cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
schwing
Language: English
Part of speech: intj
Etymology: The term is an onomatopoeia of the sound a sword makes when drawn from a metal scabbard. Popularized by the Wayne's World sketch on the television show Saturday Night Live.
Senses: examples: text: What a babe! Schwing!
glosses: An exclamation of excitement or physical attraction.
wikipedia: Saturday Night Live
Wayne's World
scissorbill
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: scissorbills
Etymology: From scissor + bill.
Senses: glosses: Synonym of skimmer: birds of the genus Rynchops.
synonyms: word: skimmer
extra: birds of the genus Rynchops
glosses: Synonym of razorback: a variety of pig.
synonyms: word: razorback
extra: a variety of pig
glosses: A fool, an incompetent; a yokel, a hick.
qualifier: IWW slang
glosses: A foolish worker who lacks class consciousness and opposes unions; also, a company man, a drone, .
scotochromogenic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From scotochromogen + -ic.
Senses: topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Of or pertaining to a scotochromogen.
Coordinate terms: photochromogenic
nonchromogenic
Related terms: scotochromogen
scotochromogenicity
I'll drink to that
Language: English
Part of speech: intj
Senses: glosses: I agree with that; I support that opinion.
screwtape
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: screwtapes
form: screwtaping
form: screwtaped
form: screwtaped
Etymology: In reference to the C. S. Lewis book The Screwtape Letters (1942), about an inexperienced demon sent to tempt a man to sin, from screw + tape.
Senses: examples: text: His collection of songlines and timelines snarled at him like a screwtaped confession.
ref: 2007, Palace Pier Blues, →ISBN, page 33:
text: Perhaps, beyond the lands of shadow, it will be exposed as merely a Screwtaped illusion.
ref: 2013, Joseph Pearce, C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, →ISBN:
text: ...but they never got the chance From the rulers near-almighty down to the lower ranks of the CF hierarchy screw-taping rejection editors at the BBC and controlling clerky types at this or that ministry
ref: 2015, A. Nonn, King Ludwig's Legacy and Other Poems, →ISBN:
glosses: To mess things up, to corrupt, to be devilish.
screwtape
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: screwtapes
Etymology: After DJ Screw, the Houston Southsider who produced the tapes.
Senses: examples: text: In addition, slab riders were not only playing the screwtapes in their decks, they were also rapping on them.
ref: 2016, Michelle L. Stefano, Peter Davis, The Routledge Companion to Intangible Cultural Heritage, →ISBN:
text: It's something that they have taken from the Screwtapes. The influence is just that great.
ref: 2018, Lance Scott Walker, Houston Rap Tapes: An Oral History of Bayou City Hip-Hop, →ISBN, page 312:
text: Screwed Up Click member E.S.G. notes that "the reason why the niggas was talkin' about the SLABs and shit was because these was the niggas [SLAB riders] goin's to Screw's house makin' the screwtapes".
ref: 2018, Fernando Orejuela, Stephanie Shonekan, Black Lives Matter and Music: Protest, Intervention, Reflection, →ISBN, page 59:
glosses: One of a set of slow-tempo, lo-fi psychedelic mixtapes created by DJ Screw around 1992
seagull approach
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Forms: form: the seagull approach
Etymology: Online references date this term back to 1988 at least as it was referenced in a marketing magazine article.
Senses: glosses: The occurrence of casual, ill-informed and hasty decisions or comments made by outside authorities who lack an understanding of the local issues or a real understanding of the facts of a particular situ.
Related terms: seagull manager
mitogen
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: mitogens
Etymology: From mitosis (“cell division”) + -gen (“a producer of something”).
Senses: glosses: Any substance that stimulates mitosis
Derived terms: hepatomitogen
mitogenic
coals to Newcastle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: Newcastle upon Tyne and Newcastle, New South Wales were major coal-exporting cities, so sending coal there would be pointless.
Senses: examples: text: No more coals to Newcastle, no more Hoares to Paris.
ref: 1935, attributed to King George V of the United Kingdom (but possibly a then-circulating joke; see wikiquote)
synonyms: owls to Athens
glosses: A pointless venture, in the sense of sending something to a place where it is made, or where they already have an abundance.
wikipedia: Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle, New South Wales
Related terms: carry coals to Newcastle
send to Coventry
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: sends to Coventry
form: sending to Coventry
form: sent to Coventry
form: sent to Coventry
Etymology: Some believe that the phrase dates from the English Civil War, when a military prison was located in that city. Others say it dates from the 18th century, when Coventry was the nearest town to London that lay outside the jurisdiction of the Bow Street Runners and so London criminals would flee to Coventry to escape arrest.
Senses: examples: text: The group decided to send the unpopular members to Coventry.
text: "For the statement, in the form in which I offered it, Mr. President, I have no retraction or apology to offer, and only such explanation as I have lately given." "Coventry! Coventry!" came the insistent call. "Well, then, you can send me to Coventry, you friends of Darrin, if you feel yourselves justified in doing it!" quivered Midshipman Jetson, tossing his head and glaring defiantly around the room.
ref: 2006, H. Irving Hancock, Dave Darrin's Third Year at Annapolis, →ISBN, page 159:
glosses: To ostracize, or systematically ignore someone.
wikipedia: Bow Street Runners
Coventry
English Civil War
London
senhor
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /sɪˈnjɔː(ɹ)/
Forms: form: senhors
form: senhores
Etymology: From Portuguese senhor. Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senior, señor, senyor, signore, sir, and sire.
Senses: glosses: A Portuguese gentleman.
senhor
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /sɪˈnjɔː(ɹ)/
Forms: form: senhors
form: senhores
Senses: examples: text: “Senhor,” said the Spaniard, “spare me; if your life was no dearer to you than mine, it would not be worth thanks.”
ref: 1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 176:
glosses: Obsolete spelling of señor.
sentimental value
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sentimental values
Senses: glosses: The personal value of an object, derived from the personal memories associated with it.
serogroup
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: serogroups
Etymology: From sero- + group.
Senses: glosses: A group of microorganisms only differing from others by their composition in terms of antigens
serogroup
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: serogroups
form: serogrouping
form: serogrouped
form: serogrouped
Etymology: From sero- + group.
Senses: glosses: To identify and characterize such groups
service agreement
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: service agreements
Etymology: From service + agreement.
Senses: glosses: A formal contract of employment, particularly where the employee has high status, like a company director.
glosses: A contract between two businesses where one agrees to provide a specified service to the other, such as cleaning or running a staff canteen, or between a landlord and a tenant where the landlord is going to provide services, e.g. heating and lift maintenance, to the tenant.
Synonyms: contract
besets
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: third-person singular simple present indicative of beset
shanks' mare
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shanks' mares
form: shanks's mare
form: shank's mare
form: shanks mare
Etymology: Believed to be Scottish in origin and derives from shanks' nag (shanks-naig 1774), referring to the use of shank to refer to the part of the human leg between the knee and ankle. One theory cites "shank's mare" derived from a horse-drawn lawn mower, manufactured by Shanks & Company Ltd. (founded 1853) which required that the human operator walk behind the device to guide the horse; however, references to the phrase in Scottish literature pre-date the existence of the Shanks lawn mower.
Senses: examples: text: A public exhibition of the velocipede [a predecessor of the bicycle] ... will never come into general use in competition with Shank's mare.
ref: 1869. The Dubuque Daily Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, May 1869
text: “Well! Well! Here's Aunt Cannie. Waiting for your car?”
“No suh, Mr. Henry. Shank's mare is plenty good fer me. I been ridin' dis ol' mare for more'n a hund'ed years.”
ref: 1923, Harris Dickson, “The Proof”, in The Red Book Magazine, volume 41, number 6:
text: Once they take to Shanks' mare, they are all equal.
ref: 1942. Transit Journal, McGraw Hill, page 173http://books.google.com/books?id=7GcTAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Shanks'+mare%22&dq=%22Shanks'+mare%22&lr=&ei=4plgR9OWE5KetAOy0sGDBw&pgis=1
text: The last thing we'd want to be seen doing...is using shanks mare, even though the day is holding up well.
ref: 2003. John O'Flaherty, Rafferty, p. 77http://books.google.com/books?id=ZD0F4lbP9EIC&pg=PA77&dq=%22shanks%27+mare%22&lr=&ei=aJpgR-zhHo2msgOt3cHzBg&sig=J03Vw4E0LOtgDggPIwMke5IlAyY
glosses: One's own feet used for walking; to "travel by shanks' mare" or "ride [on] shanks' mare" is to walk to your destination.
Related terms: word: shanks' nag
word: shanks-nag
word: shanks' pony
whole chebang
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: From chebang.
Senses: glosses: Archaic spelling of whole shebang.
indiscretions
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of indiscretion
shout-out
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shouts-out
form: shout-outs
form: shoutout
Etymology: Deverbal from shout out.
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
glosses: An unscripted mention of the name of a viewer or audience member when on stage, television, etc.
glosses: A section of a web page, profile or blog containing these greetings.
shovelbum
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shovelbums
Etymology: From shovel + bum.
Senses: topics: archaeology
history
human-sciences
sciences
glosses: A professional excavator on cultural resource management projects, who has done extensive field work.
shovelbum
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: shovelbums
form: shovelbumming
form: shovelbummed
form: shovelbummed
Etymology: From shovel + bum.
Senses: topics: archaeology
history
human-sciences
sciences
glosses: To excavate, to do archaeology digs.
shuck and jive
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: shucks and jives
form: shucking and jiving
form: shucked and jived
form: shucked and jived
form: shuck-and-jive
Etymology: From Afro-American vernacular English.
Senses: examples: text: I also tell Tony to beware of the paths that America's legacy of racism has cleared for him. There's the one for the lazy, the uneducated, criminals, homeless people or those receiving government assistance of some kind. And there's the one for those who can rap or play basketball. And then there's one, perhaps most dangerous and damaging of all, for the folks willing to shuck and jive their way to the top of some diversity-deprived corporation or government-appointed post, compromising chunks of themselves along the way just to "make it."
ref: 2007 January 5, Sufiya Abdur-Rahman, “Growing Up To Be a Black Man”, in washingtonpost.com:
glosses: To tell a misleading story, especially for advantage.
shuck and jive
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shucks and jives
form: shuck and jives
form: shuck-and-jive
Etymology: From Afro-American vernacular English.
Senses: examples: text: More often than not, the I've-really-paid-my-dues stance adopted by country singers is pure shuck and jive. That's not the case with Hank Williams Jr.
ref: 1979 December 21, “Hank Williams Jr. at the Roxy”, in Los Angeles Times:
glosses: Deceit.
Related terms: cock and bull story
Silly Billy
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Silly Billies
form: silly billy
Etymology: Nickname of Prince William Frederick (1776–1834), Duke of Gloucester; also of William IV of the United Kingdom (1765–1837)
Senses: glosses: An epithet used in mild teasing for a silly person, or one who has just done something of a foolish nature.
wikipedia: Denis Healey
Mike Yarwood
Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
William IV of the United Kingdom
Synonyms: silly goose
Skinner
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈskɪnɚ/
Etymology: The family surname is occupational in origin, meaning "one who prepares skins". Before becoming used as a surname the word skinner was commonly used to identify someone who treated animal skins.
Alternatively, it may be borrowed from Danish and meaning "Keeper of Robes" or "skins then worn" which also hints at the historical connection to tradespeople who were involved with furs and hides.
Senses: examples: text: “As typical of a flu season, some areas are being harder hit than other areas,” said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner.
ref: 2014 January 17, Miriam Falco, “Some states hit harder by flu this year”, in CNN:
glosses: A surname originating as an occupation.
glosses: An unincorporated community in Audrain County, Missouri, United States.
Derived terms: Skinner's maxim
Related terms: Sckynner
Shinners
Skiner
Skinners
Skyner
Skyniar
Skynnar
Skynner
Skynnere
Skynners
biohazard
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: biohazards
Etymology: From bio- + hazard.
Senses: examples: text: The OSHA procedures for this type of environment required all investigative and emergency response personnel to wear PPE when they accessed those areas of the accident site containing biological hazards and undergo decontamination procedures after departing the biohazard area.
ref: 1999 March 24, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.19 New Investigative Techniques”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Uncontrolled Descent and Collision with Terrain, USAir Flight 427, Boeing 737-300, N513AU, Near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1994, archived from the original on 04 Jun 2022, page 237:
text: South Western Railway's Basingstoke station has donated surplus biohazard waste bags to the nearby St Michael's Hospice.
ref: 2020 August 12, “News in Brief: Donation to hospice”, in Rail, page 31:
text: People had to poo in bags, you see. Jan had to get on the public address system and explain to thousands of disbelieving passengers that “number ones” could be done in the shower but “number twos” must be done in the red biohazard bags being distributed, then placed in corridors for collection by unnamed staff, none of whom chose to appear in this documentary.
ref: 2026 June 24, Lucy Mangan, “Poop Cruise review – a fascinating look at a toilet disaster that still haunts passengers 12 years later”, in The Guardian:
glosses: A biological hazard; a source of risk due to some biological factor such as bacteria or human waste.
Derived terms: biohazard symbol
sleeping together
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of sleep together
branch tee
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: branch tees
Senses: glosses: A tee pipe fitting with female connections on the two straight ends and a male connection on the branch.
Related terms: union tee
run tee
union tee
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: union tees
Senses: glosses: A tee pipe fitting with female connections on all three ends.
Related terms: branch tee
run tee
run tee
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: run tees
Senses: glosses: A tee pipe fitting with female connections on one straight end and the branch, and a male connection on the other straight end.
Related terms: branch tee
union tee
sloka meter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: topics: communications
journalism
literature
media
poetry
publishing
writing
glosses: A Sanskrit meter consisting of two lines of sixteen syllables each.
SMIDSY
Language: English
Part of speech: phrase
Etymology: Acronym for "Sorry mate, I didn't see you."
Senses: examples: text: “SMIDSY?” Rich chuckled, “Yeah, car pulled out into me, then literally as the guy got out and looked at me lying on the road he said,'Sorry mate, I didn't see you,' S-M-I-D-S-Y.”
ref: 2017, CJ Moseley, The Wrath of Atlantis: With Strange Aeons:
glosses: Sorry mate, I didn′t see you.
SMIDSY
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: SMIDSYs
Etymology: Acronym for "Sorry mate, I didn't see you."
Senses: examples: text: The motorist claimed Smidsy after the crash — ‘Sorry mate I didn't see you’.
ref: 2010, Matt Croucher, Flash Point, page 13:
text: Bike instructor buddy Malcolm Palmer noted a few years ago that: "most SMIDSYs happen in urban situations, when the bike is travelling at 30 or under.
ref: 2014, Kevin Williams, Tarmac Tactics:
text: Most riders come back and talk about their SMIDSY collisions and cornering spills but we hardly ever hear firt-hand about overtaking crashes.
ref: 2017, Kevin Williams, Survival Skills, page 21:
glosses: An accident in which a larger vehicle hits a motorcycle or bicycle because the driver did not see the cyclist.
Related terms: LBFTS
snuck
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: snŭk
ipa: /snʌk/
ipa: /snʊk/
rhymes: -ʌk
Etymology: The irregular form snuck originated by analogy with struck for the past of strike. Snuck was originally limited to a few dialects, but is now very widespread (especially in American English) and is recognized by most dictionaries. The word is now one of the best examples of irregularization of a regular verb, along with dove.
Senses: examples: text: I snuck into the theatre because the movie had already started.
text: She thought she had snuck in without being observed ...until she felt a hand on her shoulder!
text: Ruth asks, "You give your wife the car?"
"There was nobody there. I snuck in and out. I left the key inside."
"And nobody caught you?"
ref: 1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 94:
synonyms: sneaked
glosses: simple past and past participle of sneak
son of the morning
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sons of the morning
Etymology: From Hebrew בֶּן־שָׁחַר (Ben-Shahar, “son of dawn”), an allusion to the practice in the Middle East of travelers rising before dawn so they would not have to travel in the heat of day.
Senses: glosses: A traveler.
soraismus
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: From Latin, from Ancient Greek.
Senses: glosses: The awkward or humorous use of different languages mixed together, often using a foreign term incorrectly or in an inappropriate situation.
Related terms: macaronic
sordini
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of sordino
koka
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: kokas
Etymology: Borrowed from Japanese 効果 (kōka).
Senses: examples: text: The referee shall announce "koka" (almost yuko) when in his opinion the technique applied by the contestant merits the score of koka (almost yuko). Should either contestant score two or further kokas, then the referee shall announce them as they are scored but shall not stop the contest for that reason.
ref: 1978, AAU Official Rules, Judo, Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, page 15:
text: As with yukos, kokas are not accumulative, so no amount of kokas are deemed equal to or greater than a yuko.
ref: 2008, Roy Inman, The Judo Handbook, page 25:
topics: government
hobbies
judo
lifestyle
martial-arts
military
politics
sports
war
glosses: The smallest technical score that can be awarded in a judo competition.
spelter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: spelters
Etymology: Related to, and perhaps derived from, Middle Dutch speauter. Possibly related to pewter.
Senses: glosses: zinc, often in blocks or ingot form.
glosses: Zinc alloyed with another metal (especially copper), used as a solder.
glosses: An objet d'art made from zinc.
spelter
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: spelters
form: speltering
form: speltered
form: speltered
Etymology: Related to, and perhaps derived from, Middle Dutch speauter. Possibly related to pewter.
Senses: glosses: To combine copper and metallic zinc to form an alloy.
snart
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /snɑːt/
ipa: /snɑɹt/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)t
Forms: form: snarts
Etymology: Blend of sneeze + fart.
Senses: examples: text: While an occasional fart makes us laugh, snarts never do.
ref: 2009 April 18, Bobby Mercer, How Do You Light a Fart?: And 150 Other Essential Things Every Guy Should Know about Science, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
text: I was holding in a snart, and then right when she took the photo... don't you want to know what a snart is?
ref: 2011 January 27, Robert Carlock, “Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning”, in Beth McCarthy-Miller, director, 30 Rock, season 5, episode 12, spoken by Liz Lemon (Tina Fey):
text: The elf knocks three times, coughs and knocks once more, followed by a snart – a tricky and highly dangerous procedure where you sneeze and fart at the same time!
ref: 2020 November 1, Benjamin G Hewett, Paddy Muldoon, The Amazing Lockdown Adventure (The Crystal Chronicles), Penguin Random House South Africa, →ISBN, →OCLC:
glosses: The phenomenon where one sneezes and breaks wind at the same time.
snart
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /snɑːt/
ipa: /snɑɹt/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)t
Forms: form: snarts
form: snarting
form: snarted
form: snarted
Etymology: Blend of sneeze + fart.
Senses: examples: text: Basil choked out a laugh of his own. “It snarted?”
“Snart?” She wiped at her eyes.
He grinned. “Sneeze-fart. It's a thing.”
ref: 2017, Nadine Mutas, To Stir a Fae's Passion: A Novel of Love and Magic (Love and Magic), Nadine Mutas:
text: Okay, first of all, I look weird there because I'm snarting.
ref: 2011 January 27, Robert Carlock, “Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning”, in Beth McCarthy-Miller, director, 30 Rock, season 5, episode 12, spoken by Liz Lemon (Tina Fey):
text: “The one who farted when she sneezed.”
“I didn't break up with her because she snarted. She picked at her feet, which is gross and unhygienic.”
ref: 2020, Brea Brown, Let's Be Frank (The Nurse Nate series; 1), Wayzgoose Press, →ISBN:
glosses: To fart while sneezing.
Related terms: shart
standing room only
Language: English
Part of speech: phrase
Senses: examples: text: Ever since Stourbridge-born Bellingham became huge news, fans turn out to cheer the local hero on the big screen inside the clubhouse whenever the Three Lions - who play a friendly with Australia on Friday followed by a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy next Tuesday - are in action.
"It was standing room only in here when he played for England at last year's World Cup," Andy Pountney, chairman of Stourbridge, tells BBC Sport.
ref: 2023 October 12, Neil Johnston, “FA Cup: Why Stourbridge is fearing for its future”, in BBC Sport:
text: Here [at Grantham], the train has three minutes to reverse, during which time it is suddenly packed out with shoppers heading to Nottingham. It's standing room only for those who arrive last.
ref: 2024 April 17, “Rural railways: do they deliver?”, in RAIL, number 1007, page 57:
glosses: So well attended, or (of public transportation) so full, that all of the seats in the venue are occupied, leaving only the ground or the floor for other people. (of an event)
Synonyms: word: SRO
strategic material
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: strategic materials
Senses: glosses: Any material considered crucial to national security concerns and military applications. Examples include natural resources, such as oil; alloys, such as steel, aluminum, and titanium; and composite materials, such as advanced plastics, polymers and ceramics.
the straw that broke the camel's back
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: the straw that broke the camel’s back
Etymology: Possibly from the proverb, recorded by Thomas Fuller in his Gnomologia (1732) as “Tis the last feather that breaks the horse's back.” This comes from an Arab proverb about loading up a camel beyond its capacity to move.
Senses: examples: text: As the last straw breaks the laden camel's back, this piece of underground information crushed the sinking spirits of Mr. Dombey.
ref: 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, chapter II, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 13:
synonyms: the stroke that broke the camel's back
glosses: A small and seemingly insignificant addition to a burden that renders it too much to bear; the small thing which causes failure, or causes inability or unwillingness to endure any more of something.
wikipedia: Thomas Fuller (writer)
Related terms: final straw
last straw
the last drop makes the cup run over
street drug
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: street drugs
Etymology: This term comes from the fact that these types of substances are normally sold "on the street" by drug dealers.
Senses: examples: text: Street drug sales are a huge problem for law enforcement since they are a magnet for gun violence and drug users.
glosses: A drug used illegally and recreationally for its euphoric and other mind-altering effects, such as opiates, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, amphetamines and others.
Strong Island
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Etymology: While the exact date of the coinage is unknown, there are several claimants in the 1980's it was coined as a hip hop music term for Long Island. From Newsday: "To boost local black pride, Chuck D and the other WBAU DJs dubbed the Island Strong Island and gave special names to the emerging hip-hop strongholds."
Senses: examples: text: Not for nothing do bodybuilders and rappers brag and swagger about living on “Strong Island.”
ref: 2007. Strong Island Underground, New York Times, Sept. 30, 2007
glosses: Long Island in New York.
subgoal
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: subgoals
Etymology: From sub- + goal.
Senses: glosses: A lesser goal that forms part of a greater goal.
sucker punch
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sucker punches
form: sucker-punch
form: suckerpunch
Etymology: American English, from sucker (“dupe”) + punch.
Senses: examples: text: Benjamin crossed his right, a short punch traveling less than six inches, as he and Murphy stepped back from the breakaway. Many of the spectators did not see the blow that laid the West Philadelphian low. It was a "sucker punch," as Nick Hayes would have it. Coming out of a clinch, Benjamin took one step backward, then stepped forward before Murphy lifted his arms, crossing his right simultaneously, and zowie-- it was curtains for one of the millions of heroes of the "Big Fight." Jimmy dropped back on his haunches. His eves appeared to be clear, and he knew what he wanted to do--but apparently couldn't do it.
ref: 1919 December 9, Louis H. Jaffe, “Murphy Put Away by Blow on Break”, in Evening Public Ledger, volume VI, number 74, Philadelphia, Pa., archived from the original on 06 Nov 2016, page 19:
text: The Championship highflyers almost got their reward for a resilient performance on their first visit to the Emirates, surviving a flurry of first-half Arsenal chances before hitting back with a classic sucker punch.
ref: 2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC:
text: The recorded audio of Vance telling donors at a fundraiser in Golden Valley, Minnesota, on Saturday that “all of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch” when the president, Joe Biden, withdrew from the 2024 race was leaked to the Washington Post.
ref: 2024 July 30, Anna Betts, quoting JD Vance, “Vance reportedly told donors Harris was threat in new blow to Trump campaign”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: An unexpected punch or similar blow.
glosses: A punch or jab on an opponent who is off guard or not active.
synonyms: rabbit punch
glosses: A disabling punch targeting a place which is not normally acceptable in a "fair fight", such as on the back of the head.
Related terms: coward punch
haymaker
king hit
sucker punch
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: sucker punches
form: sucker punching
form: sucker punched
form: sucker punched
form: sucker-punch
form: suckerpunch
Etymology: American English, from sucker (“dupe”) + punch.
Senses: examples: text: We stared at each other for a moment. Then, without blinking, I sucker punched him as hard as I could. He fell but instantly came back at me, head down like a bull.
ref: 1996, Larry Flynt, Kenneth Ross, An Unseemly Man, Los Angeles: Dove Books, →ISBN, page 57:
text: You never say, "I'm gonna fight you, Steve." You just smile and act natural, and then you sucker-punch him.
ref: 2004, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, spoken by Steve Zissou (Bill Murray):
text: The threats never really bothered me. If someone is going to attack you, it will happen as you turn a street corner and get sucker punched.
ref: 2020, Paul Orlousky, Punched, Kicked, Spat On, and Sometimes Thanked, Cleveland: Gray & Company, →ISBN:
glosses: To deliver an unexpected blow.
sucking urge
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sucking urges
Senses: glosses: An infant's instinctive urge to breastfeed. It is a primitive reflex.
Synonyms: suckling urge
suicide Tuesday
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: suicide Tuesdays
Senses: examples: 2001, June Marshall, The Dirty Seven: Ladies Beware!, AIL New Media, US, page 123,
It was an Ecstasy party, but Amy abstained from the “soft” drug. […] She knew the side effects, such as “Suicide Tuesday” that occur after the drug has depleted the serotonin levels in the brain. But she didn′t want to be a party pooper.
2005, Duncan Osborne, Suicide Tuesday: Gay Men and the Crystal Meth Scare, Carroll & Graf, US, quoted in 2011, Michael Shelton, Gay Men and Substance Abuse, Hazelden, US, page 26,
It is called Suicide Tuesday because, as the name suggests, users feel so awful, they just want to die. For chronic meth users, the effects on the brain can grow, making each succeeding Suicide Tuesday that much more intense and the desire to get high again that much greater.
2008, Ian Commins, Fiveways, University of Queensland Press, 2011, ReadHowYouWant, page 122,
She struggles through suicide Tuesday by getting into work late and shutting her office door.
Craig is her small-time dealer so he, Sharon and James have a clear picture of her drug patterns.
glosses: The depressive period that typically occurs midweek, nominally on the Tuesday, following weekend (Friday or Saturday) use of party drugs such as ecstasy.
Synonyms: mid-week blues
ecstasy Tuesday
Tuesday blues
Swamigal
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Etymology: From a South Indian word which means holy/saintly man, as commonly used in the Indian States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.It is derived from the Sanskrit word swami (holy/saintly man).
Senses: glosses: A surname from India
Related terms: swami
swamiji
tagati
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: The term is first recorded in 1836; it derives from the Zulu word umthakathi, being someone who mixes medicine, which itself comes from the Zulu thaka (mix) and muthi (medicine). The term has gradually come to be used to refer only to negative, harmful uses of medicines derived from plants, animals and minerals.
Senses: examples: text: No, the average Bantu always had a dilemma; live with the wild tribes and never know when some witchdoctor's tagati would strike him down; or live with the umlungus and respect his authority (and his sjambok).
ref: 1992, Colin Bender, Makapan odyssey, page 166:
glosses: In South African English, a wizard, witch, or a spiteful person who operates in secret to harm others or who uses poisons and familiar spirits to carry out harmful deeds.
taluks
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of taluk
stegosaur
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈstɛɡəˌsɔr/
ipa: /ˈstɛɡəsoɹ/
Forms: form: stegosaurs
Etymology: From Stegosaurus.
Senses: glosses: Any extinct herbivorous dinosaur, of the suborder Stegosauria, having two rows of bony plates along the back.
Synonyms: stegosaurus
Related terms: dinosaur
technical tap
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: technical taps
Etymology: The phrase became popular in the Second Industrial Revolution, when sometimes vacuum tubes or soldered connections would become loose.
Senses: glosses: A tap or a slap on a device in a way to either make it work correctly again, or break it completely. For example, hitting a TV to get its reception back, or hitting a jukebox back to life.
Synonyms: percussive maintenance
technomad
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: technomads
form: tech-nomad
Etymology: Blend of techno- + nomad, originally coined by Steven K. Roberts to describe a nomadic person who remains connected through communications media such as the Internet during travel, exploration, and online nomadic living.
Senses: glosses: An itinerant person who remains connected to the Internet.
teinds
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: In Scotland, tithes derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of the clergy.
tempus fugit
Language: English
Part of speech: proverb
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin tempus fugit, from the third book of the Georgics by the Roman poet Virgil (70–19 BCE): sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus (“meanwhile, the irreplaceable time escapes”, literally “but it flees meanwhile: irretrievable time flees”).
Senses: examples: text: Suddenly the assemblage began to sing. "Let the flag of the kingdom, so graceful and fair, / Be raised while its citizens sing, / 'Hurrah! Tempus Fugit!' the national air, / And kneel to our glorious king!
ref: 1908, Percy Keese Fitzhugh, King Time: Or The Mystical Land of the Hours, a Fantasy, New York and Boston: H.M. Caldwell Company, page 181:
glosses: Synonym of time flies.
synonyms: word: time flies
glosses: Expressing concern that one's limited time is being consumed by something which may have little intrinsic substance or importance at that moment; often, synonym of life is short..
not touch with a ten-foot pole
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: not touch something with a barge pole
Etymology: Disputed.
Senses: examples: text: 1873. Ambrose Bierce (under the pseudonym Dod Grile), The Fiend's Delight
In conclusion, his respect for letter-writing ladies is so great that he would not touch one of them with a ten-foot pole.
text: ... the stock's gone up from nothin' out o' sight. You couldn't tech that stock with a ten-foot pole!
ref: 1912, Ambrose Bierce, “A Providential Intimation”, in The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, volume 8:
text: Serious actors of the world wouldn't touch the part with a ten-foot pole.
ref: 1999. David Morefield, The Guardian: I spy, the new 007
glosses: To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; signifies a strong aversion.
examples: text: On the contrary, my dear Mr. Gordon, it is because I do know him, or know of him, that I am turning him over to you. You are the one person in the world to obtain that coal lease. I confess I couldn't touch the Major with a ten-foot pole, any more than you could go North and get the cash. But you are his neighbor, and he likes you. What you recommend, he'll do.
ref: Francis Lynde, The Quickening
glosses: To be unable (perhaps figuratively) to approach something or someone.
Related terms: can't stand the sight of
not be caught dead
over my dead body
TEOTWAWKI
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: [ti.ɑt.wɑk.i]
Senses: examples: text: “Teotwawki.” He shrugged.
“Where'd that come from?” English, please?
 “Teotwawki,” Rabbit repeated.
 That's helpful. “Which means?”
 “‘The end of the world as we know it.’ Teotwawki. I'll probably shorten it eventually.”
ref: 2013, Amber Kizer, A Matter of Days, Delacorte Press, →ISBN, page 75:
text: Conspiracists convinced of an impending apocalyptic battle will begin “preparing for TEOTWAWKI, because they appear to have a deep-seated, almost nihilistic wish for everything just to end.”
ref: 2019, Thomas Milan Konda, Conspiracies of Conspiracies: How Delusions Have Overrun America, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 323:
glosses: Acronym of the end of the world as we know it.
Related terms: SHTF
kicks ass
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: third-person singular simple present indicative of kick ass
kicked ass
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of kick ass
thermokinetic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From thermo- + kinetic, the former element referring to thermodynamics.
Senses: glosses: Pertaining to two related subjects which are often taught simultaneously in most undergraduate physical chemistry courses, typically before the students learn quantum mechanics.
Related terms: thermokinetics
throw shapes
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: throws shapes
form: throwing shapes
form: threw shapes
form: thrown shapes
Senses: glosses: To act tough or put up a front. For example, to threaten a person by making "karate chops" at them, without actually doing harm or knowing karate.
glosses: To dance.
ticking
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɪkɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪkɪŋ
Forms: form: tickings
Etymology: tick (“sheet, cover”) + -ing (“material, collection”).
Senses: examples: text: Harvey saw with disgust that there were no sheets on his bed-place. He was lying on a piece of dingy ticking full of lumps and nubbles.
ref: 1897, Rudyard Kipling, “chapter 1”, in Captains Courageous:
glosses: A strong cotton or linen fabric used to cover pillows and mattresses.
ticking
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɪkɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪkɪŋ
Forms: form: tickings
Senses: examples: text: Were they indeed the tickings of a hundred clocks — the fine low inward breathings of Time's children!
ref: 1842, Laman Blanchard, “The Frolics of Time”, in George Cruikshank's Omnibus:
text: The combination of “monotony” and “variety,” which keeps the writer in a trance-like state between sleep and wake, is then characterized by the figure of a ticking watch: “If certain sensitive persons listen persistently to the ticking of a watch [...] they fall into the hypnotic trance; and rhythm is but the ticking of a watch made softer, that one must needs listen, and various, that one may not be swept beyond memory or grow weary of listening” (1961: 159).
ref: 2018 May, Angela Leighton, Hearing Things: The Work of Sound in Literature, Harvard University Press, page 237:
glosses: A sound of something ticking. (For example, the second hand on a clock face.)
glosses: An illusional style of dance where one moves his or her body to the "tic" of the music creating a strobe or animated effect.
ticking
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɪkɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪkɪŋ
Senses: examples: text: a ticking time bomb
text: The combination of “monotony” and “variety,” which keeps the writer in a trance-like state between sleep and wake, is then characterized by the figure of a ticking watch: “If certain sensitive persons listen persistently to the ticking of a watch [...] they fall into the hypnotic trance; and rhythm is but the ticking of a watch made softer, that one must needs listen, and various, that one may not be swept beyond memory or grow weary of listening” (1961: 159).
ref: 2018 May, Angela Leighton, Hearing Things: The Work of Sound in Literature, Harvard University Press, page 237:
glosses: present participle and gerund of tick
Derived terms: the clock is ticking
ticking bomb
ticking time bomb
Related terms: tick-tock
ticking
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɪkɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪkɪŋ
Forms: form: tickings
Etymology: tick (“tick mark”) + -ing (“having the property”).
Senses: glosses: A marking that occurs on some horses, involving white flecks of hair at the flank, and white hairs at the base of the tail, called a skunk tail or rabicano, sometimes referred to as birdcatcher ticks.
Related terms: Ticking in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
to hell in a handbasket
Language: English
Part of speech: prep_phrase
Forms: form: to hell in a handcart
Etymology: Images in church iconography suggest similar phrases may date back to 1515. The first attestation is from 1682, the variation to hell in a handcart is attested since 1841, and a phrase similar to to heaven in a wheelbarrow is first attested in 1618. The popularity of the variation "to hell in a handbasket" may be connected to its alliteration.
Senses: examples: text: I watched as the guy in charge did nothing and the whole place went to hell in a handbasket.
text: Ralph's close vision had deteriorated quite a bit since Carolyn’s death—gone to hell in a handbasket might actually have been a more accurate way of putting it—and he had to lean forward until his brow was pressed against the dirty show window of Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Clothes before he could decipher it: […]
ref: 1994, Stephen King, Insomnia:
text: Gen Xers were said to be lazy—“slackers” in the parlance of the time—who didn’t exhibit the straightforward work ethic of their predecessors. […] Commentators wrung their hands about the slackers in our midst, further evidence that society was going to hell in a handbasket.
ref: 2010, Clay Shirky, Cognitive Surplus, page 121:
glosses: To go to a bad state of affairs quickly.
P/N
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: Initialism of part number (a unique, manufacturer-assigned identifier of an item or part).
glosses: A semiconductor photovoltaic device structure in which the junction is formed between a p-type layer and an n-type layer.
tranny chaser
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: tranny chasers
Senses: synonyms: chaser
glosses: Someone who is sexually attracted to transgender or transsexual people, generally in a fetishistic way.
Related terms: transfan
skoliosexual
tray-table
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: tray-tables
Senses: glosses: A small, tray-shaped table used to place small objects upon, and most commonly used to place meals on while watching television.
glosses: A fold-away tray, such as those found in front of airline seats.
troglobite
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: troglobites
Etymology: From German Troglobie (from Ancient Greek τρώγλη (trṓglē, “hole”) + βίος (bíos, “life”)). By surface analysis, troglo- + -obe + -ite.
Senses: glosses: An animal that normally lives entirely in the dark parts of caves, often with no functioning eyes or no pigmentation.
Synonyms: troglobiont
Hyponyms: Species of cave fish
cave cricket
shrimp
crayfish
Coordinate terms: troglophile
subtroglophile
trogloxene
stygobite
Related terms: biology
troglodyte
guanobite
lychnobite
tryptic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɹɪp.tɪk/
rhymes: -ɪptɪk
homophone: triptych
Senses: glosses: Of, pertaining to or produced by trypsin
wintry shower
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: wintry showers
Senses: glosses: A shower of snow, sleet or freezing rain
control mechanisms
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of control mechanism
scattered shower
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: scattered showers
Senses: glosses: Any of a series of showers of rain, whose number, location and timing are impossible to predict
control mechanism
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: control mechanisms
Senses: glosses: Any mechanical (or other) system used to keep one or more variable parameters constant, or within specified bounds.
two-decker
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: two-deckers
Senses: glosses: A sail warship, which carried her guns on two fully-armed decks. Usually additional guns were carried on the upper works (forecastle and quarterdeck) but this was not a continuous battery so was not counted. Two-deckers ranged all the way from the small 40-gun fourth-rate up to 80- or even 90-gun ships, with the third-rate or "seventy-four" being the archetype.
topics: journalism
media
glosses: Synonym of double-decker (“headline covering two lines”).
synonyms: word: double-decker
extra: headline covering two lines
UMOC
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: UMOCs
Senses: qualifier: US university and university slang
glosses: Initialism of ugly man on campus.
very important person
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: very important persons
form: very important people
Etymology: The term was coined around 1933.
Senses: coordinate_terms: personage
glosses: A person who is accorded special privileges due to their status or importance.
Derived terms: word: VIP
english: very important person
translation: very important person
word: V.I.P. ()
word: VVIP
english: very, very important person
translation: very, very important person
word: V.V.I.P. ()
vial
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈvaɪəl/
ipa: /ˈvaɪl/
homophone: vile (one GA pronunciation)
rhymes: -aɪəl
rhymes: (one GA pronunciation) -aɪl
Forms: form: vials
Etymology: From Middle English vial, viole, a variant of fiole, phiole, phial (“small bowl or cup for liquids, etc.; flask”) [and other forms]: see further at phial. Doublet of phiale.
Senses: examples: text: Take thou this vial, being then in bed, / And this distilled liquor drink thou off.
ref: c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
text: And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 16:3:
synonyms: phial
glosses: A glass or plastic vessel or bottle, especially a small tube-shaped bottle used to store medicine, perfume or other chemicals.
Synonyms: word: beaker
word: burette
word: cruet
word: flask
word: jar
word: phial
word: test tube
Hyponyms: word: ampoule
word: vacutainer
word: container
word: vessel
Coordinate terms: test tube
Derived terms: Bologna vial
scintillation vial
Related terms: word: jug
word: vase
vial
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈvaɪəl/
ipa: /ˈvaɪl/
homophone: vile (one GA pronunciation)
rhymes: -aɪəl
rhymes: (one GA pronunciation) -aɪl
Forms: form: vials
form: vialing
form: vialling
form: vialed
form: vialed
form: vialled
form: vialled
Etymology: From Middle English vial, viole, a variant of fiole, phiole, phial (“small bowl or cup for liquids, etc.; flask”) [and other forms]: see further at phial. Doublet of phiale.
Senses: synonyms: phial
glosses: To keep or put (something, especially a liquid) in, or as if in, a vial (noun sense).
ergative verbs
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of ergative verb
kilted sausage
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: kilted sausages
Etymology: From the resemblance of the bacon wrapper to a kilt around the sausage.
Senses: glosses: A sausage wrapped in bacon, traditionally served for Christmas dinner in Scotland and parts of England.
Related terms: pig in a blanket
PEBKAC
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: Problem exists between keyboard and chair. See PEBCAK.
Related terms: ID10T
working week
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: working weeks
Senses: examples: text: He was my North, my South, my East and West, / My working week and my Sunday rest
ref: 1936, W. H. Auden, Funeral Blues:
glosses: The days of the week that are usually worked on, i.e. Monday to Friday.
Synonyms: workweek
Related terms: POETS day