Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. constr. with at, directly, pointedly.

1848

Era (London) 17 Sept. 5/2: Wynham Smith was looking dead nuts at [the horse], like a feyther at his child. I heerd him say to a pal that he’d win.

2. constr. with on, very keenly in favour of, obsessed with.

1834		‘A Rum-Un to Look At’ in Libertine’s Songster in Spedding & Watt (eds) I 136: Ve’re dead nuts on each other, d’ye see?
1835		‘A Blow-Out Among The Blowen’ in Secret Songster 14: I’ll sing you an out-and-out chaunt, if you like, / About blear-eyed Molly, and goggled-eyed Mike; / Who being dead nuts on this rummy old whore, / He jump’d over the broomstick vith her to be sure.
1848		Era (London) 17 Sept. 5/2: Muster Bob Heseltine was dead nuts on his mare [and] went to tell the boy to ‘go it like bricks’.
1867		Eve. Teleg. (Phila.) 16 Aug. 6/4: He was that dead nuts on the machinery, as is, no doubt, werry wonderful, but don’t suit me.
1867		Taunton Courier 9 Jan. 5/2: Look here Witcombe, you’ve been dead nuts on this house ever since this young man has lived here. If you were in some places you’d get your head smashed.
1874		Leicester Chron. 20 June 4/3: He is what is vulgarly termed ‘dead nuts’ on cornflour.
1877		Five Years’ Penal Servitude 288: Davies was ‘dead nuts’ upon cutting men’s hair.
1890		H. Nisbet ‘Bail Up!’ 203: The widow is dead nuts on the opium.
1894		Sir J.D. Astley 50 Years Life I 152: He wasn’t dead nuts on meeting with them .
1900		Blackburn Standard 16 June 9/6: A prowling dog, dead nuts on cats, had seen the cat apparently at its mercy.
1901		Star (Reynoldsville, PA) 18 Sept. 2/2: Both the girls are dead nuts on Harrison, and Harrison is dead nuts on both girls.
1910		Eve. Standard (Ogden City, UT) 30 Dec. 6/4: I know a girl [...] who is dead nuts to go on the stage.
1919		Wash. Times (DC) 8 Mar. 14/4: I have never met a girl but who is dead nuts on dancing.
1934		Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 16 Aug. 8/1: The S.F.A. are dead nuts on financial affairs.

3. constr. with against, very keenly opposed to.

1887		Lantern (N.O.) 21 May 4: No doubt other policemen are dead-nuts against it.
1896		Dundee Courier 24 Nov. 5/7: The Boers, who are ‘dead nuts’ (as we say here) against the English, are suspected of having spread the infection.
1940		Exeter and Plymouth Gaz. 19 July 6/2: The Rev. W.M. Austin, a former vicar, said he was ‘dead nuts’ against shirkers.
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 232/1: dead nuts on – dead set against.

4. completely, utterly.

1984		(con. 1965–73) J. Trotti Phantom 171: Your dive angle and air speed were dead nuts on [HDAS].
1987		(con. 1968) Bunch & Cole Reckoning for Kings (1989) 379: Mosby was dead-nuts wrong.
1997		Sidra Vitale ‘Toxic Shock Syndrome’ at Web by Women for Women 🌐 Saying to yourself ‘oh, they don’t make that kind of tampon anymore, I’m perfectly safe’ is dead-nuts wrong.
2002		Era Replica Automobiles 🌐 Our stainless steel semi-monocoque chassis is second to none, and our body is dead-nuts accurate.