T-learning # Idiom
Speak Like a Native

a dummy run

Choose the correct definition a, b or c.

a) a joke

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b) a failure

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c) a trial

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British English

A dummy run is a trial or test procedure which is carried out in order to see if a plan or process works properly. Synonyms are practice, trial, dry run, rehearsal.

French translation

essai, test, répétition

How NOT to translate : *une course de mannequins
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Examples in context

This is not a dummy run

THE First Minister and Deputy First Ministers have issued a stark warning as the Coronavirus crisis deepens.

Speaking during a press conference at Stormont on Monday, Arlene Foster warned that there could be a ’wave of deaths’ if people in Northern Ireland did not obey social distancing rules.

Michelle O’Neill, meanwhile, urged the public to understand that ’this is not a holiday, this is an emergency.’

Their comments come amid renewed speculation that the British government could introduce more stringent measures to tackle the ongoing crisis.’

Ballymoney Chronicle, 23 March 2020

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‘Vaccination dummy run at Schaarbeek corona testing centre

The health authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region are carrying out a dummy run of coronavirus vaccination procedures at a coronavirus testing centre in Schaarbeek.

The dry run that will last all day is designed to ensure that there won’t be any hitches once a vaccine (or vaccines) become available.’

vrt.be, 11 Dec. 2020

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Everyday usage

The local elections can be seen as a dummy run for the national election next year.

I fully understand that what they have designed is for the best—that this is a dummy run of an entirely new type of scheme.


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