cell to a place of execution
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informal any person in a doomed or untenable situation, esp one about to lose his or her job
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Wagner boss was described by many as a "dead man walking" after he led a failed mutiny in June, during which his fighters took control of a Russian city and marched towards Moscow.
From BBC • Aug. 31, 2023
Still struggling to adjust to life after Leo, Barcelona’s financial problems have been well documented and manager Ronald Koeman is believed to be a dead man walking.
From The Guardian • Oct. 2, 2021
"I was a dead man walking and I was the only person who did not know it," he said three years later.
From Salon • Oct. 25, 2020
It’s September 1969, and Deacon Cuffy Lambkin is about to become a dead man walking.
From New York Times • Feb. 29, 2020
I was just numb all over, like a dead man walking.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
