down-and-dirty

[ doun-uhn-dur-tee ]

adjective

, Informal.

1. unscrupulous; nasty:

   a down-and-dirty election campaign.

2. earthy; funky.

down and dirty

adjective

1. ruthlessly competitive or underhand

   if Bush gets down and dirty the Governor will give as good as he gets

2. uninhibited; frank

Word History and Origins

Origin of down-and-dirty¹

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

I immediately replied yes, envisioning that I’d swim with sharks in South Africa or track polar bears in Alaska so, of course, I got sent to a down-and-dirty campsite in Vermont for a show called “Building Wild.”

From Los Angeles Times

As the country prepares to select a new president, it seems fitting that some of the most nominated series are fueled by the art, strategy and down-and-dirty combat of politics.

From Los Angeles Times

The thriller “Monkey Man” opens on a tender scene and a nod to the power of storytelling, only to quickly get down to down-and-dirty, action-movie business with a flurry of hard blows and faster edits.

From New York Times

Further hints of Burroughs are daubed here and there throughout the twin McCarthy books: the unseemly characters populating a down-and-dirty underworld, dubious detectives and layers of pulp noir, mental wards and medical jargon, an unreliable plot — plenty of elements feel like they would be right at home in the infamous Beat writer's Interzone junkscape.

From Salon

In a series rife with story angles and subplots — alleged cheap shots perpetrated by each team, off-ice drama, injuries — it was good, old-fashioned down-and-dirty hockey that mesmerized most thoroughly.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• bawdy
• crude
• ribald
• vulgar