dribs and drabs en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
From drib (“a drop”) and drab (“a small amount”).
Meanings
-
(plural, plural-only) A series of negligible amounts.
Passengers join in dribs and drabs along the way, but at Barnsley the numbers really began to swell and by Elsecar we have several standing.
2020 November 18, Paul Bigland, “New infrastructure and new rolling stock”, in Rail, page 48:The tea drinking has done a great deal in bringing this nation into the state [of] misery in which it now is; and the tea drinking, which is carried on by "dribs" and "drabs;" by pence and farthings going out at a time; this miserable practice has been gradually introduced by the growing weight of the taxes on Malt and on Hops, and by the everlasting penury amongst the labourers, occasioned by the paper-money.
1823, William Cobbett, “Brewing Beer”, in Cottage Economy: […], new edition, London: Printed for J. M. Cobbett, […], →OCLC, paragraph 30:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| drips and drabs | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
smorgasbord · macedoine · gallimaufry · mixed bag · clamjamfrey · miscellanea · olla podrida · galimatias · hodgepodge · grab bag · hotchpotch · melange · medley · bric-a-brac · salmagundi · slurry · odds and ends · motley · olio · mingle-mangle · farrago · mixture · jumble · omnium-gatherum · pastiche · catch-all · anthology · welter · Whitman's sampler · hotchpot · rummage · crazyquilt · miscellany · cocktail · potpourri · horse and rabbit stew · disjecta membra · mishmash · ragbag · salad · job lot · oddments · congeries · bits and pieces · gatherum · patchwork quilt · odds and ends · gallery · bouillabaisse
Translations (5)
pl bambetle (a series of negligible amounts) · fr au compte-goutte (a series of negligible amounts) · pl bibeloty (a series of negligible amounts) · pl drobiazgi (a series of negligible amounts) · pl pierdółki (a series of negligible amounts)