E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Dirt
is matter in the wrong place. (Lord Palmerston.) This is not true: a diamond or sovereign lost on a road is matter in a wrong place, but certainly is not dirt.
1
Throw plenty of dirt and some will be sure to stick. Scandal always leaves a trail behind.
2
Dirt cheap. Very low-priced. Dirt is so cheap that persons pay others to take it away.
3
To eat dirt is to put up with insults and mortification. An Eastern method of punishment.
4
“If dirt were trumps what a capital hand you would hold!”—Charles Lamb to Martin Burney.
