duds
C1Informal, colloquial, slightly dated.
Definition
Meaning
Clothes or personal belongings, often of poor quality, old, or unsuccessful items.
Informal term for clothing; also used to describe things that fail to work or perform as expected (e.g., fireworks that don't explode).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often used humorously or self-deprecatingly. Plural noun, treated as a collective. Can imply failure or poor quality beyond just clothing.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
More common in American English, but understood in both. In British English, sometimes used more specifically for failed items (like fireworks).
Connotations
US: Strong association with old/unfashionable clothes. UK: Can carry a slightly stronger connotation of 'failures' or 'useless items'.
Frequency
Low frequency in formal contexts. Recognizable but not commonly used by younger generations.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
wear + dudspack + dudsduds + fail/go offa box/batch of + dudsVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “all dressed up in your best duds”
- “a box of duds (complete failures)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare. Possibly in informal marketing: 'Don't sell your customers duds.'
Academic
Virtually never used.
Everyday
Informal talk about clothes or things that don't work: 'Half the fireworks were duds.' 'I need some new duds for the party.'
Technical
Used in munitions/quality control: 'The batch contained three duds.'
Examples
By CEFR Level
- He packed his duds and left the flat.
- The joke was a real dud, nobody laughed.
- She showed up in some ridiculous duds for the themed party.
- We had to return the appliance because it was a dud.
- Despite his expensive duds, he lacked any sense of style.
- The investigation revealed that several of the tested samples were complete duds.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
DUDs are DUmb clothes or DUmb failures. They just Don't UDo anything.
Conceptual Metaphor
CLOTHING ARE COVERINGS/ASSETS; FAILURES ARE INERT OBJECTS.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Not related to 'дуд' (pipe) or 'дудка'. False friend with 'дудочка' (small pipe). Means 'одежда' (old/funny) or 'брак' (defective goods).
Common Mistakes
- Using as singular ('a dud' is correct for one item). Overusing in formal writing. Confusing with 'dudes'.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'duds' LEAST likely to be used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a plural noun, though it refers to a collection. The singular is 'a dud' (one failed item or one piece of clothing informally).
Yes, it commonly refers to items that fail to function, like a dud battery, dud cheque, or dud firework.
Not offensive, but it is informal and can be mildly disparaging, implying the clothes are unfashionable or the items are failures.
From Middle English 'dudde', meaning a cloak or mantle. Evolved to mean ragged clothing, then clothing in general (informally).
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