dead end
     n 1: a passage with access only at one end syn: cul, cul de
          sac
     2: a situation in which no progress can be made or no
        advancement is possible; "reached an impasse on the
        negotiations" syn: deadlock, impasse, stalemate, standstill
see also:
cul cul de sac deadlock impasse stalemate standstill 

60 moby thesaurus words for "dead end":
   bar, barrier, blank, blank wall, blind, blind alley, blind gut,
   blind-alley, block, blockade, blockage, bottleneck, box, cecal,
   cecum, choked, choked off, choking, choking off, clog, closed,
   congestion, constipation, constricted, contracted, corner,
   costiveness, cul-de-sac, dead, dead-end street, deadlock, embolism,
   embolus, extremity, gorge, halt, hole, impasse, impediment,
   infarct, infarction, jam, obstacle, obstipation, obstruction,
   pocket, sealing off, shut, squeezed shut, stalemate, stand,
   standstill, stop, stoppage, strangulated, strangulation, unopen,
   unopened, unvented, unventilated