as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
hoisting aloft the down and dirty sign that we had just made, we joined the protest
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Recent Examples of down and dirty
The Wilson, North Carolina native can get as down and dirty as your regular country boy and can also fit in among the greats.
—
Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for down and dirty
Adjective
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Expect impromptu plans with friends or family and little side quests that end up being the highlight of your week.—
Steph Koyfman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Apr. 2026
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Other quirky clips included her impromptu bouquet toss and high heels nearly breaking.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This is in part attributable to his fully improvisational approach to song construction, writing nothing down.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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And the six actors in this farcical rom-com are united in their performance style and improvisational tone.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Mizrak can launch from regular runways or from improvised sites.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
1 May 2026
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During the last decade, Parker’s routine has fostered one of the country’s most compelling new music scenes, where players from diverse backgrounds and demographics have converged to create wildly accessible improvised music.—
Grayson Haver Currin,
Pitchfork,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Both are ad hoc and incomplete.—
Evan Johnson,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2026
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Similar cases include 3M’s accidental invention of Post-it Notes (first used as ad hoc bookmarks for hymnals); Shopify’s pivot from selling snowboards to enabling e-commerce infrastructure; and Instagram’s shift from a cluttered check-in app to a focused photo-sharing platform.—
Kumar Rakesh Ranjan,
The Conversation,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Down and dirty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/down%20and%20dirty. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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