jamaica.localmean.com/dutty
dutty
/doti/DUH-tee
Local meaning
Dirty, soiled, messy, or morally unpleasant; “dutty up” means to soil or make dirty.
The word can describe physical dirt, an untidy condition, or figurative badness. Popular spelling often uses “dutty,” while the cited phonemic glossary gives “doti.”
Examples in context
- Yuh shoes dutty from di mud.
- No dutty up di clean floor.
How it is used
Music and dance titles may use “dutty” as a name or stylistic label rather than a literal description of dirt.
Descriptive, critical, disgusted, playful, or stylistic.
Clothing, rooms, behavior, insults, music, and cleanup.
The figurative meaning can be harsher than the literal one.
Avoid using it about a person unless the relationship and context make the judgment appropriate.
Spelling and scope
Everyday descriptions, criticism, figurative language, music references, and commands about cleanliness.
- Search and reference forms
dotidotidirtydutty updutty wine
LocalMean keeps common search spellings discoverable. A displayed reference form is informational and does not claim that every community or publication uses one spelling.
Common patterns
- dutty clothes
- dutty up
- dutty behavior
- dutty from mud
Read next
All words →Evidence and further reading
These sources support the language, spelling, grammar, or common conversational sense. The entry remains open to correction from Jamaican speakers and qualified reviewers.
- A Learner’s Glossary of JamaicanOpen Grammar Project
Open Jamaican glossary with headwords and IPA.