Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

dead code
     
         (Or "infeasible path", "{grunge}") Any part of a
        program that can never be accessed because all calls to it
        have been removed, or because it is guarded by a control
        structure that provably must always transfer control somewhere
        else.  The presence of dead code may reveal either logical
        errors due to alterations in the program or significant
        changes in the assumptions and environment of the program (see
        also {software rot}); a good compiler should report dead code
        so a maintainer can think about what it means.  Sometimes it
        simply means that an *extremely* defensive programmer has
        inserted {can't happen} tests which really can't happen - yet.
     
        Synonym {grunge}.
     
        [{Jargon File}]
     
        (1996-05-22)