dish-clout
Definition
Noun: A "dish-clout" is a cloth used for washing dishes; a dishcloth or dishrag.
Usage Examples
- (A cloth used for washing dishes.)
- (The cloth had become discoloured from repeated dishwashing.)
Advanced Usage
- "to be as useful as a dish-clout": (archaic or regional) to be considered worthless or of little practical value.
- That broken tool is as useful as a dish-clout in a workshop. (The tool is completely ineffective.)
Variants and Related Words
Dishcloth (n): a cloth for washing dishes; the more common modern synonym.
- She bought a new dishcloth from the store. (A fresh cloth for dishwashing.)
Dishrag (n): a rag used for washing dishes; often implies an old or worn cloth.
- He used an old dishrag to scrub the pots. (A rag designated for dish cleaning.)
Synonyms
- Cloth: a piece of fabric used for cleaning.
- Rag: a piece of old, torn cloth used for cleaning.
Related Idioms
- "to throw in the dish-clout": (rare, figurative) to give up or surrender, especially in a domestic or menial context.
- After hours of trying to fix the sink, he threw in the dish-clout. (He gave up on the task.)
Notes
- The term "dish-clout" is largely archaic or dialectal in modern English; "dishcloth" or "dishrag" are now standard. The word "clout" itself is an old term for a cloth or rag.