deadheads

Noun

deadhead (plural deadheads)

1. A person either admitted to a theatrical or musical performance without charge, or paid to attend.
   • Among the Romans.... The free admission tickets were small ivory death's heads, and specimens of these are to be seen in the Museum of Naples. From this custom, it is stated, that we derive our word “Deadhead,” as denoting one who has a free entrance to places of amusement.1901, R. J. Broadbent, A History of Pantomime
2. An employee of a transport company, especially a pilot or flight attendant, traveling as a passenger for logistical reasons, for example to return home or travel to the next assignment.
   • Are you my deadhead to Miami?2002, Steven Spielberg, Catch Me if You Can
3. Anyone traveling for free, without paying the expected fare.
   • With the check came two through tickets—good on the railroad from Hawkeye to Washington via New York—and they were “deadhead” tickets, too, which had been given to Senator Dilworthy by the railway companies. Senators and representatives were paid thousands of dollars by the government for traveling...1873, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), Charles Dudley Warner, The Gilded Age, Part 4.

   Synonyms:

   blind passenger

4. A train or truck moved between cities with no passengers or freight, in order to make it available for service.
5. A person staying at a lodging, such as a hotel or boarding house, without paying rent; freeloader.
   • For the Caput mortuum (or deadhead, in vulgar phrase) is apt to be furnished with a Venter vivus, or, as we may say, a lively appetite.1872, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr, The Poet At The Breakfast Table
6. A stupid or boring person; dullard.
   • “Listen, you two deadheads,” he growled at them, more viciously energetic than he meant, and both turned to stare. He softened his tone. “What's going on here, anyway? What kind of a morgue is this? Is this any way to spend my last four days in town? Come on, let's all go out and do something.”1967, James Jones, Go to the Widow-Maker, Delacorte Press (1967), 72

See all 15 meanings of deadhead