Definition of "dirty"

Many persons are more comfortable when they are dirty than when they are clean; but that does not recommend dirt as a national policy.

1905, George Bernard Shaw, The author's apology from Mrs. Warren's Profession, page 61

We have quite a playful and fun relationship in general, but it’s still surprising how dirty our sex can be in the things we say or do or pretend. We often laugh about it afterwards.

2023 May 13, Kitty Drake, “This is how we do it: ‘A tired, throwaway midweek shag doesn’t interest me’”, in The Guardian‎

The world 'as got me snouted jist a treat; Crool Forchin's dirty left 'as smote me soul.

1915, C.J. Dennis, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, published 1916, page 13

The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. […] Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained.

2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27

Notice that an asterisk has been added to the filename in the edit window tabs. This is a simple reminder that the file is “dirty” and needs saving.

2008, Stephen R. G. Fraser, Real World ASP.NET: Building a Content Management System, page 105

Storms of wind, clouds of dust, an angry, dirty sea.

1867, Matthew Arnold, On the Study of Celtic Literature

Rain type 17 was a dirty blatter battering against his windscreen so hard that it didn't make much odds whether he had his wipers on or off.

1984, Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

You can call it quick-and-dirty if you like, but there are billions of dollars out there riding on the supposition that fast food is not necessarily dirty food.

2003, Tom Christiansen, Nathan Torkington, Perl Cookbook, page xix

Piled high and oozing all the trimmings, the dirty burgers here are decidedly good – spice things up with jalapeños, brie or a seriously sticky BBQ sauce.

2019, Oliver Berry, Fionn Davenport, Lonely Planet England

Dirty keto refers to an approach that follows the typical keto macro ratios, but the components include “dirty” foods like fast food, packaged convenience foods, processed meats, artificially sweetened diet sodas and sports drinks, and unhealthy […]

2020, Mellissa Sevigny, Squeaky Clean Keto: Next Level Keto to Hack Your Health, Victory Belt Publishing, page 13

The markers for the slow line signals have been arranged at cab level, but for the inner fast lines they have had to be kept low in the "six-foot", with the result that they tend to be badly dirtied by passing traffic.

1960 March, “Talking of Trains: S.R. signalling innovation”, in Trains Illustrated, page 135