Link Centre Dictionary

rusty

UK/ˈɹʌsti/ US/ˈrʌsti/ common slang uk

adjective

1.

covered with or consisting of rust

  • “a rusty machine”
  • “rusty deposits”
Similar
2.

of the color of rust

Synonyms
Similar
3.
4.

ancient

  • “hoary jokes”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

Ellipsis of rusty one more often used for this, or from the general epithet rusty given to various particular firearm names-earlier both were applied in Cockney rhyming slang for other machines, including swords in their day, but the present coinage has not more than a loose connection to this and is from the preference for used or antique firearms due to their being easier or cheaper to obtain.

Phrases

  • better than a poke in the eye with a rusty nail
  • ride rusty
  • rusty blackbird
  • rusty dusty
  • rusty guts
  • rusty nail
  • rusty pitohui
  • rusty-margined guan

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.