screed
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /skɹiːd/
ipa: /skɹid/
rhymes: -iːd
Forms: form: screeds
Etymology: From Middle English screde [and other forms], a variant of shrede (“fragment, scrap; strip of cloth; strip cut off from a larger piece; band or thread woven into fabric; element, streak”) (whence shred (noun)), from Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“a piece cut off; paring, shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō (“a piece, shred; a cut, crack”), from *skraudaną (“to cut up, shred”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). The English word is cognate with Old Frisian skrēd. Doublet of escrow, scroll, and shred.
Senses: examples: text: Eh, Mr Henry! but the carle gae him a screed o' doctrine! Ye might hae heard him a mile down the wind—He routed like a cow in a fremd loaning.
ref: 1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter I, in Tales of My Landlord, […], volume III (Old Mortality), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, […]; London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 9:
text: I see it's three o'clock in the morning and I've written whole screeds when I only intended to write a short note!
ref: 1995, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, “The Marquise de Merteuil to the Vicomte de Valmont: 12 August 17——”, in Douglas Parmée, transl., Les Liaisons dangereuses (Oxford World’s Classics), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part I, page 29:
glosses: A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long.
examples: text: When he [Herman Melville] had finished the first part of his novel [Pierre; or, The Ambiguities], and printed it, the publishers would have nothing to do with it. They claimed they had been deluded into accepting a villainous and blasphemous screed against religion and morality and all right living.
ref: 1939, Patrick Francis Quinn, “Pierre”, in The Fatalism of Herman Melville (unpublished B.A. and M.A. dissertation), Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin, →OCLC, page 76:
text: One of our primary tasks is to replace racist screeds like The Bell Curve and The End of Racism with sound economic arguments that are relatively simple to understand and yet serious enough to encompass divergent points of view.
ref: 1999, Marcellus Andrews, “A Preface in Three Parts: Economics as a Razor”, in The Political Economy of Hope and Fear: Capitalism and the Black Condition in America, New York, N.Y.; London: New York University Press, →ISBN, page 5:
text: One of the more regular correspondents to the club was an Everton fan, who'd send in an abusive screed each time Albion were due to play on Merseyside. He directed this at [Ron] Atkinson, urging him not to select his "monkeys" for the game.
ref: 2014 July 25, Paul Rees, “‘We got off the coach and the National Front was there … People spat at us’”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2020:
synonyms: word: harangue
word: polemic
word: rant
word: tirade
word: diatribe
word: admonition
word: condemnation
word: diatribe
word: dithyramb
word: harangue
word: impugnation
word: j'accuse
word: jeremiad
word: philippic
word: polemic
word: rant
word: screed
word: slanging match
word: tirade
glosses: A speech or piece of writing which contains angry and extended criticism.
examples: text: It uses a lot of footage of Japanese actors, and screeds of character text, making it unlikely to see a European release.
ref: 1995 April, Mean Machines Sega, number 30, page 13:
text: Compared to LOB [the Lancaster-Oslo-Bergen Corpus], the BNC [British National Corpus] is an anarchic object, containing 'texts' from 25 to 250,000 words long, screeds of painfully formulaic entries from the Dictionary of National Biography, conversations monosyllabic and incoherent, sermons, pornography, and the electronic discourse of the Leeds United Football Club Fan Club.
ref: 2001, Adam Kilgarriff, “Web as Corpus”, in Geoffrey Sampson, Diana McCarthy, editors, Corpus Linguistics: Readings in a Widening Discipline, London; New York, N.Y.: Continuum, published 2005, →ISBN, page 471:
glosses: Chiefly in the plural form screeds: a large quantity.
examples: text: When applied to large surfaces, strips or screeds of wood should be fixed to float from; and when the plain surface is formed, it is finished with the handfloat.
ref: 1833, James Gallier, “Of Oil Mastic”, in The American Builder’s General Price Book and Estimator, […], New York, N.Y.: […] [Minard] Lafever and [James] Gallier, […] Stanley & Co., […], →OCLC, page 42:
text: The term Screed, in plastering, is a stile formed of lime and hair, about seven or eight inches wide, gauged exactly true. In floated-work these screed are made at every three or four feet distance, vertically round a room, and are prepared perfectly straight by applying the straight-edge to them to make them so; and when all the screeds are formed, the parts between them are filled up flush with lime and hair, or stuff, and made even with the face of the screeds. The straight-edge is then worked horizontally upon the screeds, to take off all superfluous stuff.
ref: 1841, Minard Lafever, “Plastering”, in The Modern Builders’ Guide, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: William D. Smith, →OCLC, page 104:
text: The use of timber battens as screeds makes it easy to get the floating coat flat. Getting a blemish-free skim coat is more difficult.
ref: 1991, Robert Matthews, “Plastering”, in Practical House Building: A Manual for the Selfbuilder, Leicester, Leicestershire: Blackberry Books, published 1998, →ISBN, page 77, column 1:
topics: business
construction
manufacturing
masonry
glosses: Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
A tool, usually a long strip of wood or other material, placed on a floor to be covered with concrete, a wall to be plastered, etc., as a guide for producing a smooth, flat surface.
examples: text: The screeds and vibrator on the machine finisher are set to give the proper surface elevation and produce a dense concrete. In most cases, there should be a sufficiently thick layer of mortar ahead of the screed to insure that all low spots will be filled. The vibrator follows the front screed and the rear screed is last. The rear screed should be adjusted to carry enough grout ahead of it to insure continuous contact between screed and pavement.
ref: 1973, T. W. Love, “Finishing Concrete”, in Construction Manual: Concrete & Formwork, Carlsbag, Calif.: Craftsman Book Company, published 2001, →ISBN, page 129:
topics: business
construction
manufacturing
masonry
glosses: Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
A tool such as a long strip of wood or other material which is drawn over a wet layer of concrete, plaster, etc., to make it smooth and flat; also, a machine that achieves this effect; a screeder.
synonyms: strickle
examples: text: [T]wo workmen, provided with a tub of putty and a quantity of plaster of Paris, proceed to run the cornice. Before using the mould, they gauge a screed of putty and plaster upon the wall and ceiling, covering so much of each as will correspond with the top and bottom of the intended cornice. On this screed one or two slight deal straight-edges, adapted to as many notches or chases made in the mould for it to work upon, are nailed.
ref: 1830, John Nicholson, “Plastering”, in The Builder’s Practical Guide: Containing a Complete Explanation of the Principles of Science, as Applied to Every Branch of Building: […], London: […] Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, […], →OCLC, page 615:
text: A few early churches were floored with a screed of weak concrete, after the Roman fashion, the ingredients being lime mortar and crushed brick (opus signinum).
ref: 1998, Warwick Rodwell, “The Archaeology of Church and Cathedral Floors”, in Jane Fawcett, editor, Historic Floors: Their Care and Conservation (Butterworth-Heinemann Series in Conservation and Museology), paperback edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire; Woburn, Mass.: Butterworth-Heinemann, published 2001, →ISBN, section 2.1.1 (Materials and Laying Techniques), page 41, column 2:
text: Nowadays they [PVC tiles] are manufactured with a backing that is coated with an adhesive (peel and stick) so that they may be laid straight onto a slurry-finished granolithic screed.
ref: 1999, Chris de Jager, “Finishing”, in Building and Civil Technology N3, Cape Town, South Africa: Maskew Miller Longman, published 2007, →ISBN, section 10.1 (Floors), page 196:
topics: business
construction
manufacturing
masonry
glosses: Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
A smooth, flat layer of concrete, plaster, or similar material, especially if acting as a base for paving stones, tiles, wooden planks, etc.
examples: text: "Weel done!" cried Mrs. Smith. "I trow ye gae her a screed o' your mind!"
ref: 1813, William David Evans, “Letter I”, in Letters on the Legal Disabilities of Roman Catholics and Dissenters; and on the Dangers Apprehended from Their Removal, London: […] J. Ridgeway, […], →OCLC, page 13:
text: The housewife hastens in the gleaming sun, / With watering-pan to sprinkle when it needs / The bleaching cloth which her own fingers spun, / Stretch'd on the orchard sward in whitening screeds; [...]
ref: 1824, “A Summer Morning”, in The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, volume XI, number XLVII, London: […] Henry Colburn […], →OCLC, page 472:
text: No sooner had we clapped eyes on the Leading Article, than, as usual, we recognized an old acquaintance. It is made up of alternate scraps and screeds from old numbers of the Review—the Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Scotsman newspaper!
ref: 1826, Mordecai Mullion [pseudonym; John Wilson], Some Illustrations of Mr [John Ramsay] M‘Culloch’s Principles of Political Economy, Edinburgh: William Blackwood; London: T[homas] Cadell, →OCLC, page 39:
synonyms: scrid
glosses: A piece or narrow strip cut or torn off from a larger whole; a shred.
examples: text: And it be further Enacted, That in all Caſes where any of the Lands and Grounds by this Act intended to be divided and incloſed ſhall adjoin on any Freeboard, Screed, or Parcel of Land left on the Outſide of the Fences of any adjoining Pariſh, Townſhip, or Place, which ſhall run into any of the Lands intended to be incloſed by virtue of this Act, ſuch Freeboard, Screed, or Parcel of Land ſhall be deemed and taken to be Parcel of the Lands hereby directed to be divided and incloſed, [...]
ref: [1795], An Act for Dividing, Allotting, Inclosing, Draining, and Improving the Commons and Waste Grounds, within the Several Parishes of Epworth, Haxey, Belton, and Owston, in the Isle of Axholme, in the County of Lincoln; […] (35 George III, chapter 107), [London]: [Parliament of Great Britain], →OCLC, pages 25–26:
glosses: A piece of land, especially one that is narrow.
examples: text: Yet when a tale comes i' my head, / Or laſſes gie my heart a ſcreed, / As whiles they're like to be my dead, / (O ſad diſeaſe!) / I kittle up my ruſtic reed; / It gies me ease.
ref: 1786, Robert Burns, “To W. S*****n, Ochiltree. May—1785”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, volume I, Kilmarnock, Scotland: […] John Wilson, →OCLC; reprinted Kilmarnock, Scotland: […] James M‘Kie, 1867, →OCLC, page 209:
synonyms: cut
rip
glosses: A rent, a tear.
Derived terms: floating screed
Related terms: shred