What's the difference between soil and dirt?

1.- One point in Scrabble,

2.- They can both be on a shirt but only one can rhyme with it, and

3.- No one laughs at a soily joke.

As I said in CJ's birthday limerick, he does make things interesting, doesn't he? Actually, he makes some good points.

I think of "dirt" as more general than soil. "Dirty" is filthy, whether it be from soil or from whatever. Yet, "dirt" can be used as a synonym for "soil," though you'll never see a farmer using it as a synonym.

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hough you'll never see a farmer using it as a synonym.

Never see -- and never hear, either, eh?

<ducks-the-brickbats icon>

Yes, something that is dirty is filthy, but 'soil' conveys the idea of good clean dirt. I notice that washing powder manufacturers, etc. usually talk about 'soiled clothes', not 'dirty clothes'.

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Originally posted by arnie:
Yes, something that is dirty is filthy, but 'soil' conveys the idea of good clean dirt.

Yet if you soil your knickers...

We humans are soily types, I suppose, since that's what "humus" means.

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Originally posted by arnie:
... 'soil' conveys the idea of good clean dirt.

Except when it's night soil!

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I notice that washing powder manufacturers, etc. usually talk about 'soiled clothes', not 'dirty clothes'.

When I think of soiled clothes, I think of a baby soiling his diaper.

I pretty much equate dirt with soil, though I know they are technically not the same. Technically soil is the outermost layer of the earth that consists of weathered rock, organic matter (living and dead), air, and water. I think there is a fifth component, but I forget what it is. Some definitions throw in "and is capable of supporting plant life." I've even read some definitions that say it must have soil horizons to be considered soil! Definitions vary, depending on point of view. It means something slightly different to a geologist than it does to an agronomist.

But, to a plain old "dirt farmer," it's the stuff he grows his crops in. Some may bristle at calling it dirt. I suppose it's because dirt is the worthless stuff that gets tracked all over the house. Worthless for growing things in, that is. The compacted dirt that's in his driveway is soil to a road construction engineer.

Note that the potting mixes you buy at the nursery are generally called soilless potting mixes.

Tinman

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,

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Technically soil is the outermost layer of the earth that consists of weathered rock, organic matter (living and dead), air, and water. I think there is a fifth component, but I forget what it is.

There are more than five. Cigarette butts, beer cans, syringes, and used condoms seem to be major components.

Tinman, we seem to be on the same page regarding "night soil!" What does that say about our thought processes, I wonder?

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Never see -- and never hear, either, eh?

Ahhh...Hic, you're always the critic.

However, in rethinking, I do remember when I have heard farmers call soil "dirt." When they want a load of soil delivered for some reason, they might call it a "load of dirt."