- I first heard this word when professor Kemmer used it to describe something in class. While I was looking up the etymology for quick I could easily notice a semantic shift through the ages. First it meant life or living. Then the meaning was extended via metonymy to “moving.” If a person was living they were moving. Then the meaning narrowed to only mean moving fast. It seems like this word would be used simply because it is trendy. Since it is much longer than saying “rough” it is not more convenient to say quick-and-dirty.
quick-and-dirty
adjective; compounding
Having a rough or imprecise quality.
Etymology : Quick from Old English cwic ‘living’ from Latin vivus ‘alive, living’ from Greek bios ‘life’ + And from Old English ond Cognate with Old Frisian ande, and, an, end, en + drit (ME) + y ‘ADJ’
Source : This is a quick-and-dirty estimate. (lecture, Sep. 2008)
Last modified: 2 December 2008