"Dry Run" in Wordorigins Archive 17 (02-03/05) Forum

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"Dry Run"

Author	Comment
russ902	"Dry Run"	Lead	[-]
Posts: 2 Feb 11 05 1:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None As per the etymology for "dry run", I wonder if the roots to its artillery past aren't stronger than what is given on the site... When muzzle-loading cannon is fired, the bore is swabbed out with a wet sponge on a pole so that the embers from the shot that was fired, do not prematurely ignite the gunpowder that is being loaded for the next shot. Of course, if the exercise is just a drill, there would be no need for a wet sponge. A dry one would be used. Hence, "dry run"?
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ozziemaland	Re: "Dry Run"	#1	[-]
Posts: 5545 Feb 11 05 2:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In the Big List's entry for "dry run," Dave links to Scheidlower. At the linked page, there is this entry: The F Word, Second Edition; Jesse Sheidlower, editor; Random House; 1999. I conclude that Dave should delete the /c/ in the link. On edit: Also, russ902 should learn the difference between "entomology" and "etymology." On second edit: Nice editing, and welcome to the board, russ902.
Dr Techie	Re: "Dry Run"	#2	[-]
Posts: 9773 Feb 11 05 3:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There is another, earlier, sense of "dry run": a dry creekbed or gully. This and the modern sense of "dry run" share the notion of having "the form but not the substance", and I wonder if deriving the modern sense of "dry run" from "dry fuck" instead of the older sense of "dry run" isn't being over-clever. Also, I'm wondering what the evidence is for an origin in artillery. The OED2 has a 1941 cite, but such as it is, it doesn't seem to be particularly military or artillery-related: "1941 Amer. Speech XVI. 165/1 Dry run, to practice; a dress rehearsal." Dave may well have another source for this, but if it was already being used in a general sense by 1941, a citation of its use in the context of artillery from the same year wouldn't necessarily indicate an origin there; it could mean simply that cannoneers adopted an already-common expression to their particular situation.
russ902	RE: Dry Run	#3	[-]
Posts: 2 Feb 11 05 5:02 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If the artillery is the source for the usage for "dry run", then the use may have started as early as 1400-1850 time frame. That is when these types of artillery pieces were used, and trained on. Training manuals would be the place to look for this usage. (BTW, the "Rammer" is the guy who wields the sponge. See: http://dguptill.home.mindspring.com/cannon1.htm ) I should add that when a firing range on a military base is ready to start shooting, the Range Commander asks for permission to "go wet". A flag is raised and the shooting starts. I never thought of it before but the dry/wet concept really does present itself in a wide variety of topics.
Douglas Wilson	Re: RE: Dry Run	#4	[-]
Posts: 408 Feb 11 05 5:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Quinion shows a plausible origin for "dry run" IMHO: www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dry1.htm
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ozziemaland	Re: RE: Dry Run	#5	[-]
Posts: 5545 Feb 11 05 6:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mr. Wilson is way too modest -- Quinion cites Wilson for all the essentials of his essay. But I like the speculation very much, especially since it's co-temporaneous with the generally accepted etymology of "on the wagon." The ladies of the WCTU, persuading ex-drinkers to parade through town on a wagon, seems of a piece with fire departments doing wet or dry runs for edification of the populace.
Dr Techie	Re: RE: Dry Run	#6	[-]
Posts: 9773 Feb 11 05 7:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Most impressive!
DaveWilton	Re: RE: Dry Run	#7	[-]
Posts: 7492 Feb 11 05 9:24 PM Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The 1941 American Speech article is a glossary of American slang. I don't remember why I connected it with artillery (this is one of the oldest entries on the site and I did not keep good notes in those days), but I must have had some reason. And an artillery term does not necessarily have to date to the 15th century. Sure that's when artillery was invented, but that doesn't mean that all artillery terms date to that era. But all this is irrelevant, given the evidence that Douglas Wilson found and is documented on Quinion's site. My entry needs updating.
nbsphinx	Re: "Dry Run"	#8	[-]
Posts: 434 Feb 12 05 5:51 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	When I took Basic training and got my boots, I went through the standard "machine gun" course. "We" rehearsed by crawling around on the ground, first on our belly,s, then our back,s, and then our sides.. We then went on the "dry run", where we learned to cope with obstacles where "what could go wrong, would go wrong, with out actual catastrophe. Then we went on the "wet run", where I crawled through puddles of water from a flash rain.
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