dead and buried

D

dead and buried

Meaning

• no longer in use.
• gone forever.
• no longer under consideration or in use.
• something that cannot be restored or reactivated to its original form.
• long forgotten.

Example Sentences

1. The world believes that the idea of another Cold War is dead and buried.
2. Wanton destruction of forests, which has led to global warming, can only ensure that the beauty of having snow on mountains is dead and buried.
3. The widespread use of computers has made the typewriter a long-forgotten tool. It’s dead and buried.
4. The old-fashioned system of doing business in the stock market is dead and buried.
5. Our childhood days are dead and buried.
6. There’s no reason to talk about voting rights. The problem is dead and buried.
7. The old cultural traditions are dead and buried.
8. The U.K. and the U.S.A. are doing their best to ensure that terrorism is dead and buried.
9. United States and Great Britain won’t stop their weapons until terrorism is dead and buried from the earth.

Origin

When the phrase “dead and buried” is used literally, it refers to someone who has already died and is buried. Such a person will never come back to earth. Likewise, if an issue is dead and buried, it’s in the past.

The idiom has been in use since the 1800s. Idiomatically, it is used to clarify decisions already made in discussions on issues about which some people may still have lingering thoughts. When an issue is referred to as “dead and buried,” it is pointless to reintroduce it for discussion because it would serve no purpose. Kim Harrington used the idiom as the title of her mystery novel.

Death, End