subs. (thieves’).—1. An uninhabited house. The cracksman who confines his attentions to ‘busting’ of this kind is, in Fr., un nourrisseur.
1879. J. W. HORSLEY, ‘Autobiography of a Thief,’ in Macmillan’s Magazine, XL., 505. Me and the screwsman went to Gravesend, and I found a DEAD ’UN (uninhabited house).
2. (common).—A half-quartern loaf. Cf., DEAD MAN, sense 2.
3. (turf).—A horse destined to be scratched or not intended to win, and against which odds may be safely laid; a SAFE ’UN (q.v.).
1884. Bailey’s Magazine, June. These al fresco speculators have their DEAD ’UNS, and carry ‘milking pails,’ like their more civilised brethren, privileged with the entrée to the clubs and the Corner.
1868. London Review, 11 July, p. 38, col. 2. The stable and owners might safely lay against what was technically a DEAD ’UN from the first.
1880. HAWLEY SMART, Social Sinners, ch. v. Lord, what ‘DEAD ’UNS’ he did back, to be sure!
4. (common).—An empty bottle. For synonyms, see DEAD MAN.
1889. Bird o’ Freedom, 7 Aug., p. 3. We submitted, and with her help were soon surrounded with a formidable array of DEAD ’UNS.
5. (theatrical).—An unpaid super.
