A long object, often a timber or log, buried to serve as an anchor for a wall or for stays.
A cutout device that operates in the event that an operator releases the control handles, leaves the operator's seat, or otherwise seems to be no longer present and alert.
Origin
From dead + man. In the sense referring to a safety switch, the notion of an operator who is dead is the figurative archetype representing any incapacitation, absence, or inattention. See also Dead Hand in that regard.
Modern English dictionary
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