chalk dust
1
2.7
- noun
- /tʃɔk dʌst/
:
polvo de tiza
- You've tried real hard, the professor had said, touching JJ on the arm, leaving a few fingertip dots of chalk dust on her sweater.
- a puff of chalk dust
- a cloud of chalk dust
plumes angelic, like chalk dust from erasers that let you escape a lie, wipe it away and forget it was ever meant for you.
- plumes angelic, like chalk dust from erasers that let you escape a lie, wipe it away and forget it was ever meant for you.
Examples
-
Chalk dust spilled onto the clean snow.
Fiction book (1999) -
This time, John cleans the boards because Mary is allergic to chalk dust.
Academic text (1993) -
Chalk dust clung to him like mist.
Fiction book (2002) -
We stood together, engulfed in chalk dust and an uncomfortable silence relieved only by the muffled thud of felt against brick.
Fiction book (2001) -
After teaching math all day, the teacher noticed chalk dust on her hands.
-
The classroom floor was covered in chalk dust left behind from the lessons.
-
He wiped the chalk dust from the board to prepare for the next class.
Synonyms
706
1.0
Tiny, dry particles that collect on surfaces or float in the air
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'chalk' (material used for writing) + 'dust' (fine particles) yields the fine powder produced by chalk. This noun–noun compound follows a transparent, cross-linguistic pattern so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Chalk dust comes from the simple idea of soft chalk leaving tiny bits of dust when you write on a board. So, it means the fine powder made by chalk.