dirt-poor

• dirt poor

Inversion of earlier poor as dirt (compare whip-smart / smart as a whip).

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dirt-poor (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) In a condition of extreme poverty.

   Antonym: filthy rich

   • 1975 August 18, “Religion: Blood and Land”, in Time:

     In recent months, the dirt-poor peasants of Honduras have invaded farms and blockaded bridges to force the government to fulfill its promises.

   • 2007 August 4, “A critical election for ‘the best dressed man in Turkey’”, in The Week, 625, 16:

     A few years ago it was a dirt-poor outpost populated by rural migrants.

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