dry-nurse noun & verb. ['drʌɪnǝ:s] M16.
[from DRY adjective + NURSE noun¹.]
A. noun.
1. A woman who looks after a baby but does not breast-feed it. Opp. wet-nurse. M16.

2. fig. A person who coaches another (esp. a superior) in his or her duties. arch. E17.
b. verb trans. Look after without breast-feeding (another person's baby); be a dry-nurse to (lit. & fig.). L16.
■ G. J. W. Wolseley Some regular officers who had been selected..for the purpose of dry-nursing their inexperienced colonels.

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