dudn.1
/dʌd/, U.S. /dəd/ Chiefly colloquial in later use.† 2. In plural. General or personal effects. Obsolete. rare.† 3. Scottish. Originally: a person dressed in ragged clothing. Hence: a feeble, spiritless, or indolent person. Obsolete.† 4. U.S. Perhaps: = dowdy n.1 Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. Originally: †a cloak or mantle, perhaps esp. one made of coarse cloth (obsolete). In later use: (in plural) clothes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > loose clothing > cloak, mantle, or cape > types of > other
cowlc961
rocheta1325
dud1355
paenulaa1400
jornay1495
jornet1502
glaudkin1518
paludament1543
mantoon1623
mantoplicee1672
bavaroy1713
roquelaure1716
poncho1717
manteel1733
pelerine1744
mat1773
wrap-rascal1796
benish1797
nabob1803
scarf cloak1804
ruana1814
witzchoura1823
all-rounder1837
pardessus1843
visitec1847
tilma1851
talma1852
sontag1859
Inverness cape1865
dolman1872
Niçois1873
Mother Hubbard1877
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > [noun]
clothesc888
hattersOE
shroudc1000
weedOE
shrouda1122
clothc1175
hatteringa1200
atourc1220
back-clout?c1225
habit?c1225
clothingc1275
cleadinga1300
dubbinga1300
shroudinga1300
attirec1300
coverturec1300
suitc1325
apparel1330
buskingc1330
farec1330
harness1340
tire1340
backs1341
geara1350
apparelmentc1374
attiringa1375
vesturec1385
heelinga1387
vestmentc1386
arraya1400
graitha1400
livery1399
tirementa1400
warnementa1400
arrayment1400
parelc1400
werlec1400
raiment?a1425
robinga1450
rayc1450
implements1454
willokc1460
habiliment1470
emparelc1475
atourement1481
indumenta1513
reparel1521
wearing gear1542
revesture1548
claesc1550
case1559
attirement1566
furniture1566
investuring1566
apparelling1567
dud1567
hilback1573
wear1576
dress1586
enfolding1586
caparison1589
plight1590
address1592
ward-ware1598
garnish1600
investments1600
ditement1603
dressing1603
waith1603
thing1605
vestry1606
garb1608
outwall1608
accoutrementa1610
wearing apparel1617
coutrement1621
vestament1632
vestiment1637
equipage1645
cask1646
aguise1647
back-timbera1656
investiture1660
rigging1664
drapery1686
vest1694
plumage1707
bussingc1712
hull1718
paraphernalia1736
togs1779
body clothing1802
slough1808
toggery1812
traps1813
garniture1827
body-clothes1828
garmenture1832
costume1838
fig1839
outfit1840
vestiture1841
outer womana1845
outward man1846
vestiary1846
rag1855
drag1870
clo'1874
parapherna1876
clobber1879
threads1926
mocker1939
schmatte1959
vine1959
kit1989
1355 in A. H. Thomas Cal. Plea & Mem. Rolls London Guildhall (1926) I. 244 (MED) [John Fesaunt..1] dudde.
a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 36 (MED) Lacerna, pallium fymbriatum, a cowle, a dudde, or a gowne.
c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 568/19 Birrus vel Birrum, i. grossum vestimentum, a dudde.
a1529 J. Skelton Poems against Garnesche in Poet Wks. (1843) I. 121 In dud frese ye war schrynyd With better frese lynyd.
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) sig. Giiiiv We wyll fylche some duddes.
a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart (Tullibardine) in Poems (2000) I. 148 Quhen thy duddis ar bedirtin.
1651 T. Randolph et al. Hey for Honesty iii. i. 21/1 By these good stampers, upper and neather Duds; Ile nip from Ruffmans of the Harmanbeck.
1715 Sherrifmuir in Jacobite Songs (1887) 96 The cluds O'clans frae woods in tartan duds Wha glaum'd at kingdoms three, man.
?a1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 207 They toom'd their pocks, they pawn'd their duds.
1816 Mil. Reg. 7 Feb. 178 Should he..have been caught straggling and stripped of his duds..why we shall furnish him out of the best of our kits.
1882 A. Trollope Marion Fay I. iii. 39 To see them [sc. her children] washed and put in and out of their duds was perhaps the greatest pleasure of her life.
1928 Cent. Mag. May 93/2 Get him into the duds. He can shave after.
1980 Guardian 26 Apr. 12/1 A lot of shorthairs in smart duds sitting around blocked out of their boxes on Romilar or blues.
2010 N. Kent Apathy for Devil 126 He looked bad—a vision of toxic bloat in ill-fitting cowboy duds and a boozer's moustache.
b. Chiefly Scottish. A rag, a scrap of cloth; a ragged or shabby item of clothing. Usually in plural. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > ragged or tattered
ragsa1350
dud1508
jag1555
shred1615
rillin1900
1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 213 Criant caritas at duris..Barefut, brekeles, and all in duddis vpdost.
1568 Sym & his Bruder l. 59 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) III. 41 Bot or thay twynd him & his dudis The tyme of none wes tareit.
1720 A. Pennecuik Streams from Helicon (ed. 2) 66 Auld louzy Duds gars ay Folk fidge.
1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess i. 35 A hair-brain'd littleane wagging a' wi' duds.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. v. 136 A ragged rascal, every dud upon whose back was bidding good-day to the other.
1880 W. Besant & J. Rice Seamy Side in Time II. 69 She..was clothed in nothing but old rags and duds.
1901 ‘G. Douglas’ House with Green Shutters vii I'll knock the fleas out of your duds!
2003 D. Purves Jade Lute (SCOTS) But the waekest wyne is aye better nor lew-warm wattir. Auld duds is better nor nae claes ava.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > personal belongings
thingc1300
geara1400
pertinencea1513
furniture1566
duds1665
equipage1716
paraphernalia1736
belonging1817
iktas1856
personalities1858
personalty1865
parapherna1876
shit1934
1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue I. sig. C6v All your duds are binged awast.
1780 R. Tomlinson Slang Pastoral ix. 2 No duds in my pocket, no sea-coal to burn.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Duds, workmen's tools, clothes, personal possessions of small value.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun] > of small significance
dud1721
lightweight1831
tit1881
mess1891
schmuck1892
schmendrick1897
Little Willie1901
schlepper1901
wally1922
klutz1925
twerp1925
twit1934
jerk1935
schmo1937
shmegegge1937
schlep1939
sad sack1943
no-hoper1944
Joe Schmo1947
jerko1949
nerk1955
prat1955
schmucko1959
Herbert1960
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 100 Every Dud bids another good Day. Spoken of People in Rags and Tatters.
1820 J. Hogg Winter Evening Tales I. 274 Tou's naething but a dud to mony o' the chops o' this coontry.
1840 T. Carlyle Let. 3 June in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (1985) XII. 159 A wretched dud called Swinfen Jervis..called one day with his wife, a dirty little atheistical radical.
1896 P. H. Hunter James Inwick (new ed.) xiv. 127 He's a saft dud, yon; he has nae grup o' the politics ava.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [noun] > one who is poorly or shabbily dressed
dowdc1330
dowdy1581
dud1871
tat1936
parish rig1937
1871 M. C. Ames Eirene ii. 20/2 I think she is dressed like a dud. Can't say how she would look in the costume of the present century.
5.
a. A counterfeit, a forgery; (also) a dishonoured cheque.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [noun] > that which is useless > useless person or thing
cumber-worldc1374
cumber-house1541
deaf nut1613
cumber-ground1657
dead duck1844
no good1871
dead wood1877
dead wood1887
blue duck1889
dud1897
cluck1904
non-starter1911
dead loss1927
dreep1927
write-off1935
no-gooder1936
nogoodnik1936
blivet1967
roadkill1990
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > forgery, falsification > [noun] > something false or forged
falsehood1340
counterfeiture1548
forgery1574
bastard1581
man of straw1599
counterfeit1613
imitationa1616
mock1646
pasteboard1648
sophistication1664
imposture1699
fraud1725
sham1728
adulteration1756
falsity1780
duff1781
shim-sham1797
shammy1822
Hodge-razor1843
pinchbeck1847
shice1859
cook-up1865
postiche1876
fakery1880
fake1883
bogosity1893
spuriosity1894
dud1897
cluck1904
rake-up1957
bodgie1988
1897 Daily News 14 Jan. 2/2 He admitted that he knew that he ought not to have sold the piracies, and that such works were known as ‘Duds’.
1962 Daily Mirror 22 Nov. 3 She was sent out with the £5 note, but she came back annoyed because it was a ‘dud’.
2003 J. Penman What Will They Franchise Next? ii. 14 The $5000 deposit cheque was a dud. He fobbed me off with some promises, and then disappeared.
b. A thing which fails to function in the way that it is designed to do; a thing which is in poor condition. Cf. dud adj. 3.During and after the First World War (1914–18) esp. with reference to explosive shells and other ordnance that fail to explode.
ΚΠ
1908 Westm. Gaz. 28 Jan. 4/1 Gambling with ‘Duds’... A ‘dud’ car is a worthless contraption, which..has arrived at a stage when it would be dear at any price.
1915 Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 141 Our weary hearts rejoice When Silent Susan sends us down a dud!
1943 L. McCollum Our Sons at War 133 Many of the shells were duds, and failed to explode.
1965 Pop. Mech. May 82/1 Mariner III had proved a dud when its fiberglass shroud failed to jettison.
2012 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gaz. 13 Aug. 8 a/6 Ambrose later showed up at her home and tried to shoot a friend, but the bullet was a dud.
c. An ineffectual or inept person.
ΚΠ
1908 Captain Apr. 23/2 We want talent, not duds.
1939 Boys' Life Jan. 8/1 Everyone figures the kid brother is a dud because he didn't shine like Halley's comet the first time he took to the floor.
1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels (1983) xi. 273 His parents were duds, unfit to have such a son.
2004 Daily Mirror 18 Aug. 15 The motormouth ‘talked about nothing but himself’ and was a dud in bed.
d. An event or performance that fails to live up to expectations or is otherwise disappointing.
ΚΠ
1919 Chicago Tribune 26 Mar. 19/4 Walter Hast..plans a Chicago production of Jack Lait's ‘One of Us’, which was a ‘dud’ in New York.
1967 Daily Mirror 8 May 11 When we got there it was a dud. No cup of tea, no bangers. Nothing.
2008 O. Tyree Pecking Order iii. 56 Just in case his first event was a dud, he wanted to make sure he still had something to offer them for their efforts.
Compounds
dudman n. now rare (English regional in later use) a scarecrow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > sowing and planting equipment > [noun] > bird-scarer
scarlec1440
scare1530
blencher1531
shail1531
fray-boggard1535
crow-keeper1562
malkinc1565
clacket1594
scarecrow1606
clap-mill1613
field keeper1620
shaw-fowl1621
bean-shatter1639
clapper1660
dudman1670
clack1678
hobidy-booby?1710
worricow1711
cherry-clapper1763
flay-crake1788
potato-bogle1815
cherry-clack1824
feather-piea1825
flay-crow1824
gally-baggar1825
gally-crow1825
bogle1830
tatie-bogle1838
shewel1888
scare-string1889
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > causing physical symptoms > [noun] > scarecrow or device for scaring birds
buga1425
scarlec1440
scare1530
blencher1531
shail1531
fray-boggard1535
malkinc1565
clacket1594
bogle-bo1603
scarecrow1606
blinks1611
clap-mill1613
shaw-fowl1621
dudman1670
hobidy-booby?1710
cherry-clapper1763
flay-crake1788
potato-bogle1815
cherry-clack1824
feather-piea1825
flay-crow1824
gally-baggar1825
gally-crow1825
bogle1830
deadman1839
hodmandod1881
scarer1930
1670 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 3) Dudman, a Maulkin or effigies set up to fright birds from Corn or grain sowed.
1749 J. Wood Ess. Descr. Bath (ed. 2) I. 30 His other name of Bladud..might have arisen from..his appearing as a meer Dudman while he was decked with Feathers.
1842 New Monthly Mag. Nov. 340 They agreed in whispers that he was just like a dudman.
1871 All Year Round 17 June 63/2 Crows were afraid of stones and guns, but as for dudmen (scarecrows), the crows precious soon found out as they could do 'em no harm.
1989 D. H. Fischer Albion's Seed 146 A scarecrow, in his castoff rags was sometimes called a ‘dudman’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† dudn.2
Obsolete. rare (English regional (Lancashire) in later use).
A teat, a nipple.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > breast or breasts (of woman) > [noun] > nipple
papc1175
teat?a1200
pap-head?a1425
big?a1439
wartc1440
teat headc1500
nipplec1510
spin1525
dug1530
spean1573
bud1593
milk papa1616
niplet1648
dud1679
mamilla1684
duddlea1708
diddy1788
tittya1825
knob1941
nip1970
1679 E. Coles Dict. Eng.-Lat. (ed. 2) Dida, a Nurses word for a Dud or Teat.
1875 J. H. Nodal & G. Milner Gloss. Lancs. Dial.: Pt. I 112 Hoo's a rare elder; an' what duds!
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
dudadj.
/dʌd/, U.S. /dəd/ 1. Worthless, lacking in value; counterfeit. Of a cheque: dishonoured.
ΚΠ
1899 Proc. Old Bailey 6 Feb. 245 I have got it, it is a dud lot.
1924 Times 26 Nov. 6/5 Worth had..given him £132 in Treasury notes in settlement of another ‘dud’ cheque.
1959 S. Smith Mostly Murder x. 151 They lived mainly in hotels, moving round the country and leaving a trail of unpaid bills and dud cheques.
1977 Daily Mirror 15 Feb. 18 A dud £10 note is found in the till.
2009 T. Levenson Newton & Counterfeiter ii. 65 The production side of the counterfeiting business was the easy part. The dud coins had to be spent.
2. Unsatisfactory; disappointing; failing to live up to expectations or hopes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [adjective]
leera1250
unprofitablea1398
noughtc1400
inutile1484
unutilea1500
vain1578
useless1593
unuseful1604
serviceless1608
aidless1674
unproductive1713
good-for-nothing1727
nowt1790
invaluable1803
stupid1844
dud1904
puckerooed1919
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > forgery, falsification > [adjective]
counterfeitedc1385
counterfeitc1386
trothlessa1393
bastard1397
forged1484
apocryphate1486
adulterate?a1509
mockisha1513
sophisticate1531
adulterine1542
adulterous1547
mock1548
forbate1558
coined1582
firking1594
feigned1598
adulterated1610
apocryphal1612
spurious1615
usurpeda1616
impostured1619
mock-madea1625
suppository1641
affictitious1656
pasteboard1659
sophisticated1673
flam1678
Brummagem1679
sham1681
belieda1718
fictitious1739
Birmingham1785
pinchbeck1790
brummish1803
Brum1805
flash1812
spurious1830
bogus1839
imitative1839
dummy1846
doctored1853
postiche1854
pseudo1854
Brummagemish1855
snide1859
inauthentic1860
fake1879
bum1884
Brummie1886
tin1886
filled1887
duff1889
faked1890
shicec1890
margarine1891
dud1904
Potemkin village1904
mocked-up1919
phoney baloney1936
four-flushing1942
bodgie1956
moody1958
disauthentic1960
bodgied1988
bodgied-up1988
1904 Daily Chron. 13 May 6/3 Wanted comedy and dramatic sketches. Something with life and go in it. No Dud stuff required.
1929 Star 21 Aug. 14/4 Hitherto, he has met with rotten luck in Africa. Seemed to strike one dud patch after another.
1966 Times 9 Dec. 8/3 There are fewer dud performances on television than on sound radio.
1990 Sphere July 10/1 Who really wants to know about the dud interviews..or those grisly nights in the wrong hotel.
2013 W. Courtney Extraordinary Circumstances 68 The meal was fair and the conversation was good..but it seemed like this was going to be a dud evening.
3. Defective; worn out; not fit for purpose.
ΚΠ
1908 Westm. Gaz. 28 Jan. 4/1 A ‘dud’ car is a worthless contraption, which..has arrived at a stage when it would be dear at any price.
1939 M. Relton Man in East iii. ii. 256 Having to talk to my invisible communicant in French, and on a dud machine, was a nightmare.
1962 Las Vegas (New Mexico) Daily Optic 29 Aug. 8/1 A boy was killed and four children were badly maimed last month when what was thought to be a dud shell..exploded in a local back yard.
2002 Daily Mirror 5 Aug. 36 The MoD is putting our lads' lives at risk with this dud equipment.
4. Of a person: inept, ineffectual; lacking in talent or ability.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > [adjective] > unavailing
gainlessc1175
speedless13..
unspeedfula1340
ineffectualc1425
frustratory1490
unvailablea1500
frustrate1529
uneffectual1548
unavailable1549
unfectual1549
bootless1559
dudgeon?1589
inavailable1650
unavailing1672
dud1914
1914 H. Wyndham Limelight iii. 31 Escaped lunatics, dud actors, bar performers, and those who don't mean business, save stamps.
1932 Motion Picture Herald 16 Jan. 39/1 I have known of so many absolutely dud musicians receiving remuneration which, compared with their accomplishments, was entirely absurd.
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Feb. 73/4 The dud violinists rehearsing in the next room.
1981 Observer 19 July 28/2 The dud writer in ‘The Aleph’..is very comic.
2014 A. R. Stampler Afterparty xlvi. 282 So I can be the sulky dud boyfriend who screws up your Valentine's Day and Jean-Luc can be the one who sends you the camellias?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11355
n.21679
adj.1899