dyed-in-the-wool

English

Etymology

From the past participle of dye in the wool. The expression comes from the fact that fabric can be dyed in a number of ways. The woven fabric may be dyed after it is complete, or the threads may be dyed before they are woven. When a color is "dyed in the wool," the wool itself is dyed before being spun into threads, so the colour is least likely to fade or change. (Dyes: Webster’s Quotations, Facts and Phrases. Icon Group International. 2008, p. 344.).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˌdaɪd ɪn ðə ˈwʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adjective

dyed-in-the-wool (comparative more dyed-in-the-wool, superlative most dyed-in-the-wool)

1. (of textiles) Having the fibres dyed before they are formed into cloth.
   • 1747, John Smith, chapter 156, in Chronicon Rusticum-Commerciale; or, Memoirs of Wool, &c.‎, volume 2, London: T. Osborne, page 431:

     […] some Druggets with Thread, that are dyed in the Piece; the others are dyed in the Wool, i. e. the Wool of which they are made, is dyed of several Colours, before it is carded, spun, and weaved.

   • 1810 January, “Redeeming the Time”, in The Evangelical Magazine, volume 18, page 7:

     That cloth will keep its colour best that is dyed in the wool; and the vessel will longest retain the scent of that liquor with which it is first seasoned.

2. (idiomatic, figuratively, of a person) Firmly established in one's beliefs or habits; having a specified characteristic, identity, etc. deeply ingrained in one's nature.

   Synonym: inveterate

   Smith was a dyed-in-the-wool typist and never really got used to writing on computers.

   John Major was described by his opponents as a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative.

   • 1820, Daniel Webster, A Discourse Delivered at Plymouth, December 22, 1820‎, Boston: Wells and Lilly, published 1830, page 101:

     We all know a process, sir, by which the whole Essex Junto could, in one hour, be all washed white from their ancient federalism, and come out, every one of them, an original democrat, dyed in the wool!

   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Introductory”, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, :

     He might truly be termed a legitimate son of the revenue system, dyed in the wool, or rather, born in the purple; since his sire, a Revolutionary colonel, and formerly collector of the port, had created an office for him, and appointed him to fill it, at a period of the early ages which few living men can now remember.

   • 1944 November and December, Talisman, “A Broadening Horizon”, in Railway Magazine, page 340:

     Although appreciating the rapidity and frequency of the Southern electric services I was now to use on short journeys, I became more than ever convinced that electric traction offers very little of interest to the dyed-in-the-wool railwayist.

   • 1956, Rose Macaulay, chapter 23, in The Towers of Trebizond‎, London: Collins:

     For all he says he isn’t, he’s a bit of an ultramontane, in practice though not in theory, and we can’t have that in the Church of England, we must stay dyed-in-the-wool Anglican.

   • 2004, Philip Roth, chapter 8, in The Plot Against America‎, London: Jonathan Cape, page 304:

     Our president is no lover of Jews and more than likely a dyed-in-the-wool anti-Semite […]

   • 2021 April 7, Christian Wolmar, “Electrification is a given... but comfort matters as well”, in RAIL, number 928, page 47:

     Again, to go back to the history of British Railways, there were moves to introduce electrification more widely when the West Coast Main Line was sparked up in the 1960s, but this was rejected by dyed-in-the-wool old regional railway managers who did not like the hassle of putting up the wires.

Coordinate terms

• true blue

Translations