dead giveaway

noun

: something that shows (the truth about something) clearly

The camera is a dead giveaway that you're a tourist.

Examples of dead giveaway in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gabriel knows this new clue, which divulges that his celebrity relative is someone who famously has a lot of babies, could be a dead giveaway. —Jillian Sederholm, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2023

Fishing rod combo: Every angler could always use a new rod and reel (although the shape of the box under the tree might be a dead giveaway). —Jordan Rodriguez, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024

Well, that’s very cynical, but there’s a dead giveaway that gives away almost the exact vintage of these compositions: the lyrics. —Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023

When sniffing out a revenant, lack of decomposition was, literally, a dead giveaway. —Franz Lidz, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023

If Bigham had already sensed the referee’s inexperience, the shoulder tap was a dead giveaway: MMA referees signal the end of a fight by physical intervention, often using their body as a shield or using brute force to pry off the winning fighter. —Zoë Bernard, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2023

This can be a dead giveaway for a submarine trying to sneak around in the presence of enemy warships. —Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 2 June 2023

Thick layers of smog are a dead giveaway that outdoor air pollution is looming over busy cities, but indoor air pollution isn’t as easy to see. —Lacey Muinos, Verywell Health, 14 Apr. 2023

She’s started to notice, for example, that nail polish can be a dead giveaway for photos taken on the same day, even when an influencer is posting different outfits on different days. —ELLE, 6 Feb. 2023