That which is useless or excess; that which slows something down.
Dead load.
Unremitting heavy weight that does not move.
The largest weight of cargo a ship is able to carry; i.e, the weight of a ship when fully loaded minus its weight when empty.
He rolled the red in dead weight, and now he's nicely on the blue.
With just enough weight for a ball to drop into a pocket, or come to rest in a precisely determined position.
A serious flaw in something otherwise good; a problem that ruins everything else.