Drippy Drop — Meaning, Context & Examples

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Have you come across the expression “drippy drop” in a text and aren’t sure what it means? 

“Drippy drop” is an example of a literary device known as onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. 

This means that the word “drip” actually sounds like the thing it describes, namely a falling drop of water. 

There are innumerable examples of onomatopoeia in modern English, including words like “boom,” “bang,” and “crash,” all of which sound like what the thing they mean. 

The literal meaning of “drip,” or “drippy” has been transformed into myriad other expressions in English.

This article will briefly talk you through the different ways “drip” and “drop” are commonly used.

 

What is the meaning of the expression drippy drop?

“Drippy drop” is a playful way to describe falling water. “Drip” is the basis for numerous expressions in English. When used as a verb, “drip” means “to let fall or be so wet as to shed small drops of liquid.” When used as a noun, “drip,” like “drop,” means “a small amount of tear-shaped or round liquid.”

 

Drip vs. drop when talking about water

“Drippy drop” is often also often said simply as “drip drop.” This is a description of how water sounds falling from a tap and is often used in a rhyme-like, sing-song way when talking to young children. 

However, because drip and drop can have essentially the same meaning, many people wonder what the most appropriate way to describe a very small amount of falling water is. 

We regularly say, “rain drop” and would not say “rain drip.” Yet we say that we are “dripping wet,” not “dropping wet,” and that a tap is “dripping,” not “dropping.” 

As a general rule of thumb, you should use “drop” when describing “a small round or pear-shaped portion of liquid that hangs or falls or adheres to a surface.” 

You should use “drip” when referring to drops of water that are actively falling. 

However, when describing the sound that dripping drops of water make falling, you can use “drippy drop,” or “drip drop.” 

If a tap is dripping, this means it is not fully turned off, or is broken, and is literally regularly releasing a small amount of water in drops. The sound these drops make when falling, sounds like the sound of the word “drip.” 

If water or another liquid is falling in drops, it means the strength of the stream is very weak. 

You might use these words and expressions in sentences the following ways. 

“Can you hear the drippy drop of the tap downstairs?” 

“The leak in the roof is dripping.” 

“There are drops of water all over the floor.” 

 

A drip as an insipid person

A drip can also be used as a noun, to mean an inane, uninteresting, and unintelligent person. 

Like a falling drop of water that has no active energy or independent sense of direction, a person who is a drip lacks enthusiasm, energy, wit, and passion. 

You might use this is conversation in one of the following ways.

“Dave is such a drip. He brings no energy to the room, never has any new ideas to contribute, and doesn’t seem passionate about the project at all.”

“Oh, don’t pay any attention to her, she is such a drip and has no sense of humor.”

 

Drip feed

Another popular expression in English, is “drip feeding information.”

The term “drip feed” can be used as a noun or a verb. When used as a noun, a drip feed has not one but two meanings. 

The first is a device used by mechanics to introduce oil into a car’s engine drip by drip. The second is a medicinal drip, such as is used to provide patients with liquid food, saline, or medication. 

When used as a verb, to “drip feed” someone is to administer blood, plasma, saline, or sugar solutions intravenously, a small amount at a time. 

However, most interestingly, “to drip feed information” is an expression that means to consistently provide someone with small amounts of information. 

The expression is often used to describe the way in which information is passed to newspapers from a secret or known source. 

It is also sometimes used to describe how a government is releasing information about a particular subject to the public. 

It might also be used to describe the way in which someone in a personal context is giving a friend or acquaintance information about a private matter.

It is usually said in a tone of frustration and implies that there is a ready reservoir of information available, but that this is being withheld. 

There are a variety of possible motivations for drip-feeding someone information. 

One possible reason is that the person with the information would like to keep someone else’s interest over a prolonged period of time. 

For example, a musical artist might drip feed their fans information about an album they are going to release soon, in order to build excitement and maintain interest. 

Alternatively, a government might drip feed the public information about an unpopular policy proposal, so that they become used to different aspects of the idea before it becomes a reality. 

In any case, drip-feeding information instead of coming right out and saying what there is to say, does not have a great rap. 

The three examples given above might be expressed in the following manner. 

“The popular recording artist Maria Neal has been drip-feeding her fans clues about her upcoming album through her Instagram for weeks.”

“I feel like the government has been drip-feeding us details about the new tax scheme for months, without actually giving us a clear picture of what they are proposing.”

“I feel like Martina is not being very forthcoming about what happened at the party, considering that she clearly knows what was said. It is as if she is drip feeding me information.” 

 

“Drip” or “drippy” in rap lyrics

In rap lyrics, “drip” means expensive jewelry and clothing. Someone who wears a lot of diamonds or designer clothes has a lot of “swag,” or, alternatively, a lot of “drip”. 

To describe someone wearing expensive-looking clothes, you would say they are “looking drippy” or “drippin’.” 

To say that something is cool, you could also describe it as “drippy.”