Meanings
- datedhumorousuncountablecomputingThe rubber chiclet keyboard of the ZX Spectrum computer.
2012, Rebecca Levene, Magnus Anderson, Grand Thieves & Tomb Raiders: How British Video Games Conquered the World Its keyboard was made of an odd rubber, widely but unkindly known as 'dead flesh', and it was physically unstable, especially the early models.
2 more examples
The larger size of the “Speccy” improved the computer's usability compared to the ZX81 model, notably through the raised “dead flesh” rubber keys that gave computer users better tactile feedback.
2014, Gerard Alberts, Ruth Oldenziel, Hacking Europe: From Computer Cultures to Demoscenes (page 64)It was a neat trick to give the membrane keyboard a sense of tactility and springiness that was missing from the Spectrum's infamous 'dead flesh' keys.
2024, Lewis Packwood, Curious Video Game Machines, page 90
Cite this entry
dead flesh. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20flesh
“dead flesh.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20flesh. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dead flesh,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20flesh.
Source: dead flesh on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.