Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Either dead or alive
  • adjective Used to indicate someone is being sought for some kind of punishment or reprimand, and that (s)he may be killed in the process of finding, as if this was reasonable punishment

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From usage in wanted posters in the 19th century American West and, especially in popular drama about the American West in that period.

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