down-and-dirty
adjective
unscrupulous; nasty.
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down-and-dirty
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down and dirty
down and dirtyadjectiveruthlessly competitive or underhand
down-and-dirty
American
[doun-uhn-dur-tee]
/ ˈdaʊn ənˈdɜr ti /
adjective
Informal.
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unscrupulous; nasty.
a down-and-dirty election campaign.
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earthy; funky.
down and dirty
British
adjective
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ruthlessly competitive or underhand
if Bush gets down and dirty the Governor will give as good as he gets
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uninhibited; frank
down and dirty
Idioms
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Vicious, not governed by rules of decency, as in The candidates are getting down and dirty early in the campaign . [ Slang ; early 1980s]
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Very earthy, uninhibitedly sexual. For example, “L.A. club people rarely get down and dirty on a dance floor” ( The New Yorker , May 21, 1990). [Late 1980s]
Etymology
Origin of down-and-dirty
First recorded in 1985–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“We like to go for a good mix of wild and crazy buildings but also down-and-dirty bridges,” Wolf said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 23, 2022
But they did make it onto the stage, backed by a string quartet and tearing through the down-and-dirty riffs of their opening number, Smile.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2022
Like Cassel, these are actors who could have worked wonders with even a sliver more emotional development, even if it would have been ultimately antithetical to this movie’s down-and-dirty aims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2020
“It can’t be skimmed in a quick, down-and-dirty fashion,” Vance emailed from the road.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2019
Wood got involved in a down-and-dirty lawsuit with the Cooke capitalists.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Sterling, Bruce
Siblings who had no problem splitting up houses and investment accounts can get down and dirty about photo albums.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025
Kelly, who is also chair of the Democratic Governors' Association, said the party needed to improve its digital outreach, and for their strategy to become "down and dirty."
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2025
Some mate hanging upside down from branches, whereas others get down and dirty on cave walls and in rocky crevices.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 20, 2023
His players are dead serious, unflappable and willing to get down and dirty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
So, to whip them into shape, I’m gonna have to get down and dirty.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
