dead work (dedwerk)

Work which is in itself unprofitable, but is nece ary to, and leads up to, that which is profitable or productive; specifically, in mining, that work which is done in the way of opening a mine, or preparing to remove the ore in a mine, but is not accompanied by any production of ore, or is almost non-remunerative. To describe dead - work is to narrate all those portions of our work which consume the most time, give the most trouble, require the greatest patience and endurance, and seem to produce the most insignificant results. Science , VI. 174. dead-works (ded' wèrks), n. pl. Naut., the parts of a ship which are above the surface of the water when she is balanced for a voyage: now generally called upper works.