dead giveaway
noun
: something that shows (the truth about something) clearly
The camera is a dead giveaway that you're a tourist.
Examples of dead giveaway in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Unusual e-mail addresses and disconnected phone lines are a dead giveaway; reservationists always call or text to confirm.
—
Adam Iscoe, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
Starting the series in a vault is a great homage to the game franchise, and choosing Vault 33, a location never depicted in any of the games, is a dead giveaway to fans that the show focuses on a new story and a new cast of characters.
—Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
Gabriel knows this new clue, which divulges that his celebrity relative is someone who famously has a lot of babies, could be a dead giveaway.
—Jillian Sederholm, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2023
Fishing rod combo: Every angler could always use a new rod and reel (although the shape of the box under the tree might be a dead giveaway).
—Jordan Rodriguez, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Well, that’s very cynical, but there’s a dead giveaway that gives away almost the exact vintage of these compositions: the lyrics.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023
When sniffing out a revenant, lack of decomposition was, literally, a dead giveaway.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023
If Bigham had already sensed the referee’s inexperience, the shoulder tap was a dead giveaway: MMA referees signal the end of a fight by physical intervention, often using their body as a shield or using brute force to pry off the winning fighter.
—Zoë Bernard, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2023
This can be a dead giveaway for a submarine trying to sneak around in the presence of enemy warships.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 2 June 2023
Adam Iscoe, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
Starting the series in a vault is a great homage to the game franchise, and choosing Vault 33, a location never depicted in any of the games, is a dead giveaway to fans that the show focuses on a new story and a new cast of characters.
—Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
Gabriel knows this new clue, which divulges that his celebrity relative is someone who famously has a lot of babies, could be a dead giveaway.
—Jillian Sederholm, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2023
Fishing rod combo: Every angler could always use a new rod and reel (although the shape of the box under the tree might be a dead giveaway).
—Jordan Rodriguez, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Well, that’s very cynical, but there’s a dead giveaway that gives away almost the exact vintage of these compositions: the lyrics.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023
When sniffing out a revenant, lack of decomposition was, literally, a dead giveaway.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023
If Bigham had already sensed the referee’s inexperience, the shoulder tap was a dead giveaway: MMA referees signal the end of a fight by physical intervention, often using their body as a shield or using brute force to pry off the winning fighter.
—Zoë Bernard, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2023
This can be a dead giveaway for a submarine trying to sneak around in the presence of enemy warships.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 2 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dead giveaway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dead giveaway
Cite this Entry
“Dead giveaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dead%20giveaway. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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