Word: squeegee Part of Speech: noun Etymology: The noun is probably derived from squeege (“(informal, dated) to squeeze”, verb) (an intensified form of squeeze (verb)) + -ee (suffix attached to verbs to form nouns meaning persons or things that are the subjects of the verbs). Compare earlier squilgee, squillgee (“tool in the form of a mop or swab, or a blade with a long handle, used for cleaning and/or drying a vessel’s deck”). The verb is derived from the noun. Pronunciation: /ˈskwiːd͡ʒiː/, /skwiːˈd͡ʒiː/, /ˈskwiˌd͡ʒi/ 1. A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle. Example: This machine, […] consists of a timber cylinder revolving on an axle, […] The cylinder is armed externally with diagonally-fixed scrapers, squeegees, or brushes. 2. A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle. Example: [F]our men were employed in playing the jets, two in moving the hose from place to place, and four with brooms in sweeping the surfaces of the asphalte and keeping the channels free from straw and larger refuse; they also used squeegees to dry the surface of the asphalte, it being thought desirable that it should be left as dry as possible, […] Example: This roadway is paved with granite blocks laid in the usual sand cement cushion layer, about 1 inch thick, with the joints filled with hot asphalt mixed with heated sand. By means of squeegees, a thin coating, sprinkled with sand, is left upon the surface, resulting in a smooth, resilient, and long-wearing surface that will help to deaden the sounds due to traffic, and be more quickly repaired than concrete. 3. A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle. Example: For roughly the same cost as two bottles of bathroom cleaner, it is now possible to buy a small squeegee and a microfibre cloth. If you can, buy a squeegee that also has a sucker attachment to enable it to be stuck somewhere convenient and always at hand the moment you emerge gleaming from your ablutions. 4. A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle. Example: As for holy-stoning the decks [of the yacht], I set my face against that from the first; it is the worst description of nervous torture of which I ever heard, excepting perhaps, the infliction of the squee gee, which, as its name almost implies, sets every tooth in one's head on edge for a week. Example: But now the old ship had a new flavor all her own. Her decks were slippery with [whale] oil; […] "Here, yew two!" Eph shouted as they stood shivering in the sudden chill. "Git them squeegees and scrape this ile to'ards the try works. Lively now, afore it gits out th' scuppers." 5. A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc. Labels: historical Example: Experiments during the previous year in street washing by squeegee and flushing machines proved so successful that this method has been permanently adopted and the work will be extended as funds are available. The squeegee machines are operated in batteries of one sprinkler and three squeegees, the sprinkler operated some distance ahead to allow the dirt which has become baked and stuck to the pavement to be softened by the absorption of water and easily dislodged by the squeegees. With one battery, which works in the hilly section of the city, it has been found necessary to use three horses in each squeegee machine. 6. A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc. Example: The transfer of the image from paper on to the glass is very easy. The paper is immersed in water, and placed in contact with a glass plate. The superfluous moisture being removed by a squeegee, the paper may then be stripped off, leaving the gelatine on the glass. 7. A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc. 8. A person who uses a squeegee (noun sense 1.2); specifically, one who makes an unsolicited attempt to clean the windshield of a car stopped at a traffic light and then requests payment; a squeegee bandit. Labels: slang