dry (redirected from drying)

*dry as dust and *dry as a bone 

1. Cliché very dry. (*Also: as ~.) The bread is as dry as dust. When the leaves are dry as a bone, they break into powder easily.

2. Cliché very dull; very boring. (*Also: as ~.) This book is as dry as dust. I am going to stop reading it. Her lecture was dry as dust—just like her subject.

See also: dust

*exciting as watching (the) paint dry

very, very dull. (Sarcastic. *Also: about as ~; as ~.) This book is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Listening to you is exciting as watching the paint dry.

See also: paint, watch

bleed someone white and bleed someone dry

to take all of someone's money; to extort money from someone. The creeps tried to bleed me white. Richard got a picture of Fred and Joan together and tried to bleed both of them dry by threatening to show it to their spouses.

See also: bleed, white

dry someone or something off

to remove the moisture from someone or something. Please dry your feet off before coming in. Dry off your feet before you come in here!

dry someone out

Fig. to cause someone to become sober; to cause someone to stop drinking alcohol to excess. If the doctor at the clinic can't dry him out, no one can. The hospital will dry out Mary and start treatment.

See also: out

dry something out

to make something become dry. Dry this out and put it on immediately. Dry out your jacket in the clothes dryer.

See also: out

dry something up 

1. . to cause moisture to dry away to nothing. Dry this spill up with the hair dryer. Will the hair dryer dry up this mess?

2. to cure a skin rash by the use of medicine that dries. Let's use some of this to try to dry that rash up. This medicine will dry up your rash in a few days.

See also: up

dry out 

1. Lit. to become dry. The clothes finally dried out in the wet weather.

2. Fig. to allow alcohol and the effects of drunkenness, especially if habitual, to dissipate from one's body. He required about three days to dry out completely. He dried out in three days.

See also: out

dry run

Fig. an attempt; a practice or rehearsal. We had better have a dry run for the official ceremony tomorrow. The children will need another dry run before their procession in the pageant.

See also: run

dry spell

Rur. a period with no rain. The dry spell killed the crops. We ain't had such a long dry spell since 1988.

See also: spell

dry up 

1. Lit. [for something] to dry away to nothing. Finally, the water on the track dried up, and the race was able to continue. When will the fields dry up so we can plant?

2. Fig. [for someone] to be quiet or go away. Dry up, you jerk! I wish you would dry up!

See also: up

dry-gulch someone

to ambush someone. The outlaw dry-gulched the traveler and took everything he had. The posse planned to dry-gulch the outlaw by waiting outside his favorite saloon.

hang someone out to dry

Fig. to defeat or punish someone. The boss was really angry at Billie. He yelled at him and hung him out to dry.

See also: hang, out

high and dry

Fig. safe; unbothered by difficulties; unscathed. (As if someone or something were safe from a flood. See also leave someone high and dry.) While the riot was going on down on the streets, I was high and dry in my apartment. Liz came out of the argument high and dry.

See also: and, high

leave someone high and dry 

1. Lit. [for water] to recede and leave someone untouched. The waters receded and left us high and dry.

2. Fig. to leave someone unsupported and unable to maneuver; to leave someone helpless. All my workers quit and left me high and dry. All the children ran away and left Billy high and dry to take the blame for the broken window.

3. Fig. to leave someone flat broke. Mrs. Franklin took all the money out of the bank and left Mr. Franklin high and dry. Paying the bills always leaves me high and dry.

See also: and, high, leave

Put your trust in God, and keep your powder dry. and Keep your powder dry.

Prov. Have faith that God will make sure that you win a conflict, but be prepared to fight well and vigorously. (Supposed to have been said by Oliver Cromwell; powder means gunpowder.) Bill: Am I going to win my lawsuit? Alan: All you can do is put your trust in God, and keep your powder dry.

See also: and, keep, powder, put, trust

wet behind the ears and not dry behind the ears; hardly dry behind the ears

Fig. young and inexperienced. John's too young to take on a job like this! He's still wet behind the ears! He may be wet behind the ears, but he's well-trained and totally competent. Tom is going into business by himself? Why, he's hardly dry behind the ears.

See also: behind, ear, wet

You never miss the water till the well runs dry.

Prov. People are not grateful for what they have until they lose it. Jill: I never realized what a good friend Jeanie was until she moved away. Jane: You never miss the water till the well runs dry.

See also: miss, never, run, till, water, well

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a dry run  (British, American & Australian) also a dummy run (British & Australian)

an occasion when you practise doing something to make sure there will be no problems when you really do it We decided to do a dry run at the church the day before the wedding. We'd better have a couple of dummy runs before we do the real thing.

See also: run

be as dry as a bone

to be extremely dry I don't think he's been watering these plants - the soil's as dry as a bone.

See also: bone

be bone dry  also be as dry as a bone

to be completely dry The ground was bone dry after 3 weeks without rain.

See also: bone

be home and dry  (mainly British) also be home and hosed (Australian)

to have completed something successfully I've just got one more report to write and I'll be home and dry.

See also: and, home

be like watching paint dry  (humorous) also be as interesting as watching paint dry (humorous)

if you say that watching an activity is like watching paint dry, you mean that it is very boring To me, watching golf on television is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

See also: like, paint, watch

bleed somebody dry

to take someone's money until most or all of it has gone Repayments on the new furniture were bleeding me dry.

See also: bleed

hang somebody out to dry

to get someone into trouble, especially by making them take the blame for a bad situation When the department got into difficulties, his bosses simply hung him out to dry.

See also: hang, out

keep your powder dry

to be ready to take action if necessary All you have to do is keep your powder dry and await orders.

See also: keep, powder

leave somebody high and dry

to put someone in a very difficult situation which they have no way of making better The stock market crash left us high and dry with debts of over £200 000.

See also: and, high, leave

There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

something that you say which means that all the people in a particular place were very sad about what they had seen or heard and many of them were crying She began to talk about her son who had died and by the end of her speech there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

See be bone dry, bleed dry, hang out to dry, a dry run

See also: eye, house

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bleed somebody/something dry

to use up everything someone or something has available The city is losing money at a rate that eventually will bleed it dry. I'm worried that the medical bills will bleed my parents dry.

Etymology: based on the idea of a person losing so much blood that they die

See also: bleed

dry up

to disappear Many of those jobs dried up in the 1990s. Funding has all but dried up for new research in the field.

See also: up

hang somebody out to dry

to not support or help someone After losing the election, the party is going to hang him out to dry.

Etymology: based on the practice of hanging an animal that has been killed in a tree so its meat can dry

See also: hang, out

keep your powder dry

to be ready to do something if necessary We're not ready to start buying yet. We'll keep our powder dry until we think prices are as low as they'll go.

Etymology: from the idea that gunpowder (an explosive substance in the form of a powder) will not explode if it is wet

See also: keep, powder

leave you high and dry

to leave you alone and without any help We were left high and dry, without any money or credit cards.

See also: and, high, leave

not a dry eye (in the house)

everyone is crying or feels strong emotion When he sang the beautiful old Austrian folksong, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Etymology: based on a special meaning of the house (the people attending a performance in a theater)

See also: eye

run dry

to be all used completely We have been told the Social Security trust fund will run dry in a few more years because so many people will be retiring.

See also: run

wet behind the ears

young and not experienced The job put a lot of responsibility on someone who was still wet behind the ears, but he learned fast.

See also: behind, ear, wet