As dull as...............?

[Niamh.]

I always thought it was dishwater but I've seen alot of people on here say ditchwater. Which is it? :shocked:

[Maia]

I've never heard anyone say ditchwater :suspect:

[Samuel.]

Dishwater, surely.

[Roy Mars III]

Ditchwater is the correct saying

[Lee.]

Ditchwater :)

[Niamh.]

:suspect:

[Benjamin]

Dishwater.

[Kate!]

It is literally ditchwater, but I always say dishwater :)

[Roy Mars III]

We say ditchwater in America :shrug:

[Niamh.]

Now I'm even more confused :laugh:

[Lee.]

It's definitely ditchwater but over time people have mis-pronounced it as dishwater. I think both are used now, but it was originally ditchwater

[Niamh.]

It's definitely ditchwater but over time people have mis-pronounced it as dishwater. I think both are used now, but it was originally ditchwater

Dishwater makes more sense :hmph:

[Roy Mars III]

I was just joking around, I've always heard and used dishwater

[Brother Leon]

Fishwater :p

[Omah]

Ditchwater

Used in a critique of 1870

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothair_(novel)

Lothair (1870) was the first novel written by Benjamin Disraeli after his first term as Prime Minister. It deals with the comparative merits of the Catholic and Anglican churches as heirs of Judaism, and with the topical question of Italian unification.

The Quarterly Review called Disraeli's production:

A book which he calls a novel, but which is after all a political pamphlet, and a bid for the bigoted voices of Exeter Hall… It sins alike against good taste and justice…That there are happy thoughts and epigrammatic sentences sown broadcast in its pages need scarcely be said of a novel written by Mr. Disraeli. But as the true pearl lies embedded in the loose fibre of a mollusc, so Mr. Disraeli's gems of speech and thought are hidden in a vast maze of verbiage which can seldom be called English, and very frequently is downright nonsense…So far as feeling is concerned Lothair is as dull as ditch-water and as flat as a flounder.

[Benjamin]

I think either is can be used since both forms of water found in both are pretty dull.

[Pyramid*]

I've heard both phrases used - it could be a regional thing perhaps.

[Jules2]

We say ditchwater in America :shrug:

always been ditchwater to me, think about it dishwater can be bubbly and clean.

[Niamh.]

always been ditchwater to me, think about it dishwater can be bubbly and clean.

Not after you wash dirty dishes in it :nono:

[Roy Mars III]

always been ditchwater to me, think about it dishwater can be bubbly and clean.

what's ditchwater?

[Niamh.]

what's ditchwater?

Ditches are long trenches or holes that are often found on the sides of highways, roadways etc. A ditch usually contains water (that's primarily why people dig ditches) and the water in it is usually dirty and dark as a result. [/Google]

[Roy Mars III]

Ditches are long trenches or holes that are often found on the sides of highways, roadways etc. A ditch usually contains water (that's primarily why people dig ditches) and the water in it is usually dirty and dark as a result. [/Google]

Oh, it's just water from a ditch.

For me

http://cdn-images.hollywood.com/cms/300x375/7236163.jpg

[Lee.]

what's ditchwater?

Water that sits in a ditch... if you don't know what a ditch is, its like a trench or a dyke :)

[Niamh.]

Oh, it's just water from a ditch.

For me

http://cdn-images.hollywood.com/cms/300x375/7236163.jpg

:laugh:

[Josy]

Dishwater

[fruit_cake]

I always assumed it was dishwater

[Angus]

It's ditchwater and the phrase dates back to the 18th century. Ditchwater is muddy and dirty (dull as in opaque, not transparent or clear), and to call someone or something dull as ditchwater plays on its other meaning which is "boring" or "tedious".

[Niamh.]

It's ditchwater and the phrase dates back to the 18th century. Ditchwater is muddy and dirty (dull as in opaque, not transparent or clear), and to call someone or something dull as ditchwater plays on its other meaning which is "boring" or "tedious".

It was you who inspired this thread :love:

[GypsyGoth]

Dishwater isn't always dull, sometimes it's pretty clear, whereas ditchwater is dull.

[Niall]

Ditchwater? :conf2: I've never heard anyone say that, or type it on this forum. D:

It's dishwater.

[Marc]

I've never heard anyone say ditchwater :suspect:

This.

Who says it's ditchwater?

[Niamh.]

This.

Who says it's ditchwater?

Well, it was actually Angus who inspired me to start this thread as I noticed her say ditchwater. I saw a few other people use it too but I can't remember who

[Kazanne]

It's dishwater,where I live,but both make sense.

[Marc]

Wait what? It's actually ditchwater?

What the hell is that, water in a ditch?

[Marc]

This thread has blown my mind :shocked:

[Niamh.]

This thread has blown my mind :shocked:

:laugh:

[joeysteele]

I think it's as 'dull as ditchwater' originally but people over time have come to use dishwater instead of that. All the people I know who say it use the term dishwater.

Come to think of it it would depend how dirty the dishes were as to how dull the dishwater would be whereas water in a ditch is always likely to be dull,dirty and clouded.

[Maia]

I'm pretty sure I've even heard some people say "dull as a dishwasher"

[Marc]

I'm pretty sure I've even heard some people say "dull as a dishwasher"

:laugh: Those people suffer from poor vocabulary

[Omah]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ditchwater

ditchwater
[dich-waw-ter, -wot-er]  

noun
1.
water, especially stagnant and dirty water, that has collected in a ditch.

Idiom
2.
dull as ditchwater. dishwater ( def. 2 ) .

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English. See ditch, water

ditchwater (ˈdɪtʃˌwɔːtə)

— n

1.

stagnant water

2.

as dull as ditchwater , ditchwater extremely uninspiring

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dishwater

dishwater
[dish-waw-ter, -wot-er]  

noun
1.
water in which dishes are, or have been, washed.

Idiom
2.
dull as dishwater / ditchwater, extremely dull; boring.

Origin:
1475–85; dish + water

dishwater (ˈdɪʃˌwɔːtə)

— n

1.

water in which dishes and kitchen utensils are or have been washed

2.

something resembling this: that was dishwater, not coffee

IMO, it should be "ditch-water", i.e. a stagnant and lifeless pool (in which nothing can survive)

"dishwater" is usually fresh water contaminated by the remnants of a meals/drinks, thus resembling a thin, murky soup (from which "life" could eventually emerge)

:idc:

[Marc]

http://i40.tinypic.com/o8xor8.jpg

[spitfire]

Dish.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

ditchwater sal :amazed:

[Suze]

I always thought it was dishwater but I've seen alot of people on here say ditchwater. Which is it? :shocked:

I always thought the same as you, Niamh, but think it is ditchwater and it has just changed over time, a bit like Chinese whispers people probably thought others were saying dishwater so it stuck.

[Mystic Mock]

Everybody that I know says dishwater and imo that's what it is.

What the heck is ditchwater?:joker:

[fruit_cake]

team dishes ftw

[Omah]

I always thought the same as you, Niamh, but think it is ditchwater and it has just changed over time, a bit like Chinese whispers people probably thought others were saying dishwater so it stuck.

Yeah, just like "would've" and "should've" have become "would of" and "should of" ..... language is inevitably corrupted ..... ;)

[Angus]

Language is organic and is constantly evolving. The correct derivation comes from "dull as ditchwater", but "dull as dishwater" also makes sense, so it really doesn't matter which is used, since we all know what is meant:blush:

[Harry!]

I say Dishwater.

[King Gizzard]

Dishwater is easier to say