Like “does the Pope shit in the woods?” or “that train has sailed?”

Also, what good examples can you think of?

  • NielsBohron@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I would tend to disagree with the Cambridge example, because liquids can be dry. “Dry” liquids are anhydrous, meaning they’ve been treated to remove any water.

    Source: Am chemist and I teach O-Chem, which frequently uses dry solvents, like anhydrous acetone.

    • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      But PERC, the chemical used in “dry cleaning” is NOT a dry liquid, so the existence of dry liquids is also not relevant to their example.

      I can’t figure out if the confusion is caused by unfamiliarity with the term dry cleaning, or just a feeble grasp of logic.

      • NielsBohron@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        PERC

        Perchloroethylene (aka tetrachloroethene) is a completely non-polar compound, so, yes, it is a dry liquid.

        • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Fair enough. My initial quick google research implied otherwise.

          I’m not claiming to be an expert, although I’m not finding anything that uses the term dry liquid to refer to Tetrachloroethylene. Sounds to me like another misnomer. But, I won’t say you’re wrong.