deader than a doornail
Completely dead, no argument about it.
Also called dead as a doornail.
Updated September 21, 2026
deader than a doornail pronunciation
/DED-er thuhn uh DOR-nayl/
Meaning
You say this when something or somebody is past saving: a battery that won't crank, a snake you already shot, a plan that ain't coming back. Deader than a doornail piles on the emphasis. Country mouths use it for livestock, truck engines, and bad news with the same flat certainty.
How folks use it
- “That old battery's deader than a doornail. We'll need a jump.”
- “I poked the snake with a stick. Deader than a doornail.”
Origin and etymology
English has said dead as a doornail since the 1300s. A doornail was a big stud hammered through a door and clinched flat so it could not be reused, a "dead" nail in carpenter talk. Shakespeare and Dickens helped keep the simile famous. American rural speech often stretches it to deader than a doornail for extra punch.
Frequently asked questions
Why a doornail?
Old door nails got bent over after driving so they would not pull out. Once clinched, that nail was done for other jobs, so folks called it dead.