as dead as

[jasonlulu_2000]

In the TV program, what I hear is as follows:
"Now, what's the most famous of all extinct species? Surely it has to be the dodo, as in dead as. Dodos lived on the island of Mauritius and are thought to have grown to a large size."


I am not sure whether I am right in terms of the underlined bold part?

Can any native help me to figure it out?

Thanks!

Jason

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

There is an English phrase "dead as a dodo".
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/dodo#as-dead-as-a-dodo

Your example means: Surely it has to be the dodo, as in the phrase "dead as a dodo".

 

[Raymott]

Correctly written, this would be something like, "Surely it has to be the dodo, as in 'dead as...'." But you don't have that clue in a sound file.

 

[jasonlulu_2000]

Thank you, both.

In the sound file, I think the broadcaster should have said "Surely it has to be the dodo, as in 'dead as a dodo'". Why do I only hear "as in 'dead as' ? Did I miss something? Do you hear the same sentence as me?

Jason

 

[5jj]

In the sound file, I think the broadcaster should have said "Surely it has to be the dodo, as in 'dead as a dodo'". Why do I only hear "as in 'dead as' ? Did I miss something? Do you hear the same sentence as me?

Jason

The phrase is so well known in English that the broadcaster did not need to complete it. He had used the word 'dodo' only a second or two before.

 

[Tdol]

People sometimes only give a part of an idiom if it is very well known.

 

[Rover_KE]

People sometimes only give a part of an idiom if it is very well known.

The same goes for proverbs.

'If the cap fits...' 'Too many cooks...'

 

[SoothingDave]

The same goes for proverbs.

'If the cap fits...' 'Too many cooks...'

The shoe fits here in AmE.