-
to drop down
To be dispirited. This expression is used by thieves to signify that their companion did not die gam...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Drop
·vi To fall in drops.
II. Drop ·vi To fall short of a mark.
III. Drop ·noun Any small pendent orna...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
drop
The new drop; a contrivance for executing felons at Newgate, by means of a platform, which drops fro...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
drop
n.
(Slang.) To «have the drop on» is toforestall, gain advantage over, especially by covering with ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
drop
, or droop.
When a line diverges from a parallel or a curve. It is also a name generally used to t...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
River
·noun One who rives or splits.
II. River ·vi To hawk by the side of a river; to fly hawks at river ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
River
1) Heb. aphik, properly the channel or ravine that holds water (2 Sam. 22:16), translated "brook," "...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
river
Mr. Pickering observes that the Americans, in speaking of rivers, commonly put the name before the w...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
River
In the sense in which we employ the word viz. for a perennial stream of considerable size, a river i...
William Smith's Bible Dictionary
-
drop a cog
To let fall, with design, a piece of gold or silver, in order to draw in and cheat the person who se...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Down
·adj Downcast; as, a down look.
II. Down ·adv From a remoter or higher antiquity.
III. Down ·vt To...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
down
Aware of a thing. Knowing it. There is NO DOWN. A cant phrase used by house-breakers to signify that...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
down
I.
n.
a prejudice against, hostility to;a peculiarly Australian noun made out of the adverb.
1856...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
Rupert's drop
·- A kind of glass drop with a long tail, made by dropping melted glass into water. It is remarkable...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Toe drop
·add. ·- A morbid condition of the foot in which the toe is depressed and the heel elevated.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
drop coves
Persons who practice the fraud of dropping a ring or other article, and picking it up before the per...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
morning drop
The gallows. He napped the king's pardon and escaped the morning drop; he was pardoned, and was not ...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
new drop
The scaffold used at Newgate for hanging of criminals; which dropping down, leaves them suspended. B...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
drop-dry
Completely water-tight.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Cappadox River
CAPPADOX RIVER[CAPPADOCIA]
...
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
-
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
river driver
A term used by lumbermen in Maine, for a man whose business it is to conduct logs down rilnuing stre...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
river-boats
Wherries, and the like, which ply in harbours and rivers for the conveyance of passengers.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
river-harbour
That which is situated in the channel of a river, especially such as are at the embouchure with a ba...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
river-lakes
Large pools of water occupying a portion of the valleys or hollows through which the courses of rive...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
river-risk
A policy of insurance from the docks to the sea, at any port.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down wind, down sea
A proverbial expression among seamen between the tropics, where the sea is soon raised by the wind, ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
A
A, a, indecl. n. (sometimes joined with littera), the first letter of the Latin alphabet, correspond...
A New Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL. D.
-
a
a, prep.=ab, v. ab.
...
A New Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL. D.
-
A
A. a. as an abbreviation, 1 for the praenomen Aulus.
2 for Absolvo, on the voting-tablet of a jud...
An Elementary Latin Dictionary
-
A
·- Of.
II. A ·prep In; on; at; by.
III. A ·- An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter.
I...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A 1
·- A registry mark given by underwriters (as at Lloyd's) to ships in first-class condition. Inferior...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-
·- A, as a prefix to English words, is derived from various sources. (1) It frequently signifies on ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A
Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as Omega is the last. These letters occur in the text...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
a
As for example the word alarm, alarum, a bell, from the German lärm; but the military alarm on a dru...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
William Smith's Bible Dictionary
-
Down-share
·noun A breastplow used in paring off turf on downs.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Down-wind
·add. ·adv With the wind.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Lock-down
·noun A contrivance to fasten logs together in rafting;
— used by lumbermen.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Steep-down
·adj Deep and precipitous, having steep descent.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Step-down
·add. ·adj Transforming or converting a current of high potential or pressure into one of low pressu...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Swan's-down
·noun ·Alt. of Swans-down.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Swans-down
·noun The down, or fine, soft feathers, of the swan, used on various articles of dress.
II. Swans-d...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Tumble-down
·adj Ready to fall; dilapidated; ruinous; as, a tumble-down house.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
down hills
Dice that run low.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
boil down
v.
to reduce a statement to itssimplest form; a constant term amongst pressmen. Over thereporters' ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
knock-down
v.
generally of a cheque. To spendriotously, usually in drink.
1869. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic P...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
lamb down
v. tr.
1) To knock down a cheque or a sum of money in a spree.There is an old English verb, of Scan...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
mulga-down
n.
hills covered with Mulga.
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 201:
«Fascin...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
take (a man) down
Australian sporting slang.
1) Toinduce a man to bet, knowing that he must lose.
2) To advisea man ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
clap down
To set down; charge to one's account.
If a man be highly commended, we think him sufficiently lesse...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to knock down
A word used at auctions. 'This article is knocked down to you, sir;' meaning, that you are the purch...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
down upon
To be down upon, is to seize with avidity, as a bird of prey would pounce down upon its victim. Allu...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
slipper-down
A vulgar name in some parts of Connecticut for hasty pudding. The etymology is obvious.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
down-lying
just going to be brought to bed. N.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
blacking down
The tarring and blacking of rigging; or the operation of blacking the ship's sides with tar or miner...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
bore down
Sailed down from to windward.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
cutting down
Taking a deck off a ship; as ships of the line are converted into frigates, the Royal Sovereign into...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down along
Sailing coastways down Channel.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down east
Far away in that bearing. This term, as down west, &c., is an Americanism, recently adopted into our...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down-haul
A rope passing up along a stay, leading through cringles of the staysails or jib, and made fast to t...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down killock!
Let go the grapnel; the corruption of keel-hook or anchor.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down oars!
The order on shoving off a boat when the men have had them "tossed up."
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
go down
The name given to store-houses and magazines in the East Indies.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
heaving down
(See careening.) The bringing one of a ship's sides down into the water, by means of purchases on th...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hove down
, properly hove out or careened. The situation of a ship when heeled or placed thus for repairs.
♦...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hull-down
Is said of a ship when at such a distance that, from the convexity of the globe, only her masts and ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
laying down
, or laying off.
The act of delineating the various lines of a ship to the full size on the mould-...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
pipe down!
The order to dismiss the men from the deck when a duty has been performed on board ship.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
riding-down
The act of the men who throw their weight on the head of a sail to stretch it. Also, of the man who ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
strike down!
The order to lower casks, &c., into the hold.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
union down
When a ship hoists her ensign upside down it is a signal of distress or of mourning.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
run down a coast, to
To sail along it, keeping parallel to or skirting its dangers.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
run down a vessel, to
To pass over, into, or foul her by running against her end-on, so as to jeopardize her.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
drop astern, to
To slacken a ship's way, so as to suffer another one to pass beyond her. Also, distancing a competit...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
River of Egypt
1) Heb. nahar mitsraim, denotes in Gen. 15:18 the Nile, or its eastern branch (2 Chr. 9:26).
2) In ...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
River of Gad
Probably the Arno (2 Sam. 24:5).
...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
River of God
(Ps. 65:9), as opposed to earthly streams, denoting that the divine resources are inexhaustible, or ...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
River of Wells
This is the name adopted by Stow as the translation of the" rivulum foncium " of the charter of Will...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
cherry, herbert river
n.
a Queensland tree, Antidesma dallachyanum, Baill., N.O. Euphorbiaceae.The fruit is equal to a la...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
swan-river daisy
n.
a pretty annual plant, Brachycome iberidifolia, Benth., N.O. Compositae,of Western Australia. Th...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
River Of Egypt
The Nile. (Genesis 15:18) [Nile]•
• A desert stream on the border of Egypt, still occasionally flow...
William Smith's Bible Dictionary
-
knock me down
Strong ale or beer, stingo.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
cutting-down line
An elliptical curve line used by shipwrights in the delineation of ships; it determines the depth of...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down all chests!
The order to get all the officers' and seamen's chests down below from off the gun-decks when cleari...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down all hammocks!
The order for all the sailors to carry their hammocks down, and hang them up in their respective ber...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down-haul tackles
Employed when lower yards are struck in bad weather to prevent them from swaying about after the tru...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
edge down, to
To approach any object in an oblique direction.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
fall down, to
To sail, drift, or be towed to some lower part nearer a river's mouth or opening.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hauling down vacancy
The colloquialism expressive of the promotion of a flag-lieutenant and midshipman on an admiral's ha...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jaw-me-down
An arrogant, overbearing, and unsound loud arguer.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
out or down
An exclamation of the boatswain, &c., in ordering men out of their hammocks, i.e. turn out, or your ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
peak down-haul
A rope rove through a block at the outer end of the gaff to haul it down by.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
running-down clause
A special admission into policies of marine insurance, to include the risk of loss or damage in cons...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
ship cut down
One which has had a deck cut off from her, whereby a three-decker is converted into a two-decker, an...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
try down, to
To boil out the oil from blubber at sea in whalers.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up and down
The situation of the cable when it has been hove in sufficiently to bring the ship directly over the...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
A cappella
·- A time indication, equivalent to alla breve.
II. A cappella ·- In church or chapel style;
— sai...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A cheval
·add. ·- Astride; with a part on each side;
— used specif. in designating the position of an army w...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A fortiori
·- With stronger reason.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A posteriori
·- Applied to knowledge which is based upon or derived from facts through induction or experiment; i...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A priori
·- Applied to knowledge and conceptions assumed, or presupposed, as prior to experience, in order to...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-mornings
·adv In the morning; every morning.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-sea
·adv On the sea; at sea; toward the sea.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-tiptoe
·adv On tiptoe; eagerly expecting.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Due-a
·noun ·see Do-a.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Pi-a
·add. ·noun The <<Pineapple>>.
II. Pi-a ·add. ·noun Pi-a cloth or the fiber of which it is made.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Vicu-a
·noun ·Alt. of <<Vicugna>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
a-many
a great number, pronounced Meyny. North.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
a-scat
broken like an egg. Dev.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
a-slat
crack'd like an earthen vessel. Dev.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
a-burton
The situation of casks when they are stowed in the hold athwart ship, or in a line with the beam.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-cockbill
(see cock-bill). The anchor hangs by its ring at the cat-head, in a position for dropping.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-hull
A ship under bare poles and her helm a-lee, driving from wind and sea, stern foremost. Also a ship d...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-lee
The contrary of a-weather: the position of the helm when its tiller is borne over to the lee-side of...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-poise
Said of a vessel properly trimmed.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-starboard
The opposite to a-port.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-stay
Said of the anchor when, in heaving in, the cable forms such an angle with the surface as to appear ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-trip
The anchor is a-trip, or a-weigh, when the purchase has just made it break ground, or raised it clea...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-wash
Reefs even with the surface. The anchor just rising to the water's edge, in heaving up.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-weather
The position of the helm when its tiller is moved to the windward side of the ship, in the direction...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-weigh
The anchor being a-trip, or after breaking out of the ground.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
drop in the eye
Almost drunk.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to row up salt river
is a common phrase, used generally to signify political defeat. The distance to which a party is row...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
down in the mouth
Dispirited, dejected, disheartened.--Brockett's Glossary.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
down in the mouth
Low-spirited or disheartened.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down with the helm!
An order to put the helm a-lee.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
rattle down rigging, to
or, to rattle the shrouds.
To fix the ratlines in a line parallel to the vessel's set on the water...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
right up and down
Said in a dead calm, when the wind is no way at all. Or, in anchor work, when the cable is in that c...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
running-down the port
A method practised in the ruder state of navigation, when the longitude was very doubtful, by sailin...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up-and-down tackle
A purchase used in bowsing down the eyes of the lower rigging over the mast-heads; lifting objects f...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
mine a-se on a bandbox
An answer to the offer of any thing inadequate to the purpose for which it is wanted, just as a band...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
New River Office and Yard
Between Pigs Quay and Dorset Wharf on the Thames, at the southern end of Dorset Street (Horwood, 179...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
A B C
·- The simplest rudiments of any subject; as, the A B C of finance.
II. A B C ·- A primer for teach...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
All-a-mort
·adj ·see <<Alamort>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Black-a-vised
·adj Dark-visaged; swart.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Bric-a brac
·noun Miscellaneous curiosities and works of decorative art, considered collectively.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Char-a-bancs
·noun A long, light, open vehicle, with benches or seats running lengthwise.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Chars-a-banc
·pl of Char-a-bancs.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Cock-a-hoop
·adj Boastful; defiant; exulting. Also used adverbially.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Cornet-a-piston
·noun A brass wind instrument, like the trumpet, furnished with valves moved by small pistons or sli...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Cornets-a-piston
·pl of Cornet-a-piston.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Dos-a-dos
·add. ·noun A sofa, open carriage, or the like, so constructed that the occupants sit back to back.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Flute a bec
·- A beak flute, an older form of the flute, played with a mouthpiece resembling a beak, and held li...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Jack-a-dandy
·noun A little dandy; a little, foppish, impertinent fellow.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Jack-a-lent
·noun A small stuffed puppet to be pelted in Lent; hence, a simple fellow.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Penny-a-liner
·noun One who furnishes matter to public journals at so much a line; a poor writer for hire; a hack ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Pi-a cloth
·add. ·- A fine fabric for scarfs, handkerchiefs, embroidery, ·etc., woven from the fiber obtained f...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Tete-a-tete
·adj Private; confidential; familiar.
II. Tete-a-tete ·noun A short sofa intended to accomodate two...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Vis-a-vis
·adv Face to face.
II. Vis-a-vis ·noun One who, or that which, is face to face with another; ·esp.,...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Wait-a-bit
·add. ·noun The prickly ash.
II. Wait-a-bit ·add. ·noun The grapple plant.
III. Wait-a-bit ·add. ·...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Wait-a-while
·add. ·noun = Wait-a-bit.
II. Wait-a-while ·add. ·noun One of the Australian wattle trees (Acacia c...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Adam, a type
The apostle Paul speaks of Adam as "the figure of him who was to come." On this account our Lord is ...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
all-a-mort
Struck dumb, confounded. What, sweet one, all-a-mort? SHAKESPEARE.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
black a-se
A copper or kettle. The pot calls the kettle black a-se. Cant.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to run a buck
To poll a bad vote at an election.--IRISH TERM.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
chick-a-biddy
A chicken, so called to and by little children.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
cock-a-whoop
Elevated, in high-spirits, transported with joy.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to couch a hogshead
To lie down to sleep. CANT.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to fight a crib
To make a sham fight. BEAR GARDEN TERM.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
cure a-se
A dyachilon plaister, applied to the parts galled by riding.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
dram-a-tick
A dram served upon credit.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
firing a gun
Introducing a story by head and shoulders. A man wanting to tell a particular story, said to the com...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to fire a slug
To drink a dram.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
foxing a boot
Mending the foot by capping it.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
mumble a sparrow
A cruel sport practised at wakes and fairs, in the following manner: A cock sparrow whose wings are ...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
pit-a-pat
The palpitation of the heart: as, my heart went pit-a-pat. Pintledy-pantledy; the same.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to ring a peal
To scold; chiefly applied to women. His wife rung him a fine peal!
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
slug-a-bed
A drone, one that cannot rise in the morning.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
squint-a-pipes
A squinting man or woman; said to be born in the middle of the week, and looking both ways for Sunda...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
wear a--e
A one-horse chaise.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
bull-a-bull
or Bullybul
n.
a child'scorruption of the Maori word Poroporo (q.v.), aflowering shrub of New Zeal...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
cock-a-bully
n. a popular name for the NewZealand fish Galaxias fasciatus, Gray, a corruption ofits Maori name Ko...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
make a light
expressive pigeon-English. An aboriginal'sphrase for to look for, to find. «You been make a lightyar...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
mark, a good
Australian slang.
1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 233:
«I wondered often what was the meaning of ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
stay-a-while
n.
a tangled bush; sometimescalled Wait-a-while (q.v.).
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
wait-a-while
n.
also called Stay-a-while: a thicket tree.
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 306:
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
to bear a hand
A seaman's phrase. To be ready ; to go to work; to assist.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to catch a tartar
To attack one of superior strength or abilities. This saying originated from the story of an Irish s...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to cut a caper
(Italian, tagliar le capriole.) The act of dancing in a frolicksome manner.--Todd. We use it also in...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to cut a dash
In modern colloquial speech, to make a great show; to make a figure.--Johnson. A fashionable or gail...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to cut a figure
To make an appearance, either good or bad.
We are not as much surprised at the poor figure cut by t...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to cut a swathe
The same as to cut a dash.
The expression is generally applied to a person walking who is gaily dre...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to deacon a calf
is to knock it in the head as soon as it is born.--Connecticut.
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Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to drive a bargain
To make a bargain. A common colloquial expression, as old as the language.
This bargain is ful dr...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to girdle a tree
In America, to make a circular incision, like a belt, through the bark and alburnum of a tree to kil...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to have a say
To express an opinion. A phrase in vulgar use.
I picked out "Henry Clay" for my baby's name, but t...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to make a raise
A vulgar expression, meaning to raise; procure; obtain.
I made a raise of a horse and saw, after be...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to raise a bead
This expression is used at the West, and means to bring to a head, to make succeed. The figure is ta...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to sky a copper
To toss up a cent.
Didge said he was like skying a copper--head or tail.--Crockett, Tour.
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Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to trig a wheel
To stop a wheel so as to prevent its going backwards or forwards.--Bailey. Still used in New England...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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jacket-a-wad
an ignis fatuus. Exm.
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A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
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scotch a wheel
to stop it from going backward. Lane.
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A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
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well-a-day!
alas! Various.
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A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
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cutting a feather
It is common when a ship has too broad a bow to say, "She will not cut a feather," meaning that she ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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driving a charge
Ramming home the loading of a piece of ordnance.
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The Sailor's Word-Book