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Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul when hot for certainties in this our life!
George Meredith

Meaning of "a dusty answer" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF A DUSTY ANSWER

a dusty answer play
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WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE A DUSTY ANSWER

a chip off the old block
a closed book
a couple of
a cut above
a dime a dozen
a dog´s chance
a dog´s dinner
a dog´s life
a drop in the bucket
a drowning man will clutch at a straw
a fair crack of the whip
a far cry
a fast buck
a fine kettle of fish
a flea in one´s ear
a foot in the door
a fortiori
a free hand
a frog in one´s throat
a full plate

WORDS THAT END LIKE A DUSTY ANSWER

answer
blower
brewer
drawer
empower
flower
follower
horsepower
lower
nonanswer
not take no for an answer
power
re-answer
reviewer
sewer
shower
sunflower
tower
traffic control tower
viewer

Synonyms and antonyms of a dusty answer in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «a dusty answer» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF A DUSTY ANSWER

Find out the translation of a dusty answer to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of a dusty answer from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «a dusty answer» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

一个尘土飞扬的回答
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

una respuesta polvoriento
570 millions of speakers

English

a dusty answer
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

एक धूल जवाब
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

إجابة المتربة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

пыльная ответ
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

uma resposta empoeirado
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

একটি ধুলো উত্তর
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

une réponse poussiéreux
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Jawapan yang berdebu
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

eine staubige Antwort
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ほこりっぽい​​答え
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

먼지가 답
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Jawaban sing blangkon
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

một câu trả lời đầy bụi
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

ஒரு தூசி பதில்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

एक धुळीचा उत्तर
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Tozlu bir cevap
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

una risposta polveroso
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

zakurzone odpowiedź
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

курна відповідь
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

un răspuns plin de praf
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ένα σκονισμένο απάντηση
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

´n stowwerige antwoord
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

en dammig svar
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

en støvete svar
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of a dusty answer

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «A DUSTY ANSWER»

The term «a dusty answer» is normally little used and occupies the 126.369 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
41
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «a dusty answer» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of a dusty answer
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «a dusty answer».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «A DUSTY ANSWER» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «a dusty answer» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «a dusty answer» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about a dusty answer

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «A DUSTY ANSWER»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word a dusty answer.
1
George Meredith
Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul when hot for certainties in this our life!

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «A DUSTY ANSWER»

Discover the use of a dusty answer in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to a dusty answer and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Shorter Slang Dictionary
Since the mid-19th century. dusty answer a bad-tempered, uncooperative reply, as in to give (sb) a dusty answer, to get a dusty answer. dyke or dike a lesbian. Adopted from the USA around 1935. dykey or dikey lesbian. Since the late 1930s .
Paul Beale, Eric Partridge, Rosalind Fergusson, 2003
2
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms
British 6 The source ofthis expression is probably a passage in George Meredith's Modern Love (1862): 'Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul when hot for certainties in this our life!' not so dusty (of a person's health or situation) fairly ...
John Ayto, 2010
3
The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms
dusty. a dusty answer a curt and unhelpful reply. British The source of this expression is probably a passage in George Meredith's Modern Love (1862): 'Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul when hot for certainties in this our life!' ...
Judith Siefring, 2004
4
Sterling Dictionary of Idioms
DUSTY 'a dusty answer curt rejection of a request; unfriendly refusal When she requested him to lend her some money, she got a dusty answer. DUTCH Dutch courage courage that comes from drinking alcohol He always showed his Dutch  ...
Vijaya Kumar, 1998
5
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English
184). give (someone) - or get - a dusty answer. To give, or get, 'the rough side of someone's tongue', a bad-tempered, unco-operative reply: coll.: C.20. 'If he comes that old flannel with me, he'll jolly soon get a dusty answer, I can tell you!
Eric Partridge, 2006
6
England, Their England: Commentaries on English Language and ...
Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul When hot for certainties in this our life!— In tragic hints here see what evermore Moves dark as yonder midnight ocean's force, Thundering like ramping hosts of warrior horse, To throw that faint thin line  ...
Denis Donoghue, 1989
7
Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins
A dusty answer is a curt and unhelpful reply. The expression comes from the 1862 poem 'Modern Love' by George Meredith: 'Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul / When hot for certainties in this our life!' Dutch [LME] From the Middle Ages up ...
Julia Cresswell, 2010
8
Wright Morris Territory: A Treasury of Work
From one, withoutwarning, he intoned— Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul When hotfor certainty in this our life. Kashperl made no sign. The finger of god might have written this message on the wall ofhis mind. A dusty answer. Vintage  ...
Wright Morris, David Madden, Alicia Christensen, 2011
9
Studies in the Book of Job
Legabhey homer. Had Meredith been an authority on the Semitic languages he might have been suspected of plagiarism when he wrote: — Oh what a dusty answer gets the soul. [PF 112: Neither "defences" (I.C.C.) nor Stevenson's seemingly ...
Alfred Guillaume, John F. MacDonald, 1968
10
The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
See also ASHESto ashes, dust to dust, aPECKof dust in March. dusty answer an unsatisfactory reply; perhaps originally as a quotation from George Meredith's Modern Love (1862), 'Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul When hot for ...
Elizabeth Knowles, 2006

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «A DUSTY ANSWER»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term a dusty answer is used in the context of the following news items.
1
The Scottish Nationalists Lost the Referendum, So Stop Treating …
... matters (schools, hospitals, fox hunting, you name it) over which English MPs have no control in Scotland – will now receive a dusty answer. «Breitbart News, Nov 14»
2
Galactic roles, a cosmic puzzle and a dusty answer
Giant galaxies are the ones that catch the space enthusiast's eye, with their spiral patterns or cigar-like blobs in images taken with large ... «Skymania News, Jul 14»
3
Dishonourable honours
McMahon made the recommendations but got ''a dusty answer''. Both nominees were rejected by the British and had to settle with ''Sir'' rather ... «Sydney Morning Herald, Jun 14»
4
Cell phone problems are huge market opportunities
Suggest one of the tiny new smart watches to them as a cell phone improvement and you will get a dusty answer. Yet many of them have plenty ... «IDTechEx.com, Mar 14»
5
Why is Nick Clegg letting ME get booed over Lord Rennard questions?
Mr Clegg gave what can only be described as a dusty answer, so all my other inquiries will have to wait until another day. Is it the case that ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Jan 14»
6
Patrick Mercer: An everyday story of deception in Parliament
He could ask a question and get a dusty answer. Or he can table an EDM. None of these consequences will get anywhere at all; the MP and ... «The Independent, Jun 13»
7
NATIONAL CHARACTER
'Ah what a dusty answer finds the soul when hot for certainty in this our life', is a line from Meredith which I loved at University. 'The best lack all ... «The Fortnightly Review, Nov 12»
8
'At my age I don't give a damn what I say'
She “got a dusty answer” for speaking out of context, but she had made her point. Baroness Trumpington is unreformable. When she was in her ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Aug 12»
9
Mary Berry: queen of cakes
What does she think when the contestants cry over a cake collapsing in The Great British Bake Off, I ask, expecting a dusty answer. After all ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Sep 11»
10
The Quality of Mercy, By Barry Unsworth
... the mutineers in their prison yard and hoping to enrol them on freedom's side in the matter of the drowned slaves, gets a dusty answer. «The Independent, Aug 11»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. A dusty answer [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/a-dusty-answer>. Apr 2024 ».
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