Talk:dip

There is a colloquial use of the word "dip" that means a stupid person -- shortened from "dipstick" or "dipshit." I use it and learned it by hearing it used. — This comment was unsigned.

I'm not so sure about the etymology, but the sense is one I had heard in the early 60s in NYC. MWOnline suggests that it was used in the 1930s and say it is a back-formation from (deprecated template usage) dippy, which dates to 1899 and which they show as "origin unknown". They also show dipstick as a euphemism for dipshit with they date to 1962 (close to when I heard it). DCDuring TALK 00:48, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Etymology

Is this the causative of deep? 72.160.196.200 00:21, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes, kind of. They are closely related. Kolmiel (talk) 00:44, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

interjection

i saw this in a webcomic and i assumed it was a made-up expression meant to sound cute, but apparently this is a real thing ... "oh dip". I only know it now because I saw it used somewhere else with no explanation. —Soap— 21:06, 9 October 2020 (UTC)

Also a kind of flap for electrical sockets?

The Academic Dictionary of Film, Television and Theatre (page 108) defines dips as "[s]mall flaps in the stage floor giving access to electrical sockets and other connections". Equinox ◑ 01:26, 3 June 2022 (UTC)