Talk:dry run

I know there are several suggested derivations for this expression.

One I heard was that it means a row of bricks put down without mortar, this being done to make sure that all would go well when building started in earnest. It does fit the expression rather well, but I have no evidence for it.

It's not clear where it comes from. It seems to have originally been theatre slang (for a rehearsal), though that may in turn have come from a military use (it's first recorded in the 1940s), but there is really no conclusive evidence. Widsith 14:58, 30 August 2006 (UTC)