plain Dunstable

English

Etymology

Likely from an old Bedfordshire proverb "as plain as Dunstable road" or "as plain as Dunstable highway".

Noun

plain Dunstable (uncountable)

1. (archaic) straightforward language; straight talk.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXXII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     Because I value Mr. Solmes as my friend, you treat him the worse — That's the plain Dunstable of the matter, Miss! — I am not such a fool but I can see that.

   • 1899, Sidney Herbert Burchell, The Duke's Servants: A Romance, page 188:

     ‘Fancy roams over half the world in lovers' sighs, and plain Dunstable in gallantry belongs only to the Puritan ; but never have I met such fantastic wooing and cooing since I went in for daggering of arms myself.’

   • 1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando: A Biography, London: The Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished as Orlando: A Biography (eBook no. 0200331h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, July 2015:

     For the plain Dunstable of the matter is' (and it was remarkable how soon, on discovering that they were of the same sex, her manner changed and she dropped her plaintive, appealing ways), 'the plain Dunstable of the matter is, that I 'm not in the mood for the society of the other sex tonight.

Adjective

plain Dunstable (comparative more plain Dunstable, superlative most plain Dunstable)

1. (archaic) Straightforward, honest.
   • 1607, Henry Fitzsimon, “Gentle Bickering with Dean Rider”, in Words of comfort to persecuted Catholics, written in exile, anno 1607, page 243:

     Before you betake yourself to new grammarian labours and dictionary inventions, learn to understand a plain Latin metaphor, that your denials thereof, because it is not in plain dunstable terms, be not reputed, if not profoundly impudent, yet profoundly ignorant.

   • 1621, John Ford, The Witch of Edmonton:

     Why, master Thorney, do you mean to talk out your dinner ? the company attends your coming . What must it be, master Frank ? or son Frank ? I am plain Dunstable.

   • 1844, Hugh Latimer, Selected Sermons of Hugh Latimer, Associated University Presse, →ISBN, page 71:

     Howbeit there were some good walkers among them that walked in the king's highway ordinarily, uprightly, plain Dunstable way; and for this purpose I would show you an history which is written in the third of the Kings.