Drygoods for Dummies

Drygoods is a term that is not commonly used nowadays, but it refers to a specific type of goods that are dry in nature. These are items that you can buy at a store that are not perishable or liquid, such as clothing, fabrics, or other textiles. Now, let me break it down for you in a way that makes it even easier to understand. Imagine you walk into a store, and you see rows and rows of clothes: shirts, pants, dresses, and more. These are the kinds of items that fall under the category of drygoods. So, basically, anything that you can touch and feel, like fabrics or clothes, would be considered drygoods.

You see, the term "drygoods" was more commonly used in the past, when people used to shop for goods in person rather than online. Back in the day, they would visit general or department stores, where they could find a wide variety of items, like food, spices, and even fabric. However, because these different kinds of goods were often separated into different sections within the store, the term "drygoods" was used to specifically refer to the non-perishable, non-food items.

Let me give you an analogy to help you understand it even better. Think of a grocery store, where you can find fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and canned food. Now, imagine that right next door, there's a store that only sells things like shirts, towels, bed sheets, and curtains. This second store would be considered a drygoods store because it only sells items that are dry in nature, not things that are perishable or liquid like the grocery store next door.

To sum it up, "drygoods" is a word that describes items that are dry in nature and typically refers to non-perishable goods that you can buy at a store, like clothing, fabrics, or other textiles.