deadheaders

Noun

deadheader (plural deadheaders)

1. One who removes the dead remains of blossoms from plants.
   • Instead, she is a weeder, actually for enjoyment ("That's when I get some of my best thinking done"), a keen harvester of flowers for the house, and a merciless deadheader of perennials in the autumn.1992, George Schenk, Gardening With Friends, page 210
2. A non-paying passenger.
   • There's company rules against riders. I told him tonight he's gonna have a deadheader; all he wanted to know was you gonna have coffee money.1947, The New Republic - Volume 117, Part 1, page 18
3. A scheduled trip to move a vehicle that has no cargo and no passengers.
   • From Granite City, I think it was, we rode a deadheader to Minneapolis.1995, Journal of American Indian Education - Volumes 35-37, page 53
4. One who does not work very hard at their job.
   • ...were always the "infamous machine" or the "bosses' candidate" or the "payroll deadheaders and racketeers."1959, J. J. Wuerthner, The businessman's guide to practical politics, page 143
5. A racing pigeon that will not leave when released.
   • Don does this to catch "Deadheaders" - birds which circle the wrong way and won't leave the release site. By his precise records, Don can remove deadheaders by a process of elimination.1989, The American Racing Pigeon News - Volume 105, page 26