That word comes from Shakespeare's idiom " as dead as a doornail."

这个词来自莎士比亚的俚语“as dead as a doornail”。

The expression " as dead as a doornail" is older than William Shakespeare.

“as dead as a doornail”这种表达甚至比莎士比亚都要古老。

Whichever explanation is true, " as dead as a doornail" simply means this: totally and completely dead.

无论哪种解释是正确的，“as dead as a doornail”的意思都是：完全、彻底地死了。