, Plin. 12, 26, 59, 129.—And of a cracking, snapping sound, as when dry wood is broken: sonus, Lucr. 6, 119: aridus altis Montibus (incipit) audiri fragor,
a dry crackling noise begins to be heard in the high mountain forest
, Verg. G. 1, 357.—II.Trop.A. Of things which are dried, shrunk up, shrivelled, meagre, lean: crura, Ov. A. A. 3, 272: nates, Hor. Epod. 8, 5: uvis aridior puella passis, Auct. Priap. 32, 1; so from disease, withered: manus, Vulg. Matt. 12, 10; ib. Marc. 3, 1; and absol. of persons: aridi, ib. Joan. 5, 3.— Hence, of food or manner of living, meagre, scanty: in victu arido in hac horridā incultāque vitā,
poor
,
scanty diet
, Cic. Rosc. Am. 27, 75: vita horrida atque arida, id. Quinct. 30.—Transf. to men, indigent, poor: cliens, Mart. 10, 87, 5.—B. Of style, dry, jejune, unadorned, spiritless: genus sermonis exile, aridum, concisum ac minutum, Cic. de Or. 2, 38, 159; so Auct. ad Her. 4, 11: narratio, Quint. 2, 4, 3: aridissimi libri, Tac. Or. 19.—Meton., of the orator himself: orator, Quint. 12, 10, 13: rhetores, Sen. Contr. 34: magister, Quint. 2, 4, 8.— Of scholars: sicci omnino atque aridi pueri,
sapless and dry
, Suet. Gram. 4; cf. Quint. 2, 8, 9.—C. In comic lang., avaricious, of a man from whom, as it were, nothing can be expressed (cf. Argentiexterebronides): pumex non aeque est aridus atque hic est senex, Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 18: pater avidus, miser atque aridus, Ter. Heaut. 3, 2, 15.— D. In Plaut. as a mere natural epithet of metal: arido argentost opus, dry coin, Rud. 3, 4, 21.—Adv. not used.