dud
pronunciation
How to pronounce dud in British English:
UK [dʌd]
How to pronounce dud in American English:
US [dʌd]
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- Noun:
- someone who is unsuccessful
- an explosion that fails to occur
- an event that fails badly or is totally ineffectual
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- Adjective:
- failing to detonate; especially not charged with an active explosive
Word Origin
- dud (n.)
- c. 1825, "person in ragged clothing," from duds (q.v.). Sense extended by 1897 to "counterfeit thing," and 1908 to "useless, inefficient person or thing." This led naturally in World War I to "shell which fails to explode," and thence to "expensive failure."
Example
- 1. Cheap central-bank money has doubtless kept some dud banks and their customers afloat .
- 2. Rather than sticking to pluralism , mr cameron wasted time and political capital on the dud theme of the " big society " and naive waffle about voluntarism .
- 3. It will purchase dud assets at above-market prices . It does serve to recapitalize banks , but it rewards the worst offenders and does nothing to restore trust .
- 4. The balance sheets of borrowers and creditors will remain encumbered by dud assets and liabilities , slowing the resumption of credit expansion and risking stagnation of the process of intermediation between saving and investment .
- 5. The government 's plans to set up an asset-management company , or " bad bank " , to take over the rest of the sector 's bad debts are unclear . In particular no one knows who exactly is going to have to fork out to buy the dud loans .