Trick or treat! Halloween is coming and what an appropriate time to share with you an English expression that something related to the dead.
The expression ‘as dead as a doornail’ simply means something is very dead or totally dead. It’s obvious that it’s not moving. According to BBC Learning English, this expression was commonly used during Shakespeare’s days. Other notable writers such as Charles Dickens included this expression in their books. People might have integrated doornail because it’s not moving, just like any other things. And you might have read it in news articles or heard it on TV.
Furthermore, it has the same meaning in these modern times. We can use this expression usually on things that aren’t working such as electrical devices and gadgets. Here are some examples.
- Stannis: ‘Davos, where’s my laptop? I need to write an article about Dragons’.
Davos: 'I think it is as dead as a doornail. I’ll charge it at once'.
2. The coffee maker isn’t working. It’s as dead as a doornail! That needs to be fixed soon.
So did you get this expression clear? In case you’d like to know more about this expression, check it out here. Could you write your own sentences below?
Happy Halloween!
Comments
These are my sentences, I do not know whether I understood correctly, but it is a try;
It was winter frost and my car went as dead as a doornail.
Sunday morning the highway was as dead as a doornail.
I had to call 911 but my iPhone went dead as a doornail.
Thank you for sharing your English Expression blogs, they are funny and educational :)
@ Onee
You're welcome.
Nice one, Roman! :)
Hi, Mary!
Those are clever examples! I couldn't believe the chat was as dead as a doornail. It's the busiest place here he he. Thank you for your comment and for injecting humor in your example sentences.
Happy Halloween!
Robbie :)
Robbie, thank you for our explanation. :)
- I was in the EC main chat room yesterday but nobody was chatting there... it was as dead as a doornail.
- Every time my neighbour knocks at my door, I pretend to be as dead as a doornail.
It's nice to learn old expressions; thanks for sharing! :)
Hi, Onee!
Thank you for your comment! About your discussion, it's correct we use a gerund after the verb need (so as other verbs such as 'suggest', 'recommend', 'remember', 'try', 'like', etc.). However, my example sentence suggested authority and so I used the infinitive 'to' + be + past participle'.
Let me site an example. Imagine your mother telling you, 'Your room needs to be cleaned as soon as possible'. She's giving you urgent order to clean your room right away (in an authoritative way). But she could also say, 'Your room needs cleaning'. This time, she's suggesting in a less bossy way, and probably in a well-mannered tone. Since she's your mother (like other mothers do), she might prefer to say the latter unless of course she's asking you to follow her order for a thousand times. :)
By the way, the verb 'need + gerund' is grammatically correct and my example which in a passive sense is also used by many English learners and even natives, is considered informal but acceptable. I'm not a grammar police so it's not an issue for me to use informal words and expressions, because we know for a fact how different it is to express ourselves in spoken language. This is also the reason why we should learn to use proper punctuation and avoid chat abbreviations in our written texts so we can express our thoughts clearly and the way we want them to be.
Nevertheless, I hope I haven't bored you with my comment but rather this shed light the way we learn a language.
See you around,
Robbie
Hi, Roman!
Thank you very much for your comment and example! I agree with you, we cannot determine if the weathercock is working without the wind. It needs something to test it.
Have a spooky Halloween! Kidding!
Robbie :)
Dear Robbie,
Thanks for sharing an English Expression here. This is very useful. Idiom is my weakness. :)
Btw, I hope you don't mind me discussing about this.
"That needs to be fixed soon".
In Teacher Danny's grammar test (Find and correct mistake XV), many learners were incorrect to say 'my watch needed to be fixed', including me. He explained that if we use the verb NEED after a subject defining a non-living thing, it is followed by the gerund. So, the correct sentence is "My watch needs fixing".
Thank you for your reply.
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