English

Noun

deadfall ‎(plural deadfalls)

1. (US) A kind of trap for large animals, consisting of a heavy board or log that falls on to the prey.
2. deadwood
3. (US, slang) A cheap, rough saloon or bar.
   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 406:

     They had lived down in horse barns, army “A” tents with the old blood-stains onto them, city hotels with canopy beds, woke up in back rooms of deadfalls where the bars had toothmarks end to end.

Synonyms

• (trap): deadfall trap
• (cheap, rough bar): dive

Derived terms

• deadfall trap