Deadfall

[Richard Fiero]

David Morris wrote:
>And what any of this has to do with the term "deadfall" (which you've
>found in Barbary Coast, but is too obscure to be found in any
>dictionary I've access to) is beyond me also.  Did anyone propose it
>had occult meanings?
>
>And it sure would've been nice if you'd pointed out where in your
>online source it was to be found.
>
>David Morris

There is no official citation for "deadfall." Imagine one to be a 
seven to thirteen year old child in say, 1900.  The child will get 
the meaning of the word from the context which we can do in AtD.  I 
did on second thought offer a citation because "The Barbary Coast" 
reads a lot like AtD, only different (of course).

I was watching four scab carpenters sheeting a roof earlier 
today.  Slow.  They all had nailbags hung right and their hammers 
hung correctly at the back.  The goddamn company had probably 
provided them with metal handled hammers instead of wood 
handles.  They were each choking up on the handles and 
tapping.  Christ, three hits and the nail should be in. Two if you're 
good. Tap tap tap.  Get lighter hammers if those are too heavy, 
idiots. Looked liked 35 pounds of stuff in those nailbags. On a 
roof!  One man picked up a sheet of OSB in a twenty mile an hour gust 
of wind. Moron. Now a corner is stuck under the top chord of a truss. 
Moron. Now three of them are standing looking lost.  I should point 
them to Audel's?