Word: twist Part of Speech: noun Etymology: PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English twist, from Old English *twist, in compounds (e.g. mæsttwist (“a rope; stay”), candeltwist (“a wick”)), from Proto-Germanic *twistaz, a derivative of *twi- (“two-”) (compare also twine, between, betwixt). Related to Saterland Frisian Twist (“discord”), Dutch twist (“twist; strife; discord”), German Low German Twist (“strife; discord”), German Zwist (“turmoil; strife; discord”), Swedish tvist (“quarrel; dispute”), Icelandic tvistur (“deuce”). The verb is from Middle English twisten. Compare Dutch twisten, Danish tviste (“to dispute”), Swedish tvista (“to argue; dispute”). Pronunciation: /twɪst/, [tw̥ɪst] 1. A twisting force. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. Anything twisted, or the act of twisting. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Peter was always proud afterwards when he remembered that, with the Bargee's furious fingers tightening on his ear, the Bargee's crimson countenance close to his own, the Bargee's hot breath on his neck, he had the courage to speak the truth. "I wasn't catching fish," said Peter. "That's not your fault, I'll be bound," said the man, giving Peter's ear a twist—not a hard one—but still a twist. Example: Not the least turn or twist in the fibres of any one animal which does not render them more proper for that particular animal's way of life than any other cast or texture. 3. The form given in twisting. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Habakkuk brought him a ſmooth, ſtrong, tough Rope, made of many a ply of vvholeſome Scandinavian Hemp, compactly tvviſted together, vvith a Nooſe that ſlip'd as glib as a Bird-catcher's Gin. Jack ſhrunk and grevv pale at firſt ſight of it, he handled it, meaſur'd it, ſtretch'd it, fix'd it againſt the Iron-bar of the VVindovv to try its ſtrength, but not Familiarity could reconcile him to it. He found fault vvith the length, the thickneſs, and the tvviſt, nay, the very colour did not pleaſe him. 4. The degree of stress or strain when twisted. Labels: countable, uncountable 5. A type of thread made from two filaments twisted together. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: the thrid By griesly Lachesis was spun with paine, That cruell Atropos eftsoones vndid, With cursed knife cutting the twist in twaine […] Example: I was one morning walking arm in arm with him in St James's Park, his dress then being […] waistcoat and breeches of the same blue satin, trimmed with silver twist à la hussarde, and ermine edges. 6. A sliver of lemon peel added to a cocktail, etc. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Bunny sat on the only remaining stool at the leather-padded oval bar in the Iron Lounge. It was happy hour, two drinks for the price of one. She decided on a martini with a twist, and while the bartender was preparing her drink, she scanned the faces looking at the bar. 7. A sudden bend (or short series of bends) in a road, path, etc. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: But here a twist in the stream brought us out from the bushes Example: I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. 8. A distortion to the meaning of a passage or word. Labels: countable, uncountable 9. An unexpected turn in a story, tale, etc. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I'm all agog at the new twist to the royal scandal. Example: Though set in Los Angeles, the film has a familiar, television look and feel - two handsome partners, cops, criminals, fast cars and a marginal romance. The twist in the buddy-car-chase formula is that here the good guys tend to blur into the bad. 10. A modern dance popular in Western culture in the late 1950s and 1960s, based on rotating the hips repeatedly from side to side. See Twist (dance) on Wikipedia for more details. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Come on, baby, let's do the twist Take me by my little hand and go like this Example: Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring Seems he was troubled by just one thing Opened the lid and shook his fist And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?" It's now the Mash It's now the Monster Mash. 11. A rotation of the body when diving. Labels: countable, uncountable 12. A sprain, especially to the ankle. Labels: countable, uncountable 13. A twig. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: No twiſt, no twig, no bough nor branch […] 14. A girl, a woman. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: James and Ruby danced over beside us. ‘Did you tell her?’ he asked, looking at me. I nodded. ‘Wait a minute,’ Gloria said, as they started to dance away. ‘What’s the big idea of talking behind my back?’ ‘Tell that twist to lay off me,’ James said, still speaking directly to me. Example: (Dane, speaking about a woman character) "I'll see where the twist flops" 15. A roll or baton of baked dough or pastry in a twisted shape. Labels: countable, uncountable 16. A small roll of tobacco. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: We spent a lot of time up on the staging of the great furnaces, trying to pick up the tricks of the trade from the taciturn furnacemen who sat around placidly smoking, or chewing twist, and occasionally throwing in more pig iron to the molten white-hot metal. Example: […] this Katie Byrne was a great favourite with Art and Con, to whom she always brought a gift of tobacco twist, when she came on a visit, and Art and Con were great chewers of tobacco twist, and never had enough, never never had enough tobacco twist, for their liking. 17. A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel twisted and welded together. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Damascus twist 18. The spiral course of the rifling of a gun barrel or a cannon. Labels: countable, uncountable 19. A beverage made of brandy and gin. Labels: countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable 20. A strong individual tendency or bent; inclination. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: a twist toward fanaticism 21. An appetite for food. Labels: archaic, countable, slang, uncountable Example: Hope you’ve brought good appetites with you, gentlemen. You, Doolan, I know ave, for you’ve always ad a deuce of a twist. Example: He [the yearling bull] had a good handsome male head, and he had a capital twist. He had a spring in his rib, and was something over seven feet in girth. He was well covered, and had all the recommendations of quality, symmetry, and size. 22. Ellipsis of hair twist. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Example: The physician should evaluate for a history of tight ponytails, buns, chignons, braids, twists, weaves, cornrows, dreadlocks, sisterlocks, and hair wefts in addition to the usage of religious hair coverings.