Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

quick-and-dirty

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.41 in modern English

Syllables
quick--and-dirty
IPA
33
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Done or constructed in a hasty, approximate, temporarily adequate manner, but not exact, fully formed, or reliable for a long period of time.

noun

An inexpensive, inelegant eatery; a greasy spoon.

American usage; Slang

noun

A quick, temporary fix, estimate, or the like.

Example Sentences

Etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary shows the first usage of this phrase in 1896 in the Boston Globe to describe a place to eat. The first use meaning "slipshod" was from 1939 in the gun-slinging, American Western fiction paperback, "Bounty Guns" by Luke Short.

Usage

Inflected Forms

more quick-and-dirty (comparative) most quick-and-dirty (superlative) quick and dirty (alternative) quick-and-dirties (plural)

Phrases

rough-and-ready shake and bake

Frequently Paired Words

rough-and-ready shake and bake

Synonyms

slipshod

Questions

What does quick-and-dirty mean?
Done or constructed in a hasty, approximate, temporarily adequate manner, but not exact, fully formed, or reliable for a long period of time.
Where does quick-and-dirty come from?
The Oxford English Dictionary shows the first usage of this phrase in 1896 in the Boston Globe to describe a place to eat. The first use meaning "slipshod" was from 1939 in the gun-slinging, American Western fiction paperback, "Bounty Guns" by Luke Short.

How to pronounce quick-and-dirty

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “quick-and-dirty”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “quick-and-dirty”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “quick-and-dirty” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.