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dryasdust - 2 dictionary results

dry-as-dust

   [drahy-uhz-duhst]
–adjective
dull and boring: a dry-as-dust biography.
Also, dry⋅as⋅dust.

Origin:
1870–75; after Dr. Dryasdust, a fictitious pedant satirized in the prefaces of Sir Walter Scott's novels
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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dry·as·dust or dry-as-dust     (drī'əz-dŭst')  Pronunciation Key 
n.   A dull, pedantic speaker or writer.

[After Dr. Jonas Dryasdust, a fictitious character to whom Sir Walter Scott dedicated some of his novels.]
dry'as·dust' adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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