To Parch

Question

Hi, everyone. Can you help me out with this expression, please?

It was parch dry

Is the use of parch correct? Or, should it be something like It was parching/parched because it's a verb? Is there an adjective which can be used which has the same meaning?

And is the use of dry here a useless repetition that native speakers would not consider?

Hmea1 · Accepted Answer

I would say "parched."

For example, "I was parched from wandering the desert all day" or "The land was parched because it had not rained for several weeks."

"I was parching" does not make sense.

"Parch dry" does seem repititious.

You could also say "arid," "scorched," "bone dry," or "very dry," among others.

Some examples of arid, scorched, and bone dry:

Arid - "The desert is arid." However, you wouldn't use "arid" to describe the state of a person.

Scorched - "The desert was scorching hot" or "The sun's heat touched the scorched earth." "Scorch" is also not to be used to describe the state of a person. However, you could say, "The sun's heat scorched me," for example.

Bone dry - "The desert was bone dry" or "The well was bone dry as all of the water had dried up" or "My mouth was bone dry from dehydration."

Kerowin · Answer

Thank you very much for the reply, it made things so much clearer and was very helpful.

hmea1"I was parching" does not make sense.

Is it a verb that cannot indicate something that happens over a lapse of time? Just shows a state that has already happened then?

To Parch

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