Fwd: Re: "dry run"

[Laurence Horn]

This exchange is forwarded from another list.  It occurred to me after I
posted my rather speculative response (below) that some fellow ADSers might
have some information, or at least more informed speculation, on this.

Larry


>>
>>I have for a long time wondered about the semantics behind the term "dry
>>run".
>>What is it about being "dry" that makes the run-through a practice one?  My
>>first thoughts are that when, for example, baking, adding the "wet"
>>ingredients
>>makes the mixture irreversibly different, so that the dry state comes
>>first; but
>>this doesn't seem to be a great explanation to me.  I also can't make other
>>ideas which are sexually based coalesce into a convincing story, so ...
>>thanks
>>in advance for all thoughts!
>>
>well, without researching it, I can come up with
>
>       dry heaves (nothing expelled)
>       dry hump (presumably the sexual reference you were alluding to?)
>       dry lightning
>
>Some collocations that didn't originate metaphorically are still consistent
>with the metaphorical ('with some critical element missing') sense; "dry
>heaves" may be of that type, and presumably "dry cough". I could speculate
>about the effect of all such cases (dry rot, dry well, dry dock, dry
>counties...) but I won't.
>
>Larry
>