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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage
"Dirty" as a verb
While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb?
I saw this in a Cathy comic strip, explaining, after a family Thanksgiving dinner, why they were "fat, but neat". Paraphrased:
"If someone eats that last wedge of pumpkin pie, we won't have to dirty another food storage container."
Or someone might say "If it's just a light snack, use paper plates and plasticware; no sense in dirtying up the dishes and silverware.
I saw this in a Cathy comic strip, explaining, after a family Thanksgiving dinner, why they were "fat, but neat". Paraphrased:
"If someone eats that last wedge of pumpkin pie, we won't have to dirty another food storage container."
Or someone might say "If it's just a light snack, use paper plates and plasticware; no sense in dirtying up the dishes and silverware.
Top answer
[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb? I saw this in a Cathy comic ... [/nq] "Proper" is a difficult concept, but OED records "dirty" as a verb from the 16th Century through to the 20th, citing such literati as Marvell, Darwin and Wodehouse.
- [nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb?
- I saw this in a Cathy comic ...
- [/nq] "Proper" is a difficult concept, but OED records "dirty" as a verb from the 16th Century through to the 20th, citing such literati as Marvell, Darwin and Wodehouse.
- John Dean Oxford
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9 Answers
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[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb? I saw this in a Cathy comic ... "If it's just a light snack, use paper plates and plasticware; no sense in dirtying up the dishes and silverware.[/nq]
"Proper" is a difficult concept, but OED records "dirty" as a verb from the 16th Century through to the 20th, citing such literati as Marvell, Darwin and Wodehouse.
"Proper" is a difficult concept, but OED records "dirty" as a verb from the 16th Century through to the 20th, citing such literati as Marvell, Darwin and Wodehouse.
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[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb?[/nq]
Main Entry: 3dirty
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): dirt?ied; dirty?ing
transitive senses
1 : to make dirty
2 a : to stain with dishonor : SULLY b : to debase by distorting the realnature of
intransitive senses : to become soiled
John Varela
(Trade "OLD" lamps for "NEW" for
Main Entry: 3dirty
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): dirt?ied; dirty?ing
transitive senses
1 : to make dirty
2 a : to stain with dishonor : SULLY b : to debase by distorting the realnature of
intransitive senses : to become soiled
John Varela
(Trade "OLD" lamps for "NEW" for
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[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb? I saw this in a Cathy comic ... "If it's just a light snack, use paper plates and plasticware; no sense in dirtying up the dishes and silverware.[/nq]
Dirtying the dishes is common enough, but I've never heard 'dirtying up'.
Dirtying the dishes is common enough, but I've never heard 'dirtying up'.
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Lepidopteran wrote on 06 Jan 2005:
[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb?[/nq]
It won't make anybody blush, if that's what you mean. It is an honorable verb, as in "I refuse to dirty my hands with that sort of business".
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.
[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb?[/nq]
It won't make anybody blush, if that's what you mean. It is an honorable verb, as in "I refuse to dirty my hands with that sort of business".
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.
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[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb?[/nq]
Yes.
(good examples snipped)
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://oakroadsystems.com/
"Don't move, or I'll fill you full of (... pause ...) little yellow bolts of light." Farscape, first episode
Yes.
(good examples snipped)
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://oakroadsystems.com/
"Don't move, or I'll fill you full of (... pause ...) little yellow bolts of light." Farscape, first episode
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[nq:2]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" ... plasticware; no sense in dirtying up the dishes and silverware.[/nq]
[nq:1]Dirtying the dishes is common enough, but I've never heard 'dirtying up'.[/nq]
Occasionaly you may hear an aviator use this phrase to describe doing things with the control surfaces of an aircraft with the intent of slowing it down.
"I dirtied it
[nq:1]Dirtying the dishes is common enough, but I've never heard 'dirtying up'.[/nq]
Occasionaly you may hear an aviator use this phrase to describe doing things with the control surfaces of an aircraft with the intent of slowing it down.
"I dirtied it
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[nq:1]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" as a verb? . . . "If someone eats that last wedge of pumpkin pie, we won't have to dirty another food storage container."[/nq]
Yes this is normal in English. It appears to be a contraction. Centuries ago English speakers said they would make the door open, make the plates dirty, etc: nowadays we simply open the door, dirty the plat
Yes this is normal in English. It appears to be a contraction. Centuries ago English speakers said they would make the door open, make the plates dirty, etc: nowadays we simply open the door, dirty the plat
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[nq:2]While normally an adjective, is it proper to use "dirty" ... pie, we won't have to dirty another food storage container."[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes this is normal in English. It appears to be a contraction. Centuries ago English speakers said they would make the door open, make the plates dirty, etc: nowadays we simply open the door, dirty the plates, etc.[/nq]
Verbing weirds language. Calvin.
[nq:1]Yes this is normal in English. It appears to be a contraction. Centuries ago English speakers said they would make the door open, make the plates dirty, etc: nowadays we simply open the door, dirty the plates, etc.[/nq]
Verbing weirds language. Calvin.
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[nq:2]Yes this is normal in English. It appears to be ... nowadays we simply open the door, dirty the plates, etc.[/nq]
[nq:1]Verbing weirds language. Calvin.[/nq]
I quite agree.
Let's clean it up.
[nq:1]Verbing weirds language. Calvin.[/nq]
I quite agree.
Let's clean it up.
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