BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 13 Jul 18 - 07:34 PM

Dead good. Yes. I love the British slang use of the word "dead" when it is used to emphasize things. It's dead brilliant! (very brilliant) You can say that your "mate" (your friend or co-worker) is "dead stupid", for example. This means he's "thick as a brick", to put it another way. It really conveys the idea powerfully. You can't BE more stupid than "dead stupid". I imagine you could even say that someone is "dead lively" to mean not that he is one of the living dead, but that he has an unusual amount of vitality. Vim and vigor, as it were.    I hope so, anyway. It's a dead useful expression, if you ask me.

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: JennieG
Date: 13 Jul 18 - 09:23 PM

"Dead good" is ~almost~ venturing into tautology territory......yes?

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Jul 18 - 05:02 AM

Dead centre. Dead reckoning. And why is a door nail the deadest thing of all?

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Jul 18 - 11:41 AM

And in New England,
the phrase is "wicked."

As in, overheard a year ago in a fast-food restaurant:
"Last weekend was WICKED bo-ring."

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: Senoufou
Date: 14 Jul 18 - 01:30 PM

In the London area, one says "Well good!" (as in "Lee Nelson's 'well good show. Qualiteee innit?"

So one can have 'He's well loaded." or "They were well scared." etc.

I absolutely love Lee Nelson. He's on Youtube.

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: JennieG
Date: 14 Jul 18 - 07:09 PM

A "dead" door nail is a nail which can't be pulled out and used again (as was often done), because it was bent over when hammered in.

Dead door nails were around in the middle ages, and have been around ever since.

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 14 Jul 18 - 07:19 PM

They're even deader if the head gets knocked off.

Subject: RE: BS: Salad Days - whence came this phrase?
From: JennieG
Date: 14 Jul 18 - 10:29 PM

They would indeed. A headless nail is not much use to man or beast.

Just ask anyone who has been beheaded.....