Duds
/dʌdz/noun
Informal clothing, or things that fail to work or are unsuccessful.
Did you know?The failure sense of “dud” became especially associated with ammunition that failed to explode, giving the word its eerie modern meaning of something that disappoints or goes dead.
Etymological Timeline
Late 14th Century
Middle English
dudde
“A cloak, mantle, or piece of clothing”
15th–16th Century
English
duds
“Clothes, especially worn or shabby garments”
19th Century
English
dud
“A worthless or ineffective person or thing”
Late 19th Century
English
dud
“An unexploded shell or cartridge”
Modern English
English
duds
“Clothing, or plural failures and disappointments”