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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Staff here are always at the ready during the day to prepare specialty coffees for those who choose to make the lounge an impromptu office.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
14 May 2026
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Those comments, viewed dimly by some German politicians, prompted the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), which bankrolls and oversees the Berlinale, to call an impromptu meeting to discuss the future of the Berlinale and Tricia Tuttle’s leadership as festival director.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
10 May 2026
Adjective
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Joined on his visit by son Hunter, what Fieri (and likely many viewers) discovered was a chef turning out dishes that are at once creative and accessible, improvisational yet simple.—
Ben Crandell,
Sun Sentinel,
13 May 2026
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But seeing the improvisational group War Babies provided the clarity Short desperately needed.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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Allison Barr/The Oregonian via AP Portland police said in a statement Saturday night that during an ensuing search of the vehicle and building, investigators located several incendiary and improvised explosive devices, some of which had partially detonated.—
Faris Tanyos,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
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She was blessed with an unstinting energy and buoyancy that had her dashing off postcards far and wide, answering e-mails with improvised poetry, and cold-calling younger writers to offer encouragement.—
Pico Iyer,
Air Mail,
2 May 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 14 May. 2026.
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