flurry
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈflʌɹi/
ipa: /ˈflʊɹi/
ipa: /ˈflʌɹi/
ipa: /ˈflɝ.i/
ipa: /ˈflaɹi/
rhymes: -ʌɹi
Forms: form: flurries
Etymology: Perhaps an American English blend of flutter and hurry. Alternatively, perhaps from an obsolete term flurr (“scatter”).
Senses: glosses: A light, brief snowfall.
examples: text: a flurry of wind
text: When the right-away was given, Driver Gibson would give a sonorous blast on Cardean's deep-toned hooter, and amid a flurry of swirling steam the train would move majestically out, with nearly half the city of Carlisle—or so it would appear—as onlookers on the platform.
ref: 1945 May and June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 152:
glosses: A sudden and brief blast or gust; a light, temporary breeze.
glosses: A shower of dust, leaves etc. brought on by a sudden gust of wind.
examples: text: "I missed the beast in my flurry, but he dropped you all right and was off like a streak."
ref: 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
text: With a little manœuvring they contrived to meet on the doorstep which was […] in a boiling stream of passers-by, hurrying business people speeding past in a flurry of fumes and dust in the bright haze.
ref: 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 10, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
text: 1998, Gillian Catriona Ramchand, Deconstructing the Lexicon, in Miriam Butt and Wilhelm Geuder, eds. “The Projection of Arguments”
These [argument structure] modifications are important because they have provoked a flurry of investigation into argument structure operations of merger, demotion etc.
text: Higglety, pigglety, pop!
The dog has eaten the mop;
The pig's in a hurry,
The cat's in a flurry,
Higglety, pigglety, pop!
ref: 1998, Jonathan Langley, Collins Bedtime Treasury of Nursery Rhymes and Tales, Pigs to Market, page 53:
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 day before the wedding was a flurry of preparations.
glosses: Any sudden activity; a stir.
examples: text: Does your "Forbidden Foods" list include banana splits, ice cream sundaes, slurpies, popsicles, frozen yogurts, milk shakes, and ice cream flurries? These foods taste great but have a reputation for being bad for your health.
ref: 1988 October, K. Wayne Wride, “Fruit Treats”, in Vegetarian Times, number 134, page 27:
text: They will make your tongue smile with their homemade ice cream, which was voted "Best Taste in the USA Today." Enjoy exciting toppings to personalize your treat or a yummy sundae, flurry, smoothie, banana split or shake...
ref: 2002, Tampa Bay Magazine (volume 17, number 3, May-June 2002, page 235)
glosses: A snack consisting of soft ice cream mixed with small pieces of fruit, cookie crumbs, etc.
examples: text: Again and again to such gamesome talk, the dexterous dart is repeated, the spear returning to its master like a greyhound held in skilful leash. The agonized whale goes into his flurry; the tow-line is slackened, and the pitchpoler dropping astern, folds his hands, and mutely watches the monster die.
ref: 1851, Herman Melville, chapter 84, in Moby Dick, Pitchpoling:
glosses: The violent spasms of a dying whale.
examples: text: The fencer landed a flurry of hits on her opponent.
text: The think piece provoked a flurry of media responses for the remainder of the week.
synonyms: volley
barrage
glosses: An occurrence of something (countable instances) in large numbers, happening suddenly or in a short period of time.