The phrase comes from Cleveland resident Charles Ramsey, interviewed on television in May 2013 after helping rescue Amanda Berry and two other women held captive nearby. His candid remark that a situation was a dead giveaway was clipped, remixed and turned into the viral Songify track Dead Giveaway by Schmoyoho. The short audio survived the remix cycle because the phrase works outside the news story, becoming a general shorthand online for any sign that is impossible to ignore or explain away.