dustout

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See also: dust-out

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From dust +‎ out.

Noun

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dustout (countable and uncountable, plural dustouts)

  1. A cloud of dust or duststorm that creates conditions of inadequate visibility.
    • 2012, David Fletcher, Ticklers, →ISBN, page 69:
      Hundreds of Kanker's troops would have to be thrown into the job of plugging the holes, a difficult task under ideal conditions, but a pig of a task in a “dustout”.
    • 1986, Labor Arbitration Reports - Volume 85, page 1181:
      He said the dust collecting units were not operating as they should in October 1984 and there were “quite a few" dustouts. These, he claimed, would require one to vacate the basement as soon as possible by walking along the side of the walls in the dark.
  2. A prankster who misleads others by giving false or exaggerated information.
    • 2010, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Pashazade: The Arabesk Trilogy, →ISBN:
      This was a sight check, to see if he looked like some dustout or merely sounded like one.
    • 2009, Anthony Trollope, Phineas Finn: The Irish Member, →ISBN:
      "He is the greatest old dustout," said Lord Chiltern, disrespectfully.
  3. Fallout; the event of small dust particles falling to the ground in sufficient quantities that they cause a problem.
    • 1960, Journal, American Water Works Association- Volume 52, Issues 1-6, page 90:
      The levels of activity in atmospheric fallout were determined in rain and dustout was collected on vaseline-coated sheets.
    • 1968, Canadian Chemical Processing - Volume 52, page 36:
      Special seals, which fit over the cutter opening when it is out of the flow, prevent dustout and sample contamination.