dead letter
英 [ˌded ˈletə(r)]
美 [ˌded ˈletər]
n. 无人遵守的法律; 形同虚设的规定; 空文; 死信; 无法投递(或退回)的邮件
牛津词典
noun
- 无人遵守的法律；形同虚设的规定；空文
a law or an agreement that still exists but that is ignored - 死信；无法投递（或退回）的邮件
a letter that cannot be delivered to an address or to the person who sent it
柯林斯词典
- N-COUNT 形同虚设的法律（或协议）；空文
If you say that a law or agreement is adead letter, you mean that it still exists but people ignore it.- No one does anything about it and the law becomes a dead letter.
没有人执行它，该法律变成了一纸空文。
- No one does anything about it and the law becomes a dead letter.
英英释义
noun
- mail that can neither be delivered nor returned
- the state of something that has outlived its relevance
双语例句
- Our appeal remained a dead letter.
我们的呼吁犹如石沉大海。 - Without sound implementation, even a perfect law would be nothing more than a dead letter.
制定再完美的法律，如果不能得到很好的实施，也无异于一纸空文。 - A telephone call is dead as soon as it's over, but a letter can last forever.
电话一打完就结束了，而信件可以永久保存。 - The will itself is made a dead letter.
遗嘱本身成了一纸空文了。 - A dead person can't write a letter.
一个逝去的人是不会写信的。 - Rules and regulations, once set up, should not be turned into a dead letter. related to or involving literary fiction.
规章制度一经订立，不应成为一纸虚文。与文学虚构有关，或包含文学虚构。 - No one does anything about it and the law becomes a dead letter.
没有人执行它，该法律变成了一纸空文。 - To reign in the late escape people basically disappeared, although the law did not escape were abolished, has lost its value and significance of its existence, become a dead letter.
到康熙中后期，逃人基本绝迹，逃人法虽未被废止，却失去了其存在价值和意义，成为一纸空文。 - It also forbade exchange rate manipulation but the term was never coherently defined and the relevant provision became a dead letter.
它也禁止汇率操纵，但这个术语从未得到过一致的定义，相关条款成为一纸空文。 - Greek was a dead letter to him.
希腊文他可是一个字也不识。