As dead as a dodo

On my writing blog I have been writing about idioms. Some of these expression that we use in everyday life relate to birds and some have very interesting origins. Here is another idiom.

“As dead as a dodo.”

Meaning:

If something is “as dead as a dodo” it is dead, extinct, no longer working, obsolete or out of date.

Origins:

The dodo was a large, rather strange looking bird. It lived on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Its name is Portuguese and means “silly” or “stupid.” European explorers and traders in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries found the flightless bird to be both easily caught and delicious to eat. This eventually brought about its extinction.

Example:

• “It is no use trying to use that old car,’ said James. “Its motor is as dead as a dodo.”