Dry, adj., 1) destitute of moisture, not wet: to fan and blow them d. (the wetted cheeks) Ven. 52. “she will draw his lips' rich treasure d.” Ven. 52 “many a d. drop seemed a weeping tear,” Lucr. 1375. “if the river were d.” Gentl. II, 3, 58. III, 2, 75. Merch. III, 2, 206. As IV, 3, 115. Wint. V, 3, 48. R2 II, 2, 146. H4A III, 1, 132. H6C III, 2, 139. IV, 8, 55. Tit. III, 1, 125. Rom. III, 2, 131. Hml. IV, 2, 22. Lr. III, 1, 14. III, 2, 10. III, 6, 79. a d. death (i. e. on land) Tp. I, 1, 72. “a drier death,” Gentl. I, 1, 158. “his d. nurse,” Wiv. I, 2, 4 (misapplied by Evans).
2) sapless, not succulent, not green: “d. combustious matter,” Ven. 1162. “d. oats,” Mids. IV, 1, 36. “d. toasts,” H4B II, 4, 63. “d. cheese,” Troil. V, 4, 11. “stubble,” Cor. II, 1, 274. “drier logs,” Rom. IV, 4, 15. d. meat supposed to make choleric, Err. II, 2, 60.
3) sapless, barren: “graze on my lips, and if those hills be d., stray lower,” Ven. 233. (an oak) “d. with bald antiquity,” As IV, 3, 106. Hence used of the flaccidity of age: “here's his d. hand up and down,” Ado II, 1, 123. cf. H4B I, 2, 204. “these six d., round, old, withered knights,” II, 4, 8. “d. convulsions,” Tp. IV, 260 (cf. old, and aged cramps). “the d. serpigo,” Troil. II, 3, 81. “I will drain him d. as hay,” Mcb. I, 3, 18. A d. hand indicating want of generative faculty: Tw. I, 3, 77.
4) thirsty: “none so d. or thirsty will touch one drop of it,” Shr. V, 2, 144. “when I was d. with rage and extreme toil,” H4A I, 3, 31. “when I have been d., it hath served me instead of a quart pot to drink in,” H6B IV, 10, 14. Troil. II, 3, 234. Tit. III, 1, 14. Rom. III, 5, 59. Hml. IV, 7, 158. cf. the quibbles in LLL V, 2, 373 and Tw. I, 5, 49. Followed by for: “so d. he was for sway,” Tp. I, 2, 112.
5) stupid, insipid: “his brain, which is as d. as the remainder biscuit after a voyage,” As II, 7, 39. “his brain is d. enough,” Troil. I, 3, 329. “this jest is d. to me,” LLL V, 2, 373. “you 're a d. fool,” Tw. I, 5, 45. “what's your jest? a d. jest,” I, 3, 81 (i. e. a jest about stupidity).
6) hard, severe: “a d. basting,” Err. II, 2, 64. (cf. Dry-beat).
Shakespeare Lexicon. Alexander Schmidt. Berlin. Georg Reimer. 1902.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
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