-
crossing a ship's wake
When a ship sails over the transient track which another has just passed, i.e. passes close astern o...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
tapping a buoy
Clearing it of the water which has entered it by leakage, and would otherwise prevent its watching.
...
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
-
veer, to
To let out, to pay out, to turn or change. Also, to veer or wear, in contradistinction from tacking....
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
deaden a ship's way, to
To retard a vessel's progress by bracing in the yards, so as to reduce the effect of the sails, or b...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Veer
·vi To change direction; to <<Turn>>; to <<Shift>>; as, wind veers to the west or north.
II. Veer ·...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Wake
·vt To watch, or sit up with, at night, as a dead body.
II. Wake ·vt To rouse from sleep; to <<Awak...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
wake
A country feast, commonly on the anniversary of the tutelar saint of the village, that is, the saint...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
wake
the feast of the dedication of the parish church. N.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
wake
The transient, generally smooth, track impressed on the surface-water by a ship's progress. Its bear...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
filling a ship's bottom
Implies covering the bottom of a ship with broad-headed nails, so as to give her a sheathing of iron...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
stationing a ship's company
Arranging the crew for the ready execution of the evolutionary duties of a ship.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
lie-to, in a gale
, is, by a judicious balance of canvas, to keep a ship's bow to the sea, and, with as much as she ca...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
try, to, or lie-to, in a gale
, is, by a judicious balance of canvas, to keep a ship's bow to the sea, and, with as much as she ca...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
turn in a heart, to
To seize the end of a shroud or stay, &c., securely round it.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Buoy
·vi To <<Float>>; to rise like a buoy.
II. Buoy ·vt To support or sustain; to preserve from sinking...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
buoy
A sort of close cask, or block of wood, fastened by a rope to the anchor, to show its situation afte...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
run athwart a ship's course, to
To cross her path.
...
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
-
dog in a doublet
A daring, resolute fellow. In Germany and Flanders the boldest dogs used to hunt the boar, having a ...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack in a box
A sharper, or cheat. A child in the mother's womb.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
thief in a candle
Part of the wick or snuff, which falling on the tallow, burns and melts it, and causing it to gutter...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Jack in a Box
i.q. Hair-trigger (q.v.).
1854. `The Home Companion,' p. 554:
«When previously mentioning the eleg...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
once in a while
Occasionally; sometimes.
Scarcely a day passes in which from two to half a dozen of our paragraphs ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
furling in a body
A method of rolling up a top-sail only practised in harbour, by gathering all the loose part of the ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jammed in a clinch
The same as hard up in a clinch (which see).
♦ Jammed in a clinch like Jackson, involved in diffic...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Ships
Early used in foreign commerce by the Phoenicians (Gen. 49:13). Moses (Deut. 28:68) and Job (9:26) m...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
turn in a dead-eye or heart, to
To seize the end of a shroud or stay, &c., securely round it.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
spoliation of a ship's papers
An act which, by the maritime law of every court in Europe, not only excludes further proof, but doe...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
broach a business, to
To begin it.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
buffet a billow, to
To work against wind and tide.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
build a chapel, to
To turn a ship suddenly by negligent steerage.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
cable, to coil a
To lay it in fakes and tiers one over the other.
♦ To lay a cable. (See laying.)
♦ To pay cheap ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
cleat a gun, to
To nail large cleats under the trucks of the lower-deckers in bad weather, to insure their not fetch...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
clinch a business, to
To finish it; to settle it beyond further dispute, as the recruit taking the shilling.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
cut a stick, to
To make off clandestinely.
♦ Cut your stick, be off, or go away.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
feather, to cut a
When a ship has so sharp a bow that she makes the spray feather in cleaving it.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
lay a gun, to
So to direct it as that its shot may be expected to strike a given object; for which purpose its axi...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
loose a rope, to
To cast it off, or let it go.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
mount a gun, to
To place it on its carriage.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
pay a yard, to
See pay a mast, to
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
pay a mast, to
or pay a yard, to
To anoint it with tar, turpentine, rosin, tallow, or varnish; tallow is particul...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
point a gun, to
To direct it on a given object.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
point a sail, to
To affix points through the eyelet-holes of the reefs. (See points.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
purchase a commission, to
A practice in our army, which has been aptly termed the "buying of fetters;" it is the obtaining pre...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
raise a siege, to
To abandon or cause the abandonment of a siege.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
rate a chronometer, to
To determine its daily gaining or losing rate on mean time.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
reduce a charge, to
To diminish the contents of a cartridge, sometimes requisite during heavy firing.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
reduce a place, to
To compel its commander to surrender, or vacate it by capitulation.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
return a salute, to
Admirals are saluted, but return two guns less for each rank that the saluting officer is below the ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
risk a run, to
To take chance without convoy.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
scour a beach, to
To pour a quick flanking fire along it, in order to dislodge an enemy.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
shift a berth, to
To move from one anchorage to another.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
speak a vessel, to
To pass within hail of her for that purpose.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
spin a yarn, to
To tell a long story; much prized in a dreary watch, if not tedious.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
spin a twist or a yarn, to
To tell a long story; much prized in a dreary watch, if not tedious.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
spread a fleet, to
To keep more open order.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
support a friend, to
To make every exertion to assist a vessel in distress, from whatever cause. Neglect of this incurs p...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
top a boom, to
To raise up one end of it by hoisting on the lift, as the spanker-boom is lifted before setting the ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
top a yard or boom, to
To raise up one end of it by hoisting on the lift, as the spanker-boom is lifted before setting the ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
trail a pike, to
To hold the spear end in the right hand, and the butt trailed behind the bearer.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
traverse a yard, to
To get it fore and aft.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
turn, to catch a
To pass a rope once or twice round a cleat, pin, kevel, or any other thing, to keep it fast.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
turn, to take or catch a
To pass a rope once or twice round a cleat, pin, kevel, or any other thing, to keep it fast.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
turn a turtle, to
To take the animal by seizing a flipper, and throwing him on his back, which renders him quite helpl...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
wend a course, to
To sail steadily on a given direction.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
wind a boat, to
To change her position by bringing her stern round to the place where the head was. (See wending.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
wind a ship or boat, to
To change her position by bringing her stern round to the place where the head was. (See wending.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
work a ship, to
To adapt the sails to the force and direction of the wind.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
wring a mast, to
To bend, cripple, or strain it out of its natural position by setting the shrouds up too taut. The p...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
veer and haul, to
To gently tauten and then slacken a rope three times before giving a heavy pull, the object being to...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
every once in a while
A singular though very common expression, signifying the same as every now and then.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
any port in a storm
signifies contentment with whatever may betide.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
putting a ship in commission
The formal ceremony of hoisting the pennant on the ship to be fitted. This act brought the crew unde...
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
-
Wake-robin
·noun Any plant of the genus Arum, especially, in England, the cuckoopint (Arum maculatum).
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
lake-wake
watching a dead body. N.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
stream the buoy, to
To let the buoy fall from the after-part of the ship's side into the water, preparatory to letting g...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
to carry a horse to water
instead of lead or ride him to water. A Southern expression.--Sherwood, Georgia.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
breeze, to kick up a
To excite disturbance, and promote a quarrelsome row.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
double-bank a rope, to
To clap men on both sides.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
gather aft a sheet, to
to pull it in, by hauling in slack.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hold a good wind, to
To have weatherly qualities.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
kick up a dust, to
To create a row or disturbance.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
lay up a ship, to
To dismantle her.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
shake out, a reef, to
See let out, a reef, to
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
let out, a reef, to
, or shake out, a reef, to
To increase the dimensions of a sail, by untying the points confining a...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
luff into a harbour, to
To sail into it, shooting head to wind, gradually. A ship is accordingly said to spring her luff whe...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
pay a vessel's bottom, to
To cover it with tallow, sulphur, rosin, &c. (See breaming.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
pick up a wind, to
Traverses made by oceanic voyagers; to run from one trade or prevalent wind to another, with as litt...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
roll up a sail, to
To hand it quickly.
...
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
-
run out a warp, to
To carry a hawser out from the ship by a boat, and fasten it to some distant place to remove the shi...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
stretch along a brace, to
To lay it along the decks in readiness for the men to lay hold of; called manning it.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
thwart-marks, to a harbour
Two objects on the land, which, brought into line with each other, mark the safe course between shoa...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
under-run a warp, to
To haul a boat along underneath it, in order to clear it, if any part happens to be foul. To under-r...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
under-run a hawser or warp, to
To haul a boat along underneath it, in order to clear it, if any part happens to be foul. To under-r...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Can buoy
·- ·see under Buoy, ·noun.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
bell-buoy
A large can-buoy on which is placed, in wicker-work, a bell, which is sounded by the heaving and set...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
buoy-rope
The rope which attaches the buoy to the anchor, which should always be of sufficient strength to lif...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
cone-buoy
See can-buoys.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
nun-buoy
A buoy made of staves, somewhat in the form of a double cone; large in the middle, and tapering rapi...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
chime in, to
To join a mess meal or treat. To chime in to a chorus or song.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
fall in, to
The order to form, or take assigned places in ranks. (See assembly.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
flatten in, to
The action of hauling in the aftmost clue of a sail to give it greater power of turning the vessel; ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
haul in, to
To sail close to the wind, in order to approach nearer to an object.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
let in, to
To fix or fit a diminished part of one plank or piece of timber into a score formed in another to re...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
pitch in, to
To set to work earnestly; to beat a person violently. (A colloquialism.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
round-in, to
To haul in on a fall; the act of pulling upon any slack rope which passes through one or more blocks...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
shut in, to
Said of landmarks or points of land, when one is brought to transit and overlap the other, or interc...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
turn in, to
To go to bed.
♦ To turn out. To get up.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
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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
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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.
...
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 sky a copper
To toss up a cent.
Didge said he was like skying a copper--head or tail.--Crockett, Tour.
...
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.