dead soldier

American  

noun

Slang.

1. an empty beer, liquor, or wine bottle or empty beer can.

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dead soldier British  

noun

1. informal an empty beer or spirit bottle

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dead soldier Idioms  

1. Also, dead man. An empty liquor, wine, or beer bottle, as in Their trash barrel's full of dead soldiers; they must drink a lot, or That dead man sticking out of your pocket alerted the officer to the fact that you'd been drinking. Dead man has been slang for “empty bottle” since the late 1600s but has been largely replaced by dead soldier, dating from the late 1800s.

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Etymology

Origin of dead soldier

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dead soldier

Jibo is a bit of a dead soldier whose commanding officers went out of business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2023

The Ukrainian military’s general staff gave the same name for the dead soldier, saying it was “according to preliminary information.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2023

Chad Workman reportedly received a medal from Biden after attempting to retrieve a dead soldier from a burning vehicle.

From Fox News ● Aug. 29, 2019

It is a regimental remembrance, consisting of a large, black plinth on which there is a statue of a dead soldier, completely shrouded in a flag.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2014

On a low truckle-bed lay the dead soldier, his manly face calm and tranquil as the cold heart within his breast.

From The Daltons, Volume II (of II) Or,Three Roads In Life by Charles James Lever

Related Words

• glass
• jar
• jug
• urn
• vial