dead hands
Corpse's cold grasp
Dead hands refers to control exerted by people no longer living—especially through wills, trusts, or legal arrangements that bind future generations: The estate remained in dead hands, untouchable for decades.
The phrase captures how the deceased can still grip property or decisions from beyond the grave.
In nuclear strategy, a dead hand is an automated retaliation system designed to launch missiles even if leadership is killed.
- cadaverousResembling the deceased
- inertInactive, physically or chemically
- rigor mortisPostmortem muscular rigidity
- lifelessDevoid of animation
- paralyzedUnable to move voluntarily
unresponsive · necrosis · dormant · stagnation · testamentary · legacy · authority · control · iron grip · entailment · dominance · atrophy · memento mori · beyond the grave · deceased · mortal remains · grips · constraint
dead handspopular sovereignty
Populace holds ultimate authority
consent of the governed · elected representatives · self-determination
dead, hand, hands, death, deadly, deaden, deadened, deadening, deadness