Like “does the Pope shit in the woods?” or “that train has sailed?”

Also, what good examples can you think of?

  • SatyrSack@lemmy.one
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    3 months ago

    They are focusing on the dry part of the term. Using a liquid during the process goes against the dry part.

    • NielsBohron@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      3 months ago

      I would tend to disagree with the Cambridge example, because liquids can be dry. “Dry” liquids are anhydrous, meaning they’ve been treated to remove any water.

      Source: Am chemist and I teach O-Chem, which frequently uses dry solvents, like anhydrous acetone.

      • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        But PERC, the chemical used in “dry cleaning” is NOT a dry liquid, so the existence of dry liquids is also not relevant to their example.

        I can’t figure out if the confusion is caused by unfamiliarity with the term dry cleaning, or just a feeble grasp of logic.

        • NielsBohron@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          3 months ago

          PERC

          Perchloroethylene (aka tetrachloroethene) is a completely non-polar compound, so, yes, it is a dry liquid.

          • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            3 months ago

            Fair enough. My initial quick google research implied otherwise.

            I’m not claiming to be an expert, although I’m not finding anything that uses the term dry liquid to refer to Tetrachloroethylene. Sounds to me like another misnomer. But, I won’t say you’re wrong.