Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
dirt poor
adjective
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Still, it is a place rich in history and heritage, even if it is dirt poor in almost everything else.
▪ Vitro knows all about being dirt poor in the rural South and growing up in a broken home.
Wiktionary
dirt poor
a. (alternative form of dirt-poor English)
Usage examples of "dirt poor".
The Sullivans were dirt poor, their house was disgusting, and Foley beat Violet up every chance he could.
But, before today, it had only been something he'd dreamed about, growing up dirt poor and hungry.
Only the wealthy have anything besides dirt on the floor, that's where we get the saying, 'dirt poor.
I'm the mayor, but I'm the mayor of a dirt poor, scroungy, Appalachian coal town.
Underwood, I know she's dirt poor and she's just marrying me for my money but that's a laugh because I don't have any worth talking about anyway.