Definition of Pay dirt

1. Noun. Ore that yields a substantial profit to the miner.

Generic synonyms: Ore

2. Noun. A profitable success. "The inventor worked for years before hitting pay dirt"
Generic synonyms: Success

Definition of Pay dirt

1. Noun. (mining) Earth which contains profitable quantities of ore. ¹

2. Noun. (figuratively) A profitable area or period; success. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Pay Dirt

pay-per-view
pay-phone
pay-station
pay-to-play
pay TV
pay and display
pay as you earn
pay attention
pay back
pay cash
pay check
pay cheque
pay claim
pay cut
pay day
pay dirt
pay envelope
pay for
pay grade
pay heed
pay off
pay one's debt to society
pay one's dues
pay one's last respects
pay out
pay packet
pay rate
pay stub
pay stubs
pay television

Literary usage of Pay dirt

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Mining in the Pacific States of North America by John Shertzer Hittell (1862)
"In the auriferous gullies and ravines, the pay-dirt is usually as wide as ... Usually, the pay-dirt is a very stiff clay, full of large gravel and stones. ..."

2. An American Glossary by Richard Hopwood Thornton (1912)
"1857 Ten thousand dollars have been expended in reaching pay dirt at the Cumberland claim. ... 1869 If the digging shows " pay dirt," he stakes his claim. ..."

3. Judicial and Statutory Definitions of Words and Phrases by West Publishing Company (1914)
"PAT DIRT The term "pay dirt," as used In a placer mining lease, requiring the lessees to remove all "pay dirt as low as 2 cents per pan," Held ..."

4. Recreation by George O. Shields, American Canoe Association, League of American Sportsmen (1899)
"pay dirt. Dawson, YT, January 18, 1899. Editor RECREATION: April, May, June and August RECREATION have just reached me. Several weekly papers have been ..."

5. History of California by Hubert Howe Bancroft, Henry Lebbeus Oak, William Nemos, Frances Fuller Victor (1888)
"The rocker was placed iu the spot to which the pay-dirt, and especially a constant supply of water, could most conveniently be brought. ..."

6. The Resources of California: Comprising Agriculture, Mining, Geography by John Shertzer Hittell (1869)
"In the former the pay-dirt is found deep, twenty feet or more beneath the surface; ... The pay-dirt is usually covered by layers of barren dirt, ..."

7. Two Years in the Klondike and Alaskan Gold-fields: A Thrilling Narrative of by William B. Haskell (1898)
"Joe and I Have Poor Luck — Trying to Locate the Pay-Streak — Big Pans in March and April — Pay-Dirt — How the Value of the Dirt is Reckoned — Old Miners ..."

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