dirty (redirected from dirties)

dirty your hands

to become involved in bad activities that might spoil other people's opinions of you. The royal family don't usually dirty their hands with politics. (usually negative)

See also: hand

a dirty old man (informal)

an older man who shows a strong and unpleasant interest in sex. On the top shelf they've got all those horrible magazines for dirty old men.

See also: man, old

a dirty trick

a dishonest action. He resigned after allegations of dirty tricks during the election campaign. Telling her you needed the money for a friend was a dirty trick.

See also: trick

a dirty weekend (British & Australian, humorous)

a weekend when two people who are not married go away somewhere to have sex. At first I thought he was asking me to go away for a dirty weekend.

See also: weekend

a dirty word

if something is a dirty word, people do not generally approve of it. For the environmentally conscious, 'disposable' has become a dirty word.

See also: word

do someone's dirty work

to do something unpleasant or difficult for someone else because they do not want to do it themselves. Well next time, Kevin can do his own dirty work. Tell her yourself - I'm not going to do your dirty work for you! (often + for)

See also: work

do the dirty on someone (British & Australian, informal)

to behave unfairly or very badly towards someone, often without them knowing. And then he did the dirty on her and went and had an affair with her best friend.

down-and-dirty

1. down-and-dirty behaviour is not pleasant or honest. He ran a down-and-dirty political campaign.

2. something that is down-and-dirty is shocking, often because it is connected with sex. He likes his films down-and-dirty.

get your hands dirty (informal)

to involve yourself in all parts of a job, including the parts that are unpleasant, or involve hard, practical work. Unlike other bosses, he's not afraid to get his hands dirty and the men like that in him.

See also: hand

give/shoot someone a dirty look

to look at someone in an angry way. I didn't know what I'd said that was so offensive but she gave me a really dirty look.

See also: give, look, shoot

play dirty (informal)

to behave dishonestly, especially by cheating in a game. He loses his temper from time to time, but he never plays dirty.

See also: play

talk dirty (informal)

to talk rudely about sex, usually in order to make someone sexually excited. I love it when you talk dirty to me.

See also: talk

wash your dirty laundry/linen in public (British & Australian, American & Australian)

to talk to other people about personal things that you should keep private. I was brought up to believe that it was wrong to wash your dirty linen in public.

See also: laundry, public, wash

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do the dirty work

to do the unpleasant or difficult things. Well, usually I do the dirty work and someone else gets the credit for getting it done.

Usage notes: often used in the form do someone's dirty work to do the unpleasant or difficult things that are someone else's responsibility: Naturally, he has assistants who do his dirty work.

See also: work

get your hands dirty

to involve yourself in doing work that is basic to something. Erin likes to get her hands dirty by altering the computer code to make it run the way she wants it to. She'll organize the event, but she doesn't like to get her hands dirty by selling tickets.

keep your hands clean

See also: hand

talk dirty

to talk about sex. He called one of those phone services where you pay to have women talk dirty to you.

See also: talk