dead weight

dead weight

noun
1.
the heavy, unrelieved weight of anything inert: The dead weight of the bear's body was over 300 pounds.
2.
a heavy or oppressive burden or responsibility.
3.
the weight of a railroad car, truck, etc., as distinct from its load or contents.
Also, dead·weight.


Origin:
1650–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Dead weight is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Collins
World English Dictionary
dead weight
 
n
1.  a heavy weight or load
2.  an oppressive burden; encumbrance
3.  the difference between the loaded and the unloaded weights of a ship
4.  another name for dead load
5.  (in shipping) freight chargeable by weight rather than by bulk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

dead weight

A heavy or oppressive burden, as in That police record will be a dead weight on his career. This term alludes to the unrelieved weight of an inert mass. [Early 1700s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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