dead end—
1. an end of a passage, such as a street or pipe, that affords no exit:
- The passage was a dead end. Ten meters in front of her, a solid stone wall stood, trapping her.
2. a point beyond which no progress can be made:
- The project turned out to be a dead end. The longer I worked on it the less I was able to actually produce something.
living end, the—
1. said of a person or thing that is extremely good or quite extraordinary:
- We were big fans of their band. We thought it was the living end in those days.
2. said of a person or thing that is very annoying or irritating:
- The man was really the living end. When his typing was interrupted he threw his hands in the air and sighed loudly.