cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
dunno
Language: English
Part of speech: contraction
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdʌnəʊ/
ipa: /dəˈnəʊ/
ipa: /dəˈnoʊ/
other: /dn̩oʊ/
other: /ˈaɪdn̩oʊ/
rhymes: -ʌnəʊ
rhymes: -əʊ
Forms: form: donno
Etymology: Written form of an informal pronunciation of don't know that is a reduction of do not know or does not know.
Senses: examples: text: I dunno the answers to any of those questions, and you dunno and he dunno either.
text: "Where'd he go?" / "Dunno."
text: Fer, as the poit sez, me 'eart 'as got / The pip wiv yearnin' fer - I dunno wot.
ref: 1915, C.J. Dennis, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, published 1916, page 13:
glosses: Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.
Derived terms: iunno
dunno
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdʌnəʊ/
ipa: /dəˈnəʊ/
ipa: /dəˈnoʊ/
other: /dn̩oʊ/
other: /ˈaɪdn̩oʊ/
rhymes: -ʌnəʊ
rhymes: -əʊ
Forms: form: dunnos
form: donno
Etymology: Written form of an informal pronunciation of don't know that is a reduction of do not know or does not know.
Senses: glosses: An utterance of the word dunno.
pseudoscope
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: pseudoscopes
Etymology: From pseudo- + -scope.
Senses: examples: text: One could easily do this with stereo photographs, but one could also do it by making a pseudoscope, with a short cardboard tube and mirrors, […]
ref: 2001, Oliver Sacks, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood:
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
optics
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: An optical instrument that reverses perception of depth.
Derived terms: pseudoscopic
pseudoscopically
jack-in-the-box
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: jacks-in-boxes
form: jacks-in-the-boxes
form: jack-in-the-boxes
form: jacks-in-the-box
Senses: examples: text: "Did you venture to call me a liar?" ("No, sir, no!" shouted the accused, and disappeared like a Jack-in-the-box.)
ref: 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
text: “There’s this terrible business to start with. Scotland Yard men in and out of the house like a jack-in-the-box! Never know where they won’t turn up next.”
ref: 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 126:
text: Normally, you ring a bell and you have at least a half-minute wait before the door opens. But this person was like a jack-in-the-box. He pressed the bell—and out she popped! It made him jump.
ref: 1959 November 20, Roald Dahl, "The Landlady", archived from the original on 19 Mar 2023:
glosses: Children’s toy consisting of a small box from which a male figure pops out unexpectedly after some turnings of a crank.
examples: text: It was possible, from underneath, to use the old jack-in-the-box safe-breaker's tool which lay in his gasman's bag.
ref: 2013, Donald Thomas, The Secret Cases of Sherlock Holmes:
glosses: A small but powerful kind of screw, used by burglars to break open safes.
glosses: A con-man who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money.
Derived terms: jack-in-the-box effect
Related terms: Jack o’ the clock
frisbee
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: frisbees
Etymology: A genericization of the trademark Frisbee.
Senses: synonyms: disc
flying disc
flying disk
glosses: Alternative form of Frisbee (an object)
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
synonyms: disc
flying disc
flying disk
glosses: Alternative form of Frisbee (a sport)
Derived terms: frisbee golf
folf
ultimate frisbee
frisbee
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: frisbees
form: frisbeeing
form: frisbeed
form: frisbeed
Etymology: A genericization of the trademark Frisbee.
Senses: examples: text: Adrian went up to the stereo, took off the record and frisbee'd it out of the open window. Gary watched it skim across the Court.
ref: 1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 42:
glosses: Alternative form of Frisbee.
scoober
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: scoobers
Senses: qualifier: Ultimate Frisbee
glosses: a frisbee throwing style in which the disc is held upside-down with a forehand grip and thrown in front of and across the body
scoober
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: Misspelling of scuba.
hospital pass
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: hospital passes
Senses: glosses: A pass (for schools, military, etc.) exempting one from regular activities, to instead visit a hospital for treatment
examples: text: His first touch was horrid – a hospital pass to Juliano Belletti – but from that moment on his eye-catching football was wonderful to witness.
ref: 2009 (23 November), Mark Fleming "Kakuta puts rare talent on display", The Independent (London)
text: Flood popped out a careless off-load deep in the French 22 to allow a clearing kick to snuff out the danger, and when Nick Easter tried to rumble from deep within his own 22 his hospital pass to Tuilagi triggered another knock-on.
ref: 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France:
text: Brian Maguire is booked for the challenge on Leo McLoone, who was chasing a hospital pass from Mark McHugh.
ref: 2012 (5 August), As It Happened - SFC quarter-finals RTÉ
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A poorly executed pass to a team-mate, who is likely to lose the ball as a result. (Originally rugby union, where the recipient of a hospital pass is a sitting duck for a hard tackle.)
examples: text: Having identified a problem, he took no action to deal with it. Lacking the courage of our convictions, he gave a hospital pass to the Bank of England, which then had little option but to step in and raise interest rates
ref: 1997 (23 July) Gary Streeter, Hansard HC Deb vol 298 c980
glosses: a promotion or delegation which is likely to end in failure or ignominy; a poisoned chalice
qualifier: Ultimate Frisbee
glosses: A throw that stays in the air long enough that it allows too many people to get underneath it, increasing the risk of injury and a trip to the hospital.
Related terms: Hail Mary pass
swill
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /swɪl/
rhymes: -ɪl
Forms: form: swills
Etymology: From Middle English swilen (“to wash; swirl; wash away”), from Old English swillan, swilian (“to wash; wash down; swill; gargle”), from Proto-West Germanic *swilljan, from Proto-Germanic *swiljaną (“to gulp, swallow”), from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to drink, gulp, swallow”). Related to swallow.
Senses: synonyms: hogwash
slops
pigswill
glosses: A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs etc; especially kitchen waste for this purpose.
examples: text: I cannot believe anyone could drink this swill.
glosses: Any disgusting or distasteful liquid.
examples: text: This new TV show is a worthless load of swill.
text: They have helped foster a corrosive, mean-spirited, angry and divisive atmosphere that May and her lieutenants are too weak to challenge. Into this swill comes Leave financier-in-chief, Arron Banks, who last week announced he was setting up a “Patriotic Alliance” to attempt to unseat 100 Remain-supporting MPs.
ref: 2017 March 27, “The Observer view on triggering article 50”, in The Observer:
glosses: Anything disgusting or worthless.
examples: text: He took a swill of his drink and tried to think of words.
synonyms: swig
glosses: A large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow.
coordinate_terms: hooch
rotgut
glosses: Inexpensive beer or alcohol.
qualifier: ultimate frisbee
glosses: A badly-thrown pass.
Derived terms: monkey swill
six o'clock swill
swill-belly
swill-bowl
swill-box
swill-can
swill-flagon
swill milk
swill-pail
swill-pot
swill-tub
unrepresentative swill
back of beyond
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: the back of beyond
Etymology: First attested in the Scottish novelist Walter Scott’s The Antiquary (1816; see quotation). It is quite possible that Scott anglicised a rural expression rather than coined it himself—something he did numerous times with other phrases.
Senses: examples: text: [Y]ou, wi’ some o’ your auld warld stories, that the mind o’ man canna resist, whirl’d them to the back o’ beyont to look at the auld Roman camp—[…]
ref: 1816, [Walter Scott], chapter II, in The Antiquary. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 36:
text: It was a regular outside bush township, and though the distance oughtn't to have much to say to people's honesty, you'll mostly find that these far-out back-of-beyond places have got men and women to match 'em.
ref: 1882, Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms:
text: "I thought I should like to go near the sea — to some quite tiny country place at the back of beyond."
ref: 1920, Margaret Pedler, The Hermit of Far End:
text: To the "Sou' West" we owe such jolly little back-o'-beyond stations as Whithorn and Portpatrick.
ref: 1941 January, C. Hamilton Ellis, “The Scottish Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 3:
text: We began to take Santa Claus to the kids at the isolated sidings for the same reason men all over Australia on the lines back o' beyond did [...] we didn't want them to miss that magic.
ref: 1969, Patsy Adam-Smith, Folklore of the Australian Railwaymen, Melbourne: Macmillan, page 151:
qualifier: sometimes at or to
glosses: A very remote place.
raw_tags: with in
wikipedia: The Antiquary
Walter Scott
Synonyms: beyond the black stump
remote place
partition
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: pärtĭ'shən
ipa: /pɑɹˈtɪ.ʃən/
ipa: /pɑɹˈtɪ.ʃɪn/
rhymes: -ɪʃən
Forms: form: partitions
form: partitioning
form: partitioned
form: partitioned
Etymology: Recorded c.1430, "division into shares, distinction," from Middle English particioun, from Old French particion (modern partition), from Latin partitio, partitionem (“division, portion”), from partitus, the past participle of partire (“to split (up), part(ition)”).
Senses: examples: text: to partition a hard drive
glosses: To divide something into parts, sections or shares.
examples: text: Poland was progressively partitioned by Russia, Austria, and Prussia in the late 18th century.
glosses: To divide a region or country into two or more territories with separate political status.
glosses: To separate or divide a room by a partition (ex. a wall), often use with off.
Synonyms: dismember
Derived terms: partitionability
partitionable
partitioner
partitionist
repartition
Related terms: partner
biodiversity
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌbaɪə(ʊ)daɪˈvɜːsɪti/
ipa: /ˌbaɪoʊdəˈvɚsəti/
ipa: [-ɾi]
ipa: /ˌbaɪoʊdɑɪˈvɚsəti/
Forms: form: biodiversities
Etymology: From bio- + diversity.
Senses: examples: text: A drop in global biodiversity is putting our ability to produce food at risk, a new United Nations report warns.
ref: 2019 February 22, James Griffiths, “‘Extinction crisis’ threatening global food supply, UN report warns”, in CNN:
topics: biology
ecology
natural-sciences
glosses: The diversity (number and variety of species) of plant and animal life within a region.
Derived terms: agricultural biodiversity
agrobiodiversity
biodiversity hotspot
biodiversity offset
human biodiversity
macrobiodiversity
megabiodiversity
microbiodiversity
palaeobiodiversity
paleobiodiversity
sociobiodiversity
disconnect
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /dɪskəˈnɛkt/
ipa: /dɪskəˈnɛkt/
ipa: /ˈdɪskənɛkt/
rhymes: -ɛkt
Forms: form: disconnects
form: disconnecting
form: disconnected
form: disconnected
Etymology: From dis- + connect.
Senses: examples: text: My wi-fi got disconnected.
text: Accordingly, Mitchell and his fireman, apparently without removing the engine from the up line, set to work and disconnected the motion on the defective side, after which Fireman Richardson, who probably had done the lion's share of the work, betook himself to the refreshment room and had a cup of coffee.
ref: 1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, page 53:
glosses: To sever or interrupt a connection.
glosses: To remove the connection between an appliance and an electrical power source.
glosses: Of a person, to become detached or withdrawn.
Synonyms: word: decouple
word: detach
word: disconnect
word: disengage
word: rip off
word: tear off
word: unconnect
word: uncouple
word: unfasten
word: unhitch
Hypernyms: word: disjoin
Hyponyms: word: detether
word: unbutton
word: unbuckle
word: uncable
word: unchain
word: unclamp
word: unlace
word: unlash
word: unpin
word: unplug
word: unscrew
word: unsew
word: unstitch
word: unstrap
word: untie
Derived terms: disconnectable
disconnective
loop disconnect dialing
Related terms: word: liberate
word: release
disconnect
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /dɪskəˈnɛkt/
ipa: /dɪskəˈnɛkt/
ipa: /ˈdɪskənɛkt/
rhymes: -ɛkt
Forms: form: disconnects
Etymology: From dis- + connect.
Senses: glosses: A break or interruption in an existing connection, continuum, or process; disconnection.
glosses: A switch used to isolate a portion of an electrical circuit.
examples: text: There's a disconnect between what they think is happening and what is really going on.
text: Some of the disconnect between the economy’s problems and the solutions offered by Washington stem from the nature of the current political debate.
ref: 2012 October 23, David Leonhardt, New York Times, retrieved 24 Oct 2012:
text: "On top of this, many leading competitor attractions are hands-on, experimental, immersive, and tell a story. With a growing generational disconnect from our industrial past, is coming here for just a train ride any longer enough for people?
ref: 2023 August 23, Malcolm Holmes tells Paul Stephen, “A mission to develop GCR's legacy”, in RAIL, number 990, page 39:
glosses: A lack of connection or accord; a mismatch.
topics: Scientology
lifestyle
religion
glosses: The deliberate severing of ties with family, friends, etc. considered antagonistic towards Scientology.
Synonyms: sense: switch
word: disconnector
Related terms: misconnect
oodles
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈuːd(ə)lz/
rhymes: -uːdəlz
Forms: form: oodle
Etymology: Uncertain; perhaps from scadoodles (“unspecified large amount, number, or quantity”) (US, slang) (although the Oxford English Dictionary notes this is attested slightly later), or from boodle (“whole collection or lot”) (US, dialectal), caboodle (“large collection of people or things”) (US, slang) + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum).
Senses: examples: text: "Along the lake where I went camping once there were oodles of a bright purple thing." / "I don't know what that was," my mother said. "I've never lived near the water. The purplest thing around here is joe-pye weed. We can look him up and see if he has any relatives. Come to think of it, the book had a color index."
ref: 1965, John Updike, Of the Farm, Ipswitch edition, London: André Deutsch, published April 1973, →ISBN, page 121:
text: Minimalist yet soothing décor, private pools and steam rooms […] and simply oodles of class make this one of the island's top choices. Honeymoon, anyone?
ref: 2008, Andrew Burke et al., Thailand’s Islands & Beaches, 6th edition, Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet, →ISBN, page 323:
synonyms: word: abundance
word: arseload
word: assload
word: bellyload
word: boatload
word: brimful
word: busload
word: bucketful
word: bucketload
word: butt-ton
word: bumload
word: buttload
word: cartload
word: crapload
word: deal
word: fuckload
word: fuckton
word: fuckwad
word: great deal
word: hantle
word: heap
word: hecatomb
word: helluvalot
word: horseload
word: lashings
word: load
word: lot
word: mampus
word: many
word: mass
word: metric fuckton
word: metric shitload
word: mickle
word: mountain
word: muckle
word: multiplicity
word: multitude
word: pile
word: ream
word: shedload
word: shitful
word: shitload
word: shitton
word: slew
word: spadeloads
word: sum
word: superflux
word: ton
word: trainload
word: truckload
word: tun
word: vaultful
word: wagonload
antonyms: word: lot
glosses: unspecified large amount, number, or quantity; lots, tons.
raw_tags: with "of"
oodles
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈuːd(ə)lz/
rhymes: -uːdəlz
Senses: glosses: plural of oodle
shaku
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shaku
form: shakus
Etymology: A romanization of Japanese 尺 (shaku). Doublet of chi and chek.
Senses: glosses: The Japanese foot, a traditional Japanese unit of length equal to 10 sun or ¹/₁₀ of a jō, now standardized as equal to ¹⁰/₃₃ of a meter.
Synonyms: Japanese foot
Related terms: ken
Yeshua
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: /ˈjɛ.ʃuː.ə/
/jɛˈʃuː.ɐ/
Forms: form: Jeshua
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Biblical Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēšū́a, “Jesus” or “Joshua”). Cognate directly equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) from nearly identical Aramaic יֵשׁוּע (Yēšū́ʿ). Cognate to Joshua from related variant Hebrew form יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yĕhōšúa, “Joshua”).
Senses: glosses: Jesus
glosses: Joshua
sit out
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: sits out
form: sitting out
form: sat out
form: sat out
Senses: examples: text: I don't like this tune, and I'm rather tired, so I think I'll just sit out.
text: I don't like this tune, and I'm rather tired, so I think I'll just sit it out.
glosses: To decline to participate; particularly, to decline to dance.
examples: text: A large proportion of the millhands sat out the strike in their native villages, sometimes hundreds of miles from Bombay; the remainder survived precariously in the city with the help of casual labour and rations of grain […]
ref: 2012 [1984], chapter 13, in Barry Munslow, Henry Finch, editors, Proletarianisation in the Third World (non-fiction), page 283:
text: He thinks he can sit it out and still take a slice?
ref: 2008 July 14, Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight, spoken by Grumpy (Danny Goldring), Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Comics, Legendary Pictures:
text: England manager Roy Hodgson instantly restored Rooney after a two-match suspension in place of Andy Carroll with orders to make a belated mark on the campaign after sitting out the draw against France and victory against Sweden.
ref: 2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: To await the cessation of, without taking part.
topics: card-games
poker
glosses: To be away from the table in the midst of an ongoing game, thus automatically placing one's forced bets and otherwise folding every hand when it is one's time to act.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: To lean out to the windward side of a sailboat in order to counterbalance the effects of the wind on the sails.
topics: government
hobbies
lifestyle
martial-arts
military
politics
sports
war
wrestling
glosses: To escape a hold while face down by swinging one's legs around into the sitting position.
Synonyms: sense: decline to participate
word: opt out
sense: lean to the windward side
word: hike
sense: lean to the windward side
word: lean out
Related terms: opt out
sit out
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sit outs
Senses: examples: text: During seven NAACP-sponsored school “sit outs” or “holidays” in Jacksonville more than 108,000 children had been kept home by their parents to protest segregated schools and other inequities.
ref: 1966, NAACP Annual Report, page 42:
text: The bottom wrestler shoots both feet out as in the sit out.
ref: 1987, Dale Mood, Frank F. Musker, Judith Rink, Sports and Recreational Activities for Men and Women, page 458:
text: The sit out is used as a good set up for a roll and occasionally provides a good opportunity to score a reversal with a switch.
ref: 1993, Neil J. Dougherty, Physical Activity and Sport for the Secondary School Student, page 388:
text: All rooms are built with balcony or private sit outs for relaxing a breakfast or a romantic candlelight dinner.
ref: 2012, Biju Mathew, Kerala Tradition & Fascinating Destinations, page 424:
text: They decided to take refuge under the sit out in the garden.
ref: 2013, Nikhil Baliga, Swami G's Short Stories, page 19:
text: This weakening tends to impact state stability in the form of popular environmental movements, threatening “Jal Samadhi” Dharnas (sit outs) and hunger strikes.
ref: 2014, Vandana Asthana, A. C. Shukla, Water Security in India, page 69:
glosses: Alternative form of sitout.
examples: text: The parent says, “If you don't start picking up your dirty clothes by the time I count to three, you will need to take a sit out.”
ref: 2010, Jay Morgan, Fingerpainting in Psych Class, page 186:
text: A SIT OUT is required when there is a half table in the section, such as 8.5, 10.5, or 12.5 tables. There are more N/S Pairs than E/W Pairs or vice versa registered for the game.
ref: 2020, Brian R. Gray, A Newcomer's Guide:
glosses: Alternative form of sit-out.
high chair
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: high chairs
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of highchair.
keep tabs on
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: keeps tabs on
form: keeping tabs on
form: kept tabs on
form: kept tabs on
Etymology: See tab (“tablet or slate used for keeping a record of accounts”).
Senses: examples: text: If you are careful to keep tabs on your finances, you should be able to stay within a budget.
text: The police kept close tabs on him during the holidays.
text: He might have spent the hours camped under the trees of the more remote meadow, whence in the brilliant moonlight he could keep tabs on the trails.
ref: 1910, Stewart Edward White, chapter 85, in The Rules of the Game:
text: I'll catch him—I'll trip him up—I'll keep tabs on his arguments.
ref: 1919, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 16, in Rainbow Valley:
text: Syria's much feared state-security apparatus keeps close tabs on everyone entering and leaving the embassy.
ref: 2010, Andrew Lee Butters, “Why the U.S. Is Back on the Road to Damascus”, in Time:
text: Nadal, absent from the draw for the first time nearly two decades, said he won’t watch it all from afar, but he will be keeping tabs.
ref: 2023 May 18, Christopher Clarey, “Even as He’s Out, Rafael Nadal Will Always Be a Part of the French Open”, in The New York Times:
glosses: To monitor; to keep track of; to watch.
one-off
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more one-off
form: most one-off
Etymology: From one + off. Probably from foundry work, for which making reusable molds is expensive and expediency makes the rule for molds not to be used only once.
A term long used by artists who are printmakers and sculptors to indicate a unique print or casting. If using traditional edition numbering, a one-off would be a "1/1", which is said, "one of one" meaning the first print in an edition of one.
Senses: examples: text: The government insisted that the embarrassing loss of the tax records was a one-off event.
text: Seeing Halley's Comet is a one-off, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
text: If such a casting was wanted in a hurry — a one-off job — there would be no question of molding it on a machine.
ref: 1905, Foundry, volume 50, page 198:
text: Moreover, given that recent measures to cut the deficit have been more one-off than of a structural fiscal nature, meeting this debt target is likely only
ref: 2006 September 1, EIU Country Analysis, Malta: Country outlook:
text: A County Fermanagh woman has officiated at the formal registration of the birth of Princess Charlotte at Kensington Palace. It's the second time she's been on royal baby duty at the palace as she previously officiated at the registration of Prince George. She said at the time that it was a "one-off" honour, but that has now been disproved with a repeat visit for Princess Charlotte.
ref: 2015 May 6, Colin O'Carroll, “Fermanagh woman thought registering a royal baby was a one-off honour... now Princess Charlotte has come along she's done it twice”, in Belfast Telegraph, archived from the original on 21 Apr 2023, retrieved 14 May 2015:
text: In July, South Western Railway and Network Rail ran a one-off Class 159 to Fawley, to demonstrate the line's viability. [...] A second 'fact-finding' trial passenger train for DfT officials is now proposed.
ref: 2020 December 16, “Network News: "Robust case" for Fawley branch line reopening”, in Rail, page 14:
glosses: Occurring once, independent of any pattern; one-time.
examples: text: BMW is to create a one-off tribute to the iconic 3.0 CSL.
ref: 2015 May 13, Hunter Skipworth, “BMW to create one-off tribute to 3.0 CSL”, in Evo, archived from the original on 26 Sep 2020, retrieved 14 May 2015:
text: Grammy award-winning singer Celine Dion will reportedly earn $2 million for a one-off performance at the 2024 Olympics.
ref: 2024 July 25, Chinomso Sunday, “Celine Dion to Earn $2 Million for Olympic Ceremony Song”, in newscentral.africa, archived from the original on 26 Jul 2024:
glosses: Singular; unique; special; remarkable.
Synonyms: nonce
one-shot
one-off
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: one-offs
Etymology: From one + off. Probably from foundry work, for which making reusable molds is expensive and expediency makes the rule for molds not to be used only once.
A term long used by artists who are printmakers and sculptors to indicate a unique print or casting. If using traditional edition numbering, a one-off would be a "1/1", which is said, "one of one" meaning the first print in an edition of one.
Senses: examples: text: Near-synonym: stand-alone
text: I'll put together a quick one-off as a sample so we can taste the recipe.
text: But even as he announced the military operation, he appeared to be rapidly trying to get himself back to the middle by insisting that the strike was a one-off and that he continues to seek peace.
ref: 2025 June 22, Luke Broadwater, “Trump Picks a Side on Entering the War in Iran, for Now”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 22 Jun 2025:
glosses: Something that is done, created, etc. only once, and often quickly, simply, or improvisationally.
examples: text: Near-synonym: stand-alone
text: It is a one-off; there is nothing else like it.
text: Frank couldn’t believe that his father had put Queenie back together and not told him. More secrets. More lies. The boy guessed that the coat of yellow paint was to disguise her. Queenie was a one-off. A Mini with a Union Jack painted on her would be a dead giveaway to the police.
ref: 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
glosses: Something unique and remarkable.
Related terms: break the mold
break the mould
come out of the woodwork
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: comes out of the woodwork
form: coming out of the woodwork
form: came out of the woodwork
form: come out of the woodwork
form: crawl out of the woodwork
form: bring out of the woodwork
form: pull out of the woodwork
Etymology: From the idea of insects crawling out from inside the woodwork in a house.
Senses: examples: text: He won the lottery last year and he has had old "friends" and distant relatives coming out of the woodwork ever since.
text: [...] 90-day wonders [...] were kicked around by harassed Regulars who were [...] just too busy to take time to spare the feelings of those strange creatures who came out of the woodwork and wanted the privileges of officers, without being fully prepared to do the work of officers.
ref: 1947 May, Colonel S. Legree, “We Must Get Together”, in Infantry Journal, volume 60, number 5, page 26:
text: Would-be informants came crawling out of the woodwork, drawn to McCarthy as moths to light, each peddling a new version of Lattimore's evil deeds.
ref: 1992, Robert P. Newman, chapter 0, in Owen Lattimore and the “Loss” of China, page 227:
text: And suddenly they came out of the woodwork. I don't actually know what that expression means. What come out of the woodwork? Cockroaches maybe. Mice?
ref: 2006, John Marsden, Circle of Flight: The Ellie Chronicles: 3, unnumbered page:
text: With the fall of the fascist regime, Italy was virtually overrun by several political parties who came out of the woodwork to fill in the vacuum.
ref: 2012, Enzo Centofanti, chapter 0, in Out of Africa and into America: The Odyssey of Italians in East Africa, page 136:
antonyms: blend into the woodwork
glosses: To appear or emerge unexpectedly or inexplicably, frequently in large numbers or quantity.
Related terms: come out of the closet
coming out of one's ears
out of nowhere
out of the blue
draw straws
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: draws straws
form: drawing straws
form: drew straws
form: drawn straws
Senses: examples: text: They drew straws to see who had to wash the dishes.
text: We drew straws, and today's my day to go to school. We're all taking turns so we each only go once a week.
ref: 1990 January 23, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic):
glosses: To decide at random by drawing (selecting randomly between) straws, sticks, etc., one of which differs from the others (typically by being shorter), held in a person's hand so as to conceal which is the different one. Typically, whoever draws the short straw must complete some undesirable task. Alternatively, whoever draws the longest straw gets a desired position.
glosses: To decide by any means of chance.
Related terms: cast lots
draw lots
draw the short straw
draw the short straw
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: draws the short straw
form: drawing the short straw
form: drew the short straw
form: drawn the short straw
Senses: glosses: To select the shortest straw or other object while drawing straws.
examples: text: I drew the short straw and got stuck doing the whole project alone.
glosses: To be selected to do an undesirable task (by drawing the shortest straw or otherwise).
Related terms: short end of the stick
shit end of the stick
school counselor
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: school counselors
Senses: glosses: A professional member of an educational team who assists students in their personal, social, academic, and career development aspects of education through services such as individual counseling, small group counseling, and classroom teaching, and provide leadership in educational reform (advocacy); traditionally known as a guidance counselor, although this term is deemed inaccurate by most professionals today.
Synonyms: guidance counselor
American Sign Language
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: examples: text: For example, you could learn American Sign Language (or whichever sign language is common where you live), a common immigrant language, or an indigenous language in your area, rather than make those people speak to you in English (or whatever major language you speak).
ref: 2023 December 30, Daniel W. Hieber, “Why I hate conlangs”, in Linguistic Discovery, archived from the original on 24 May 2024:
glosses: A sign language used primarily in the United States of America and Canada.
wikipedia: Stokoe notation
Sutton SignWriting
Synonyms: Ameslan
ASL
Derived terms: Gorilla Sign Language
Related terms: Wiktionary’s coverage of American Sign Language terms
ASL
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: examples: text: Whereas American Sign Language could have extended into Nicaragua by the 1980s, as it did in neighboring Costa Rica where it combined with a locally developed sign language in the 1960s, Nicaragua’s geo-political isolation prevented ASL from entering the country, notes Shepard-Kegl.
ref: 2018 July 13, Shoshi Parks, “How Deaf Children in Nicaragua Created a New Language”, in Atlas Obscura, archived from the original on 29 Mar 2025:
glosses: Initialism of American Sign Language.
glosses: Initialism of Advanced Squad Leader.
topics: computing
copyright
engineering
intellectual-property
law
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
software
glosses: Initialism of Apache Software License.
Hyponyms: sense: American Sign Language
word: BASL
ASL
Language: English
Part of speech: phrase
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of asl (“age, sex, location”).
glosses: Initialism of above sea level.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
programming
sciences
glosses: Initialism of arithmetic shift left, a type of bitwise operation.
Related terms: sense: above sea level
word: AAL
sense: above sea level
word: AGL
come clean
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: comes clean
form: coming clean
form: came clean
form: come clean
Senses: examples: text: "You better come clean, Swan, and tell the whole thing. What was it? Don't talk in circles."
ref: 1921, B. M. Bower, chapter 6, in Sawtooth Ranch:
text: Perhaps it is only fair to come clean at the start and confess that I found J.R.R. Tolkien's Unfinished Tales a disappointment.
ref: 1977 October 23, John Gardner, “The World Of Tolkien”, in New York Times, retrieved 12 Sep 2013:
text: When the sub got stuck, the brass kept the fact under wraps for 32 hours before Russia came clean and asked for foreign help.
ref: 2005 August 8, “Quotes of the Day”, in Time, retrieved 12 Sep 2013:
glosses: To confess; admit the truth.
Synonyms: fess up
own up
second guess
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: second guesses
form: second guessing
form: second guessed
form: second guessed
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of second-guess.
second-guess
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/
enpr: sĕʹkəndgĕs'
ipa: /ˈsɛk.(ə)ndˌɡɛs/
ipa: /ˈsɛk.(ə)ntˌɡɛs/
ipa: /ˈsɛk.ɪndˌɡɛs/
ipa: /ˈsɛk.ən(t)ˌɡɛs/
rhymes: -ɛs
Forms: form: second-guesses
form: second-guessing
form: second-guessed
form: second-guessed
form: second guess
Etymology: A back-formation from second guesser, originally from baseball. First use appears c. 1941.
Senses: examples: text: Please don't try to second-guess the procedure that we have already refined and adopted.
text: Once she began listening to her instincts and didn't second-guess herself the entire time, her artwork improved noticeably.
text: Public administration would be hamstrung if courts were free to second-guess reasonable administrative decisions.
ref: 1959, U.S. Court of Appeals proceedings:
text: As a practical matter, a fertilizer company could not afford to second-guess the Federal Trade Commission or a jury in a triple damage case on so obscure a point.
ref: 1957, United States Senate proceedings:
text: If you suspect you've stepped over the line, ask a few other copy editors to second-guess your headline.
ref: 2003, Editing Today:
synonyms: reconsider
rethink
think over
glosses: To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.
examples: text: In this day and age, it's so easy to stress / 'Cause people are strange and you can never second-guess
ref: 2000, Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey, Skye Edwards, “Rome Wasn't Built In a Day”, in Fragments of Freedom, performed by Morcheeba:
text: The Securities and Exchange Commission says Goldman misled two clients by failing to give adequate disclosure.[…] It is impossible to second-guess the case's outcome. But Goldman is already viewed by many as guilty.
ref: 2010 April 24, “Greedy Until Proven Guilty”, in The Economist, volume 395, number 8679, page 13:
text: But it is not Network Rail's job to second guess whether the sponsoring authority really does need the scheme, and whether it has looked at other options.
ref: 2019 November 6, Dennis Fancett, Rail, page 54:
glosses: To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork.
Related terms: word: second guesser
word: second thoughts
word: question mark
Ameslan
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: glosses: Abbreviation of American Sign Language.
Related terms: Wiktionary’s coverage of American Sign Language terms
agbe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: A type of African rattle, similar to a sekere.
agama
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: agamas
Etymology: From Sranan Tongo agama (“lizard”), from a Gbe language; compare Ewe agama (“chameleon”).
Senses: glosses: Any of the various small, long-tailed lizards of the subfamily Agaminae of family Agamidae, especially in genera Acanthocercus, Agama, Dendragama, Laudakia, Phrynocephalus, Trapelus and Xenagama.
Derived terms: frilled agama
ground agama
toad agama
toadhead agama
toad-headed agama
Related terms: agamid
subversion
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sʌbˈvɜː.ʃən/
ipa: /sʌbˈvɜɹ.ʒən/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʃən
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʒən
Forms: form: subversions
Etymology: From Middle English subversion, subversioun, from Old French subversion.
Senses: glosses: The act of subverting; overturning; flipping from beneath.
glosses: The act of overthrowing a government or a ruler; dethronement.
glosses: The condition of being subverted.
glosses: A systematic attempt to overthrow a government by working from within; undermining.
Derived terms: antisubversion
countersubversion
immunosubversion
resubversion
subversionary
Related terms: subversive
subvert
subverter
subversion
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sʌbˈvɜː.ʃən/
ipa: /sʌbˈvɜɹ.ʒən/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʃən
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʒən
ipa: /ˈsʌbˌvɜː.ʒən/
ipa: /ˈsʌbˌvɜɹ.ʒən/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʒən
ipa: /sʌbˈvɜː.ʃən/
ipa: /sʌbˈvɜɹ.ʒən/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʃən
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʒən
Forms: form: subversions
Etymology: From sub- + version.
Senses: glosses: A revision considered more similar to preceding subversions than a revision deemed a new "version" is to preceding versions.
Related terms: subversioning
on the up and up
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of on the up-and-up.
sticker shock
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sticker shocks
Etymology: Coined c. 1981, in reference to price stickers affixed to items for sale.
Senses: examples: text: Last week Jensen returned to his dealer's showroom to eye the new Continental, but he quickly became another victim of what Detroit calls "sticker shock." The price on the car's window: $25,692. Says he: "Damn, that is expensive! It persuaded me to keep driving my '80 until it won't go any more."
ref: 1981 November 9, P. Witteman, K. Pierce, “Going from Bad to Even Worse”, in Time:
text: Now the 1997 model year brings a slew of new and redesigned models that tackle sticker shock head-on.
ref: 1996 Dec, Ed Henry, Taking on Sticker Shock, Kiplinger's Personal Finance:
text: This was supposed to be a summer of long-awaited celebrations in New York City, the return of a packed calendar full of birthday dinners and happy hours. But New Yorkers are confronting sticker shock everywhere they look, whether they’re shopping for barbecue supplies at the grocery store, ordering a beer after work or grabbing a late-night slice of pizza.
ref: 2022 August 8, Nicole Hong, “$15 French Fries and $18 Sandwiches: Inflation Hits New York”, in New York Times, →ISSN:
text: But we have been educated, by a warped system, to believe that food is cheap as of right. That is why many of us are now suffering sticker shock when we eat out.
ref: 2023 June 10, Tim Hayward, “The pie's the limit”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 2:
glosses: Disgust, shock, or fright upon learning the price of an item offered for sale.
Derived terms: sticker-shocked
club kid
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: club kids
Senses: glosses: A denizen of a nightclub.
glosses: A member of a group of young New York City dance club personalities in the late 1980s and early 1990s, known for their flamboyant behavior and outrageous costumes.
whoop it up
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: whoops it up
form: whooping it up
form: whooped it up
form: whooped it up
Senses: examples: text: They all went out to whoop it up on his 21st birthday.
glosses: To have a great time; to party or revel excessively or noisily.
Synonyms: live large
Related terms: whoop-up
noisily
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Forms: form: more noisily
form: most noisily
Etymology: From noisy + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: They talked noisily and long into the night.
text: Wembley was noisily registering its unrest with Capello and England when Johan Djourou's foul on Jack Wilshere gave Frank Lampard the opportunity to pull a goal back from the spot before the interval and provide the foundations for a second-half recovery.
ref: 2011 June 4, Phil McNulty, “England 2 - 2 Switzerland”, in BBC:
glosses: in a noisy manner; in such a way as to create a great deal of noise or sound
tidepool
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: tidepools
Etymology: From tide + pool.
Senses: examples: text: They peeked into the tidepool and found starfish and anemones.
glosses: A rocky pool by the ocean that is filled with seawater left behind by the falling tide.
Synonyms: rockpool
toss-up
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: toss-ups
form: tossup
Etymology: Deverbal from toss up.
Senses: examples: text: It's really a toss-up between the red skirt with blue stripes and the blue skirt with red stripes. They both look good and fit well.
glosses: A decision in which neither choice is clearly favorable or unfavorable, or for which the outcome does not matter.
examples: text: “He’ll do,” said the Doctor, quietly. “It must have been a toss-up all through the night. ’Think you’re to be congratulated on this case.”
ref: 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 151:
text: No longer is the best picture going to be a toss-up between that troika of national-historical heavies: Argo, Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty. Instead, a warm welcome back for Life of Pi, widely dismissed by many as "this year's Hugo" but this column's dark-horse pick from October.
ref: 2013 January 11, Tom Shone, The Guardian:
glosses: Either of two outcomes that are equally likely.
glosses: The toss of a coin used to decide some issue.
glosses: a toss-up question
Derived terms: toss-up question
haphazard
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /(ˌ)hæpˈhæz.əd/
ipa: /(ˌ)hæpˈhæz.ɚd/
ipa: /(ˌ)hæfˈhæz.ɚd/
Forms: form: more haphazard
form: most haphazard
Etymology: From archaic hap (“chance, luck”) + hazard.
Senses: examples: text: Do not make such haphazard changes to the settings; instead, adjust the knobs carefully, a bit at a time.
text: The haphazard efforts of a few, working here and there without concert, easily spent themselves in attaining results far short of what were needed.
ref: 1886, N. H. Egleston, “Arbor-Day”, in Popular Science Monthly, p. 689:
text: we assume a gas to be an assemblage of elastic spheres or molecules, flying in straight lines in all directions, with swift haphazard collisions and repulsions, like so many billiard balls.
ref: 1909, Fielding H. Garrison, “Josiah Willard Gibbs and his relation to modern science”, in Popular Science Monthly, p. 191:
text: There is a very considerable series of observations — non-instrumental, unsystematic, irregular, "haphazard" if you will — which any one with ordinary intelligence and with a real interest in weather conditions may undertake.
ref: 1912, Robert DeC. Ward, “The Value of Non-Instrumental Weather Observations”, in Popular Science Monthly, p. 129:
text: Chelsea need to identify and appoint the new manager and then lose the haphazard transfer policy that has seen players signed for exorbitant fees, often seemingly on the basis that other Premier League clubs were interested in them.
ref: 2023 April 18, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea Champions League exit: Where do 'disjointed, broken' Blues go from here?”, in BBC Sport:
synonyms: random
chaotic
antonyms: systematic
glosses: Random; chaotic; incomplete; not thorough, constant, or consistent.
Derived terms: word: at haphazard
word: half-assed
word: haphazardly
word: haphazardness
word: haphazardous
word: haphazardry
word: unhaphazard
haphazard
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /(ˌ)hæpˈhæz.əd/
ipa: /(ˌ)hæpˈhæz.ɚd/
ipa: /(ˌ)hæfˈhæz.ɚd/
Forms: form: haphazards
Etymology: From archaic hap (“chance, luck”) + hazard.
Senses: examples: text: You should never talk about your own fingers, and haphazards, to genteel people. You should only talk about agreeable subjects as I do.
ref: 1796, Fanny Burney, Camilla, Or, A Picture of Youth, volume 3, published 1802, page 116:
text: I consulted my mother, who was punctiliousness itself, and decided I must go Monday, as agreed. I should be with her again on Wednesday. On such haphazards hang men's destinies sometimes.
ref: 1895, Arthur Conan Doyle, Strange Secrets, page 16:
text: Economics depends on fickle human nature , its changeable tastes and the varying states of culture and the haphazards of progress . Can economics be any more scientific than psychology and psychiatry?
ref: 1951, William Russell White, Leadership, volume 2, page 1616:
text: Machiavelli, in Chapter 25 of Il principe (1513) after surveying the cruelties and haphazards of the politics of his day, set more restrictive limits to human endeavor by assigning half of what happens in this domain to the intractable power of fortuna […]
ref: 2006, Nicholas Rescher, “Studies in philosophical anthropology”, in Collected Papers, page 103:
glosses: Simple chance, a random accident, luck.
haphazard
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /(ˌ)hæpˈhæz.əd/
ipa: /(ˌ)hæpˈhæz.ɚd/
ipa: /(ˌ)hæfˈhæz.ɚd/
Forms: form: more haphazard
form: most haphazard
Etymology: From archaic hap (“chance, luck”) + hazard.
Senses: examples: text: "[...] I suspect that it mostly happens haphazard, though afterwards various noble reasons are invented. About marriage I am cynical.”
ref: 1924 June 4, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, chapter XXIX, in A Passage to India, London: Edward Arnold & Co., →OCLC:
glosses: Haphazardly.
Robinson
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɒb.ɪn.sən/
ipa: /ˈɹɑb.ɪn.sən/
ipa: /ˈɹɑb.ən.sən/
Forms: form: Robinsons
Etymology: From Robin + -son.
Senses: examples: text: The Tory hard right is in the ascendancy, and a fascist street movement – led by convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson – represents a growing threat.
ref: 2018 July 18, Owen Jones, “The hard right can only be defeated from the left, not from the centre”, in The Guardian:
glosses: A surname originating as a patronymic.
glosses: A male given name transferred from the surname.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
A city, the county seat of Crawford County, Illinois.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
An unincorporated community in Delaware County, Iowa.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
A minor city in Brown County, Kansas.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
An unincorporated community in Harrison County, Kentucky.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
An unincorporated community in Saint Louis County, Minnesota.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
A minor city in Kidder County, North Dakota.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
A city in McLennan County, Texas.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
An extinct town in Okanogan County, Washington.
glosses: A placename given to several towns in the United States.
A number of townships in the United States, listed under Robinson Township.
glosses: A name given to several rivers in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
qualifier: Cambridge University
glosses: Ellipsis of Robinson College, Cambridge.
Derived terms: Heath Robinson
Heath Robinsonesque
Heath Robinsonian
Mrs. Robinson
Robinsonesque
Robinsonian
Robinson projection
Related terms: robinsonade