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be a dead loss

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be a dead loss

slang To be unsuccessful in a certain area or pursuit. I thought I could reconcile with my mother, but our phone call was a dead loss. My drawing is a mess—I'm a dead loss as an artist. Don't put him on our team, he's a dead loss at basketball!

See also: dead, loss

be a dead loss

 

1. (informal) if something or someone is a dead loss, they disappoint you because they are of bad quality or because they are not able to do what you want them to do The meeting was a dead loss. We didn't come to a single decision. He may have been a great poet, but he was a dead loss as a husband.

2. (informal) to be very bad at a particular activity or subject (sometimes + at ) I was an absolute dead loss at sport when I was at school.

See also: dead, loss