puissance

en-noun

puissance (countable and uncountable, plural puissances)

From Middle English puissaunce, from Anglo-Norman puissance, pusaunce, and other forms, from Old French puissant (“powerful”).

It was in Dublin that San Lucas scored his first success in what has become something of a speciality for him, the puissance.

1969, G. H. S. Webber, Show Jumping International, London: Evans Brothers; New York, N.Y.: Van Nostrand Reinhold, →OCLC, page 126:

Pat [Moss] then went to Oxford to qualify for the Horse of the Year Show, and Danny was fourth in the Puissance, an event with very high jumps.

2011 April, Stuart Turner, Harnessing Horsepower: The Pat Moss Carlsson Story, Poundbury, Dorset: Veloce Publishing, →ISBN, page 23:

In a study of horses during a puissance competition that started at a height of 1.80 m and ended in the last round at 2.27 m, success was significantly positively correlated with the following variables at lift-off: vertical velocity of CM, height of CM, distance of CM from the fence; and was significantly negatively correlated with the distance of the leading hind limb to the CM.

2013, Hilary M. Clayton, P. René van Weeren, “Performance in Equestrian Sports”, in Willem Back, Hilary M. Clayton, editors, Equine Locomotion, 2nd edition, Edinburgh, New York, N.Y.: Saunders, →ISBN, page 332:

(equestrianism) The high-jump component of the sport of show jumping.


zopilote

Borrowed from Spanish zopilote, from Classical Nahuatl tzopīlōtl.

I was laying absolutely still in the cab of the wrecked truck —I had the crazy idea that if I did not move, I would bleed less—and I looked out of the hole where the windshield had been and saw a zopilote perched on the hood of the truck.

2016, Lawrence Swaim, Dangerous Pilgrims:

Coragyps atratus
Coragyps atratus#Translingual

A New World vulture of the family Cathartidae, especially the black vulture (Coragyps atratus).


Gila monster

From the Gila River in Arizona and New Mexico, whose name may ultimately derive from
a Yuma word meaning "running water which is salty".

A venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, that lives in the deserts of the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico.


oology

/əʊˈɒləd͡ʒi/

LL-Q1860_(eng)-I learned some phrases-oology.wav

From oo- (prefix meaning ‘relating to eggs or ova’) + -logy (suffix indicating a branch of learning or study of a subject). The word is cognate with French oologie, Late Latin oologia.

confix

Yet it is not difficult to see that Oölogy promises to become an important auxiliary both in aiding to determine natural divisions, and to enable us to decide in regard to varieties the specific identity of which is in doubt. Let us take an instance. [...] Without looking at all to the external structure of these birds, Oölogy would seem to indicate that the Cat-Bird, though closely allied to the true Mocking-Bird, is at least one step, and that the Brown Thrush is even farther, removed.

1857, Thomas M[ayo] Brewer, “Introduction”, in North American Oölogy (Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge; XI), part I (Raptores and Fissirostres), Washington, D.C.: Published by the Smithsonian Institution, published 1859, →OCLC, page vi:

Now here is just one of those cases, which bring the study of Oology, and very justly, into more discredit than any other thing. M. [Alfred] Moquin-Tandon's egg is very likely that of a Booted Eagle; but where is the proof of the fact? Absolutely, as we read it, there is none. [...] There are many collectors in this country, who yearly spend large sums in buying eggs from dealers—utterly un-identified, or with (since identification of eggs has lately become somewhat fashionable) a plausible history, but one that will not bear investigation.

1858 December, “IX. Review of Mr. [C. R.] Brees ‘Birds of Europe Not Observed in the British Isles.’”, in Philip Lutley Sclater, editor, The Ibis, a Magazine of General Ornithology, volume I, number I, London: N[icholas] Trübner and Co., […], published January 1859, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 96–97:

A short sketch, such as Mr. [Cholmondeley] Pennell's, of the economy of the Bird, would be a most valuable addition to our ordinary ornithologies and oologies. He said oologies, for even in the egg of the bird the special needs of the forthcoming bird seemed to be more especially provided for than in the eggs of other families much higher in the scale.

[1864 February, [George] Rolleston, “Meeting of British Association. [Physiology.]”, in David A. P. Watt, editor, The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist: A Bi-monthly Journal of Natural Science […], volume I (Second Series), Montreal, Que.: Dawson Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 76:

When we come to examine the oölogy of the great Columbo-gallinaceous group, one well represented in the avifauna of the United States, it is possible to make the comparisons quite extensive, owing to [Charles] Bendire's exhaustive labors, as seen in his fine quarto volume already spoken of at the beginning of this paper.

1893, R[obert] W[ilson] Shufeldt, “Comparative Oölogy of North American Birds”, in Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, Showing the Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the Institution for the Year Ending June 30, 1892: Report of the U.S. National Museum (The Miscellaneous Documents of the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the Fifty-second Congress; Mis. Doc. 114, part 2), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 473:

The philosophy behind this meeting was to bring together scientists who specialised in the incubation and physiology of avian embryos with those workers interested in reptilian eggs and embryos. Leading authorities within many fields of incubation, oology and embryology were invited to give a presentation reviewing current knowledge within their sphere of research.

1991, D. Charles Deeming, Mark W. J. Ferguson, editors, Egg Incubation: Its Effects on Embryonic Development in Birds and Reptiles, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page ix:

Besides his life as a student, Han [Henri Jacob Victor Sody] continued to be interested in ornithology, particularly oology. Apparently, he was a diligent collector of birds' eggs, both in the vicinity of Wageningen, and on excursion for this purpose to other places (Breda, Texel, etc.), and compiled a catalogue of eggs collected by him in The Netherlands.

1989, J. H. Becking, “Biography”, in Henri Jacob Victor Sody (1892–1959): His Life and Work: A Biographical and Bibliographical Study, Leiden: E[vert] J[an] Brill, →ISBN, section c (Scientific Interests and Achievements), page 8:

In the late nineteenth century, there was a huge upsurge of interest in natural history collections by scientists and ordinary citizens. Victorian homes were commonly decorated with collections of stuffed birds, and oology, the study and collection of eggs blown clean of their contents, was all the rage.

2010, Peter Capainolo, Carol A. Butler, “Raptor Reproduction”, in How Fast can a Falcon Dive?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Birds of Prey (Animal Q&A), New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, page 84:

Dave Marshall, Frank Graham, Chuck Henny, Lloyd Kiff, Phil Cuthbert, and Joe Mazzoni shared their knowledge of hunting, oölogy, and bird-skin preservation, and provided philosophical insight concerning men's desire to hunt.

2011 December, Renée Thompson, “Acknowledgements”, in The Plume Hunter, Torrey, Ut.: Torrey House Press, →ISBN, page 260:

Rudolf II's mania for [Bartholomeus] Spranger's porny Roman goddesses, Ferdinand II's devotion to big altarpieces, sudden gusts of oology, a bouquet of flowers made from precious stones given to Franz I by Maria Theresa – these all now became part of public sensibility.

2013, Simon Winder, Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe, London: Picador, →ISBN; republished London: Picador, 2014, →ISBN, page 425:

Barely a day went by when Franklin [Delano Roosevelt] didn't talk about the world of birds. At ten years old he started dabbling in oology, the collecting of eggs and nests.

2016, Douglas Brinkley, “‘All that is in Me Goes back to the Hudson’”, in Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America, New York, N.Y.: Harper, HarperCollins, →ISBN, part I (The Education of a Hudson River Conservationist, 1882–1932), section III:

Oology is the 'pseudo-science' of egg-collecting. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries this was a respectable and popular activity, very much part of the ornithological establishment. However, as bird protection gradually gained in popularity, egg-collecting declined, and was finally made illegal under various Bird Protection Acts following the Second World War.

2016, Stephen Moss, “How Do We Relate to Birds?”, in Do Birds have Knees?: All Your Bird Questions Answered (RSPB series), London, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Natural History, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 225, column 2:

The hobby or practice of collecting birds' eggs, especially those of wild birds.


whiff

en-verb

whiff (third-person singular simple present whiffs, present participle whiffing, simple past and past participle whiffed)

whiffs (present singular third-person)
whiffing (participle present)
whiffed (participle past)
whiffed (past)

The noun is possibly:
* partly a variant of Middle English wef, weffe (“bad smell, stench, stink; exhalation; vapour; tendency of something to go bad (?)”) [and other forms], possibly a variant of either:
** waf, waif, waife (“odour, scent”), possibly from waven (“to move to and fro, sway, wave; to stray, wander; to move in a weaving manner; (figuratively) to hesitate, vacillate”), from Old English wafian (“to wave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”); or
** wef (“a blow, stroke”), from weven (“to travel, wander; to move to and fro, flutter, waver; to blow something away, waft; to cause something to move; to fall; to cut deeply; to sever; to give up, yield; to give deference to; to avoid; to afflict, trouble; to beckon, signal”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Old English wefan (“to weave”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”)), or from wǣfan (see bewǣfan, ymbwǣfan); and
* partly onomatopoeic.
Noun sense 6 (“name of a number of flatfish”) is possibly derived from sense 1 (“brief, gentle breeze; a light gust of air”), sense 4 (“small quantity of cloud, smoke, vapour, etc.”), and other such senses.
The verb and adjective are derived from the noun. Verb sense 2.6 (“to catch fish by dragging a handline near the surface of the water from a moving boat”) is possibly derived from sense 1.1 (“to carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air”), sense 2.2 (“to be carried, or move as if carried, by a puff of air”), and other such senses.
The interjection is derived from noun sense 7.4 (“a sound like that of air passing through a small opening; a short or soft whistle”).

inh

(fishing) To catch fish by dragging a handline near the surface of the water from a moving boat.


bridle

From Middle English bridel, from Old English brīdel, from Proto-West Germanic *brigdil, from Proto-Germanic *brigdilaz (“strap, rein”), equivalent to braid + -le.

[…] the horseman, who is the user of bridles and knows their use

1961, J. A. Philip, “Mimesis in the Sophistês”, in Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association, 92, p. 457:

(equestrianism) The headgear with which a horse is directed and which carries a bit and reins.

A length of line or cable attached to two parts of something to spread the force of a pull, as the rigging on a kite for attaching line.

A piece in the interior of a gunlock which holds in place the tumbler, sear, etc.


bridle

en-verb

bridle (third-person singular simple present bridles, present participle bridling, simple past and past participle bridled)

bridles (present singular third-person)
bridling (participle present)
bridled (participle past)
bridled (past)

(intransitive) To hold up one's head proudly or affectedly.


bangtail

From bang + tail. The primary meaning refers to the sense bang (“fringe of hair cut across the forehead”).

1851, Turning Out a Bagman: A Legend of Brighton Downs, in Charles Dickens, William Harrison Ainsworth, Albert Smith Bentley's Miscellany, Volume XXIX, page 259,
Two lean, ewe-necked, clipt chestnuts, tucked up in the ribs, with hard work and bad feeding, but with such flowing bang-tails as at once stamped them in the eyes of our friends as “ out-and-out ” thorough-breds—were led up and down by John. […] The bang-tails, no doubt, supposing themselves out for their usual “airing,” put themselves in the regular side-long position, and struck at once into a sort of hectic canter ; a particular movement, peculiar to Brighton bang-tails, and adapted to the most innocent equestrian.

1903, Tom Collins (Joseph Furphy), Such Is Life: Being Certain Extracts from the Diary of Tom Collins, 2004, page 68,
"And did you see a dark chestnut horse; bang tail; star and snip; white hind feet; saddle and bridle on?" I asked.

Lennan held the black horse — a bizarre little beast, all fire and whipcord, with a skin like satin, liquid eyes, very straight hocks, and a thin bangtail reaching down to them.

1913, John Galsworthy, The Dark Flower, page 244:

Once we get the herd we can set up relays to keep the bangtails movin' as we go.

2005, Cynthia Queen, The Major's Renegade, page 127:

The tail of a horse or cow, allowed to grow out and then trimmed horizontally so as to form a tassel; a horse or cow having such a tail.

“Eddie!” whinnied Daley, the distraught worshipper of the bang-tails. “Eddie! Phar Lap is dead!”

1934, Stanley Walker, City Editor, published 1999, page 99:

Americans bet $5,000,000,000 a year on the galloping bangtails.

1937, The American Magazine, volume 124, page 52:

If you happen to be out on the far east side between April 23 and September 5, with $10 burning a hole in your pocket, hie yourself out to River Downs Race Track, 6301 Kellogg Avenue, and bet on the bangtails.

1983 March, Cincinnati Magazine, page 43:

I was ridin' the horses then, you understand, and maybe known to take a flutter or two on the bangtails while I was about it.


bangtail

bangtail (third-person singular simple present bangtails, present participle bangtailing, simple past and past participle bangtailed)

bangtails (present singular third-person)
bangtailing (participle present)
bangtailed (participle past)
bangtailed (past)

To shear off the hair horizontally at the end of a cow or horse's tail.


bovine

en-adj

bovine (comparative more bovine, superlative most bovine)

more bovine (comparative)
most bovine (superlative)

Borrowed from Late Latin bovīnus (“relating to cattle”), from Latin bōs (“ox”). Cognate to beef.

bor

bovine progressive degenerative myeloencephalopathy

They had been selected and arranged with a dull, bovine indifference to any meaning that any of them might have.

1988, Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, William Heinemann Ltd, page 48:

For reasons which are really a matter for a trainee psychoanalyst, who plays James Bond is a big thing for Spencer. To this end, he has unleashed a series of thoughts so bovine that I’ll just give you one for a little flavour.

2018 August 16, Marina Hyde, “Sorry to break it to you, far-righters: James Bond is not on your team”, in The Guardian:


kinkajou

/ˈkɪŋkəˌd͡ʒuː/

/ˈkɪŋkəˌʒuː/

From French quincajou, from an Algonquian word, probably originally meaning ‘wolverine’ (compare Algonquin Kwingwaage, Ojibwe gwiingwa'aage (“wolverine”)), which was later transferred to the South American animal. Related to carcajou.

Potos flavus, a carnivorous mammal of Central America and South America with a long, prehensile tail, related to the raccoon.


cuckold

From Middle English cokolde, cokewold, cockewold, kukwald, kukeweld, from Old French cucuault; a compound of cucu (“cuckoo”) (some varieties of the cuckoo bird lay their eggs in another’s nest) and Old French -auld. Cucu is either a directly derived onomatopoeic derivative of the cuckoo's call, or from Latin cucūlus. Latin cucūlus is a compound of onomatopoeic cucu (compare Late Latin cucus) and the diminutive suffix -ulus.
Old French -auld is from Frankish *-wald (similar suffixes are used in some personal names within other Germanic languages as well; compare English Harold, for instance), a suffixal use of Frankish *wald (“wielder, ruler, leader”), from Proto-Germanic *waldaz (compare German Gewalt, from the related *waldą (“power, might”)), from *waldaną (“to rule”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong; to rule”).
Appears in Middle English in noun form circa 1250 as cokewald. First known use of the verb form is 1589.

der

A West Indian plectognath fish, Rhinesomus triqueter.


carcajou

Borrowed from French carcajou, probably from the same Algonquian source as (certainly related to) kinkajou.

Synonym of wolverine (a solitary, fierce member of the weasel family)


go the way of the dodo

en-verb

go the way of the dodo (third-person singular simple present goes the way of the dodo, present participle going the way of the dodo, simple past went the way of the dodo, past participle gone the way of the dodo)

goes the way of the dodo (present singular third-person)
going the way of the dodo (participle present)
went the way of the dodo (past)
gone the way of the dodo (participle past)

/ˈɡəʊ ðə ˌweɪ ə(v)ðə ˈdəʊdəʊ/

/ˈɡoʊ ðə ˌweɪ ə(v)ðə ˈdoʊˌdoʊ/

The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, which is believed to have become extinct in the 17th century due to human activity.

Now that word-processing has caught on, typewriters have gone the way of the dodo.

The Polynesian population, for instance, is on the wane—wearing out—as the Red Man is—as the whale is,—going the way of the dodo, and so many other things.

1854 November 11, “No Motu; or, Reef-rovings in the South Seas. A Narrative of Adventures at the Hawaiian, Georgian and Society Islands. By Edward T. Perkins. New York, Pudney & Russell; London, Trübner & Co.”, in The Athenæum: Journal of Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts, number 1411, London: […] J[ohn] Francis. …, →OCLC, page 1361, column 1:

It is long since that disorderly potentate [the Lord of Misrule] went the way of the Dodo, and hippocras has become almost as mythical as ambrosia; but, once upon a time, they played a prominent part in legal education.

1861 November 23, J. Hamilton Fyfe, “High Days in the Temple”, in The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, volume V, number 126, New York, N.Y.: Leavitt, Trow, & Co., →OCLC, page 610, column 2:

[W]e confess that we should feel a lively satisfaction if we could see the sailor who set his dog at the helpless mass of ovine misery [sheep transported by ship across the English Channel] properly tied down in a conspicuous place on the deck of his ship, stripped to his waist, and then treated to such an allowance of the cat-of-nine-tails (if that animal has not gone the way of the dodo and the great auk) as would make him hate the taste of mutton for the rest of his natural life.

1869 September 18, “Cattle at Sea”, in The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art, volume 28, number 725, London: […] David Jones, […], →OCLC, page 380, column 1:

We must have game laws for the Arctic seals, and a "close time" for seals as well as for gulls, or else all these animals will go the way of the dodo.

1876 July, “Art. VII.—1. Histoire de France, jusqu’à 1794. Par Jules Michelet, Professeur Suppléant à la Faculté des Lettres. Paris: Hachette. 1860. [et al.]”, in The London Quarterly Review, volume XLVI, number XCII, London: […] [T]he proprietors, […], →OCLC, page 440:

If the silver dollar goes the way of the dodo and the whooping crane, much of the glamour and the polish and the distinction which any entity of the Government has in celebrating its centennial will be gone.

1964 May 27, Mike Mansfield (witness), “Statement of Hon. Mike Mansfield, a U.S. Senator from the State of Montana”, in Treasury–Post Office Departments and Executive Office Appropriations for 1965: Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, Eighty-eighth Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 10532 […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 500:

Developed by the same people who invented MP3, mp3PRO is a new format that offers better sound quality than normal MP3s. However, at the time of writing it seems that music fans couldn't care less, and mp3PRO may well go the way of the dodo, the 8-track cartridge and George Michael's solo career.

2003, Gary Marshall, “Music Technology from A to Z”, in The Cut the Crap! Guide to Music Technology, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire: Artemis Editions, →ISBN, page 110:

[H]istorians have turned from the past to the future, concerned with what will happen to their professional calling in the decades and centuries to come, fearful that in this age of instant communication and gratification, when an era as recent as the sixties can seem to our students as remote as the Wars of the Roses was to us in our college days, that history is going the way of the dodo.

2007, Robert A. Rosenstone, “Space for the Bird to Fly”, in Keith Jenkins, Sue Morgan, Alun Munslow, editors, Manifestos for History, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 11:

For most of the world, the LP has unfortunately gone the way of the dodo. But although LPs are far from the public eye, they've never really gone away.

2009, Daniel Briere, Pat Hurley, “Treating Your Ears to Music”, in Home Theater for Dummies (For Dummies), 3rd edition, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part II (Getting Video and Music into Your Theater: Source Devices), page 69:

If you imagine, then, that the travelling journeyman is simply an anachronism – and went the way of the Dodo, or the Luddites – there would, admittedly, be more than a grain of truth in your reaction. But you would be only partly right.

2009, Andrew Price, “Corporate Collateral: Globalization and the Efficiency Delusion”, in Slow-tech: Manifesto for an Overwound World, London: Atlantic Books, →ISBN, page 89:

The semi-formality of that era, along with any sense of attaining even a modicum of comfort in anything but first class [of an aeroplane], has gone the way of the Dodo.

2009 April 1, Greg Stott, “Flying”, in Notes from Beyond the Fringe: Collected Works of Greg Stott, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 24:

If your prime broker goes the way of the dodo, you can realistically expect that all cash on the books will be gone in the same instance and in the worst case scenario you will also be unable to liquidate your futures positions for days or perhaps weeks.

2013, Andreas F. Clenow, “Year by Year Review”, in Following the Trend: Diversified Managed Futures Trading, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley, →ISBN, page 207:

(idiomatic) To go extinct or become obsolete or defunct; to fall out of common practice or use; to become a thing of the past.

to go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common practice or use

käydä kuin dodoille (subject in allative)

käydä kuin dinosauruksille (subject in allative)


bork

bork (third-person singular simple present borks, present participle borking, simple past and past participle borked)

borks (present singular third-person)
borking (participle present)
borked (participle past)
borked (past)

A reference to the unsuccessful 1987 United States Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork (1927–2012); first appeared in print that same year.

In light of the current furor over trying to appoint a new Supreme Court justice, I would like to submit a new verb in the English language. Three forms would be "to bork," "borking," and "borked." This would describe the act of partisan political character assassination.

[1987 December 10, Kenneth H. Taylor, “[Voice of the People:] New verb”, in The San Bernardino County Sun, page 11, columns 3–4:

George [H. W.] Bush will almost certainly have an opportunity to nominate one or more justices. It would be a pity for all of us if they are subjected to the treatment accorded Robert Bork. Honest disagreement is one thing; "borking" is something else.

1988 November 30, William McCarthy, “Democrats ‘borked’”, in Chicago Tribune, archived from the original on 2017-10-19, page 20:

I feel strongly that he [Senator John Tower] is being borked. … The charges that have been leveled at him have all proved groundless, baseless.

1989 February 9, CBS This Morning, spoken by Malcolm Wallop:

In other words, I am intentionally borking the headline writer, for no other reason than to make my point with greater force.

1995, Lani Guinier, The Tyranny of the Majority: Fundamental Fairness in Representative Democracy, New York, N.Y.: Free Press, →ISBN, page xix:

After an eight-year hiatus, these groups are back on the scene, ready to implement an apparent vicious strategy of Borking any judicial nominee who happens to disagree with their view of how the world should be.

2002 February 7, Orrin G[rant] Hatch, “Statement of the Honorable Orrin Hatch, United States Senator, Utah [The Nomination of Charles W. Pickering to be United States Circuit Court Judge for the Fifth Circuit]”, in United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, archived from the original on 2008-09-21:

[Stephen L.] Carter believes that liberals seem to think that only conservatives "bork" and likewise conservatives seem to believe that only liberals "bork," but the unhappy truth is that everybody "borks".

2004, Joseph Michael Green, “Media Activity”, in Your Past and the Press!: Controversial Presidential Appointments: A Study Focusing on the Impact of Interest Groups and Media Activity on the Appointment Process, Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, →ISBN, page 131:

Forcing their adversaries to bork nominees may, they may think, lead voters in the middle to think less well of liberals, enhancing the distaste for Washington politics that has helped conservatives gain political power.

2005, Mark [Victor] Tushnet, “A Supreme Court United?”, in A Court Divided: The Rehnquist Court and the Future of Constitutional Law, New York, N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 340:

Above all it discusses the best tactics to defeat a borking. Having been in the [Ronald] Reagan White House when Robert Bork was borked, I knew something about the subject, which was a huge help when the same borking guns were turned on my friend Judge [D. Brooks] Smith years later.

2006 October 30, Jeffrey Lord, “Borking Rush”, in American Spectator, archived from the original on 2017-10-17:

(transitive, intransitive, US politics, often derogatory) To defeat a person's appointment or election, judicial nomination, etc., through a concerted attack on the person's character, background, and philosophy.


bork

bork (third-person singular simple present borks, present participle borking, simple past borked, past participle borked or borken)

borks (present singular third-person)
borking (participle present)
borked (past)
borked (participle past)
borken (participle past)

Possibly derived from borken, an intentional misspelling of the word broken used in ironic or humorous contexts; or from the usage described under “Etymology 1” above.

The first time I tried the test machine that I got, I borked the configuration pretty badly (I.e., I inverted the interfaces among other things).

2001–2006, Oskar Andreasson, “Commercial Products Based on Linux, iptables and netfilter”, in Iptables Tutorial 1.2.2, [s.l.]: Oskar Andreasson, archived from the original on 2017-01-10, page 327:

Angie sat back and stared at the screen. Well, that screwed her up good and proper. Go to the brass with information that might put her in the slam … or go it solo and risk borking up the situation even worse than it was already.

2014 January, Naomi Kramer, Yesterday’s Cat: Episode 1: Before the Storm, [Los Gatos, Calif.]: Smashwords, →ISBN:

Even if I hadn't borked my own governor module, the emergency feed took priority, and it was chaotic, too, with the automated HubSystem wanting data and trying to send me data I didn't need yet and Mensah sending me telemetry from the hopper.

2017, Martha Wells, chapter 1, in All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries), New York, N.Y.: Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN:

Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is Borking Razer Machines [title] […] As we pondered the question earlier today "we wonder if the Fall Creators Update of Windows 10 will bork anyone's machine", we had a feeling it wouldn't take long to find out. Razer, the high-end gaming manufacturer which is about to enter the gaming phone market, is finding that its products are being hit by the curse of Windows update.

2017 October 18, Chris Merriman, “Microsoft’s Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is Borking Razer Machines: Oh Microsoft … Not Again …”, in The Inquirer, archived from the original on 2017-10-19:

(transitive, slang) To misconfigure, break, or damage, especially a computer or other complex device.


bork

From the species name of Pagothenia borchgrevinki.

Near the water surface, Mayflower hunted for larger prey in the form of "borks." Pagothenia borchgrevinki "bork," for short—are buggy-eyed, dark-spotted fish with a Mohawk ridge of fins along the top. They live among the ice crystals formed by the platelet ice, hiding just below the frozen surface of the sea in -3°C (27°F) water.

2004, Terre M. Williams, The Hunter’s Breath: On Expedition with the Weddell Seals of the Antarctic, New York, N.Y.: M. Evans and Company, →ISBN, page 199:

On entering the Aquarium Building, I bumped into John Janssen, a biologist studying the behavior and physiology of Antarctic fish, and now a professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. John stood near a large circular seawater tank containing a school of "borks" (Pagothenia borchgrevinki), silvery, foot-long, trout-shaped Antarctic fish that feed on plankton. The majority of Antarctic fish live on the seafloor, but borks live in the water column, hiding from sea predators in the cracks and crevices of the sea ice.

2012, James McClintock, “Life Adrift: The Small Organisms Matter”, in Lost Antarctica: Adventures in a Disappearing Land, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN:

(informal) The bald notothen or bald rockcod (Pagothenia borchgrevinki), a species of cod icefish (Nototheniidae) native to the Southern Ocean.


chuckle

chuckle (third-person singular simple present chuckles, present participle chuckling, simple past and past participle chuckled)

chuckles (present singular third-person)
chuckling (participle present)
chuckled (participle past)
chuckled (past)

if these Birds are within distance, here's that will chuckle 'em together

1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):

(transitive, archaic) To call together, or call to follow, as a hen calls her chickens; to cluck.


coo

An infant has only cries and coos with which to communicate distress and well-being. Adults have many more ways of expressing themselves. However, their expressions of disease and ease can be boiled down to sophisticated cries and coos. A call for help in whatever form is a cry. A sense of well-being however expressed is a coo. Healing in the context of cries and coos can be viewed as the process of resolving the cries and fostering the coos.

2001, Denton L. Roberts, Caddy Roberts-Williams, “What You Need to Know to Be Useful”, in Living as Healer: (Everyone Does Therapy and Should … Know How), Pasadena, Calif.: Hope Publishing House, →ISBN, page 23:

(by extension) An expression of pleasure made by a person.


flittermouse

From flitter + mouse (compare flickermouse, flindermouse), after Middle Dutch fleddermuys, vledermuys, vlermuys (Modern Dutch vleermuis), from vledderen, vlederen (“to flutter, float, hover”) + muys (“mouse”). Cognate with West Frisian flearmûs (“bat”), Middle Low German vledermūs (“bat”), German Fledermaus (“bat”), Swedish fladdermus (“bat”) and flädermus (“bat”). More at flitter, flutter, flatter, mouse.

I thank thee, gentle flittermouse, for these so pleasant memories. Have you ever caught and examined a flittermouse?

1891, Conway Lloyd Morgan, Animal sketches:

1894, Philip Stewart Robinson, Birds of the Wave and Woodland, Electronic Edition, unnumbered page,
The bats wheel overhead, their soft wings crumpling as they turn their somersaults, but never a voice in the air, save sharp needle-points of sound, as flittermouse calls to flittermouse.

They don't bump into folk, blind people don't. They're like flittermice. You never saw two flittermice bump into each other.

1969, Rayner Heppenstall, The Shearers, page 183:

(now chiefly dialectal) A bat (flying mammal).


a chicken in every pot

First stated by Henry IV of France as, "I want there to be no peasant in my realm so poor that he will not have a chicken in his pot every Sunday," and later associated with United States president Herbert Hoover's 1928 campaign as part of an advertisement, placed by a local committee. Because of the advertisement, the phrase is often attributed to Hoover, although he never made such a statement.

At least nowadays we have a chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage to boot!

something suggestive of general welfare or prosperity


doghouse

A traffic signal with five sections: two on the bottom, two in the middle, and one on top.


as the crow flies

From the fact that while crows fly to their source of food, their flight bypasses obstacles like rivers and terrain. Compare beeline.

It is 15 kilometers as the crow flies.

ʽFire,ʼ said Bill, ʽin the form of a common cowshed, is burnin' about nor'-nor'-east as the crow flies.ʼ

1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 54:

The distance from Sarajevo to Ploce is 75 miles as the crow flies, but because of the difficult terrain the new line is 120 miles long.

1964 April, “Beyond the Channel: Jugoslavia: New line to Adriatic”, in Modern Railways, page 281:

Then it told me the distance between the two is 331 miles, which is totally irrelevant as that's as the crow flies and not the 393 miles of the rail route.

2020 April 22, Barry Doe, “Disappointed at lack of information on LNER website”, in Rail, page 65:

(idiomatic) In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.


resurrectionist

From resurrection (“the act of rising from the dead and becoming alive again”) + -ist (“forms agents of cause; forms adherents of a belief”), coined alongside resurrection man.

af

There is a class of horses called ‘resurrectionists’... and they either recover early form... or... become animated, when they were supposed to be gone altogether, with... life and vigour.

(equestrianism, humorous, obsolete) A racehorse that (once or numerously) suddenly recovers its stamina midrace.


flog a dead horse

en-verb

flog a dead horse (third-person singular simple present flogs a dead horse, present participle flogging a dead horse, simple past and past participle flogged a dead horse)

flogs a dead horse (present singular third-person)
flogging a dead horse (participle present)
flogged a dead horse (participle past)
flogged a dead horse (past)

(dated, nautical) To attempt to get extra work out of a ship's crew during the dead horse period.


chum

Originally American English, from the 1850s. Perhaps from Powhatan.

The whale’s floating body also forms a chum slick on the surface—a trail of blood, oil, and chunks of fat and flesh that might stretch for miles across the water. […] This chum slick is what attracts sharks from afar. Seabirds are drawn to it too.

2021 March 18, Sarah Zhang, “A Gruesome Feeding Frenzy in the Atlantic Ocean”, in The Atlantic:

Most of us have seen the movie “Jaws”. Sheriff Brody is complaining about being the lucky one in charge of creating a chum line out of the back of the boat. The bucket is full of an awful combination of fish parts and blood. As he ladles scoop after scoop into the ocean, clearly, it was ^([sic]) working…

2020, “The Best Methods to Go Chumming”, in Bait Binder, Coastal Baits, LLC, archived from the original on 2020-09-27:

(fishing, chiefly Canada, US) A mixture of (frequently rancid) fish parts and blood, dumped into the water as groundbait to attract predator fish, such as sharks.


chum

chum (third-person singular simple present chums, present participle chumming, simple past and past participle chummed)

chums (present singular third-person)
chumming (participle present)
chummed (participle past)
chummed (past)

He began to chum for sharks, using whale oil and chopped whale meat.

1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 176:

Small live baitfish are effective, and they will take bits of fresh cut fish when chummed strongly.

1996, Frank Sargeant, The Reef Fishing Book: A Complete Anglers Guide:

(fishing, transitive, intransitive) To cast chum into the water to attract fish.


chum

From Chinook Jargon tzum (“spotted, marked”), from Chinook.


loggerhead

From logger (“(dialectal) heavy wooden block secured to a horse's leg to prevent it from straying”) + head. Logger was apparently coined because its sound connotes a clumsy, heavy object; compare log (“trunk of a dead tree; bulky piece of wood”).

compound

Loggerheads, from the resemblance of its knobbed involucres to a weapon so called, consisting of a ball of iron at the end of a stick, the knapweed, the Clobbewed of old MSS. Centaurea nigra, L.

1863, R[ichard] C[handler] A[lexander] Prior, “Loggerheads”, in On the Popular Names of British Plants, […], London, Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, […], →OCLC, page 137:

Bolwes, loggerheads, centaurea nigra. […] Bolwes is balls, the hard round heads of the wort. Loggerheads is a name I have often heard in Oxfordshire.

1866, “Saxon Names of Worts and Trees”, in Oswald Cockayne, editor, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England. […] (Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores), volume III, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, →OCLC, page 315, column 1:

(Midlands, dialectal, often in the plural) A thistle-like flowering plant of the genus Centaurea, particularly the common knapweed (Centaurea nigra).

But here is a ſpecies of ducks, called the loggerhead, from its large head. They have ſhort wings, are unable to fly, and only ſwim and flap along on the water at an extraordinary rate.

1775 November 9, William Clayton, “V. An Account of the Falkland Islands”, in Philosophical Transactions, of the Royal Society of London, volume XLVI, part I, number 446, London: Printed by W[illiam] Bowyer and J[ohn] Nichols; for Lockyer Davis, […], printer to the Royal Society, published 1776, →OCLC, page 104:

A ſpecies of duck, as large as a gooſe, and called the loggerhead duck at the Falkland Iſlands, is here met with, which beats the water with its wings and feet, and runs along the ſea with inconceivable velocity; […]

1810 July, Jedidiah Morse, “Terra del Fuego Island”, in The American Gazetteer, Exhibiting a Full Account of the Civil Divisions, Rivers, Harbors, Indian Tribes, &c. of the American Continent: […], 3rd revised and corrected edition, Boston, Mass.: Thomas & Andrews […], →OCLC:

Micropterus cinereus (Gm.). (Loggerhead Duck.) This Duck, which is called the ‘Loggerhead’ in the Falkland Islands, frequents the salt water. […] Looking for the Loggerhead’s eggs, which are esteemed a great delicacy, is a great amusement to all the boys in Stanley.

1861 April, C[harles] C[onrad] Abbott, “XV.—Notes on the Birds of the Falkland Islands”, in Philip Lutley Sclater, editor, The Ibis, a Magazine of General Ornithology, volume III, number X, London: N[icholas] Trübner and Co., […], →OCLC, paragraph 42, page 161:

Tachyeres brachypterus
Tachyeres brachypterus#Translingual

Used as the name of various animals with large heads.

The loggerhead duck or Falkland steamer duck (Tachyeres brachypterus; formerly Tachyeres cinereus), a species of steamer duck endemic to the Falkland Islands.

[E]arly in the season, a pair of Loggerheads, Tyrannus caudifasciatus, appropriated the same tree to themselves, and commenced constructing their nest. The Mocking birds were seen constantly in the square, but never interrupted or interfered with them until they had nearly completed the nest; they then drove away the Loggerheads, took possession of it, added a few sticks to the outwork, laid the eggs and hatched the young brood. The poor Loggerheads hovered about the place in great distress for a few days, but never attempted to regain possession of their property.

1863 October–November, W. T. March, S[pencer] F[ullerton] Baird, “(Communicated by the Smithsonian Institution.) Notes on the Birds of Jamaica. […]”, in Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, number 6, Philadelphia, Pa.: Academy of Natural Sciences, […], →OCLC, page 291:

loggerhead kingbird
loggerhead kingbird#English

The loggerhead kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus), a bird endemic to the Caribbean and West Indies.

[…] I have received here also one of the parent birds, and in this instance I have been again surprised to learn that it is the Loggerhead, and not borealis or excubitoroides, that is the species referred to. […] So that we have in all ten well-authenticated instances of the Loggerhead breeding in the very heart of two of the most northerly of the New England States.

1879 April, T[homas] M[ayo] Brewer, “General Notes. [The Loggerhead Shrike (Colluro ludovicianus) Breeding in Northern New England.]”, in Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club: A Quarterly Journal of Ornithology, volume IV, number 2, Cambridge, Mass.: Published by the [Nuttall Ornithological] Club, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 119:

Lanius ludovicianus
Lanius ludovicianus#Translingual

The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), a bird endemic to North America.

Sternotherus minor (Agassiz) / Loggerhead musk-turtle / […] Most numerous in large calcareous springs, where they may be seen at night wandering around on the bottom, especially about piles of debris.

1940 January, Archie Fairly Carr, Jr., “Annotated List”, in A Contribution to the Herpetology of Florida (University of Florida Biological Science Series; vol. III, no. 1), [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida, →OCLC, page 96:

The loggerhead (S[ternotherus] m[inor] minor) and stripe-necked (S. m. peltifer) musk turtles represent two distinct subspecies of a species with a tan to brown carapace with black streaking and overlapping scutes down the center of the carapace. […] The head of old loggerhead musk turtles becomes disproportionately enlarged, as does the front half of the entire shell.

2008, Kurl Buhlmann, Tracey Tuberville, Whit Gibbons, “Loggerhead and Striped-head Musk Turtles”, in Turtles of the Southeast (Wormsloe Foundation Nature Book), Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, →ISBN, page 131:

loggerhead musk turtle
loggerhead musk turtle#English

The loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor), a large-headed turtle endemic to the United States.

The Loggerhead is ſo called from the largeneſs of its head, which is much bigger in proportion than that of other kinds. The fleſh of this alſo is very rank, and not eaten but in caſe of neceſſity.

1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of the Tortoise, and Its Kinds”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume VI, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, part IV (Of Crustaceous and Testaceous Fishes), page 361:

[O]ur boat was hoisted out, and a loggerhead turtle struck as it was sleeping on the surface of the water. […] Dr. Patrick Browne, in his Natural History of Jamaica, mentions the hawksbill, the green turtle, and the loggerhead only. […] The loggerhead from which his description was taken was caught near the Western Islands, many leagues out at sea.

1850 November, “Leaves from the Note-book of a Naturalist. Part XI.”, in Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, volume XLII, number CCLI, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC, page 548:

The currest estimated number of loggerhead females nesting annually from North Carolina to Key Biscayne, Florida is 20,640 (± 6,328). This nesting level has been relatively stable since 1980 and accounts for about 98 percent of all loggerhead nesting within the continental United States.

1987 February 20, “Affected Environment”, in Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement on Listing and Protecting the Green Sea Turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and the Pacific Ridley Sea Turtle under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, [Washington, D.C.]: Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, →OCLC, section III.A.1 (Loggerheads), page 33:

loggerhead sea turtle
loggerhead sea turtle#English

Caretta caretta
Caretta caretta#Translingual

The loggerhead sea turtle or loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), an oceanic turtle found throughout the world.


crummy

en-adj

crummy (comparative crummier, superlative crummiest)

crummier (comparative)
crummiest (superlative)


egg yolk

en-noun

egg yolk (countable and uncountable, plural egg yolks)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-egg yolk.wav

From Middle English egyolk, egge yolk, equivalent to egg + yolk. Compare Dutch eigeel (“egg yolk”), German Low German Eigeel (“egg yolk”), German Eigelb (“egg yolk”), Swedish äggula (“egg yolk”).

The central part of a chicken’s (or other bird’s) egg, yellow when fresh.


aspis

As might be expected, characters of the aspides themselves are not of much value in pollen identification, but they are easily recognized and many three-pored, aspidate grains are broadly categorized as "betuloid" in studies of airborne pollen.

1974, Eugene Cecil Ogden, Manual for Sampling Airborne Pollen, →ISBN, page 128:

(palynology) A prominent ring of thickened exine around a pore on a pollen grain


glede

From Middle English glede, from Old English glida, from Proto-West Germanic *glidā, from Proto-Germanic *glidǭ; akin to Icelandic gleða, Swedish glada. Compare glide.

Milvus milvus
Milvus milvus#Translingual

Any of several birds of prey, especially a kite, Milvus milvus.


pike

From Middle English pyke, pyk, pik, pike (“pike; sharp point, iron tip of a staff or spear, pointed toe of an item of footwear; sharp tool; mountain, peak”), from Old English pīc (“pointed object, pick axe”), and Middle French pique (“long thrusting weapon”), from Old French pic (“sharp point, spike”); both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *pīk, from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz, *pīkō (“sharp point, pike, peak”), related to pick with a narrower meaning.
The word is cognate with Middle Dutch pecke, peke, picke (modern Dutch piek), German Pike, Norwegian pik, Danish pig, and possibly Old Irish pīk. It is a doublet of pique.
The diving or gymnastics position is probably from tapered appearance of the body when the position is executed.
The carnivorous freshwater fish is probably derived from the “sharp point, spike” senses, due to the fish’s pointed jaws.
The verb sense “to quit or back out of a promise” may be from the sense of taking up pilgrim's staff or pike and leaving on a pilgrimage; and compare Middle English pī̆ken (“to go, remove oneself”) and Old Danish pikke af (“to go away”).

cog

And now they begin to catch the pikes, and will ſhortly the trouts (pox on theſe miniſters), and I would fain know whether the floods were ever ſo high as to get over the holly bank or the river walk; if ſo, then all my pikes are gone; but I hope not.

1711 March 10, Jonathan Swift, J[ohn] Hawkesworth, “Letter LV”, in The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. Dean of St. Patrick’s, Dublin: […], new edition, volume XIII, London: Printed for Charles Elliot, Edinburgh, published 1784, →OCLC, pages 275–276:

Lord Erskine soon afterwards came to Brighton, and told Mrs. Coutts, if she would give him a dinner he would provide the fish from his own pond. She agreed; and his present proved to be an overgrown pike, weighing between thirty and forty pounds, and so hideous in its appearance that no guest touched it, the mere sight of it being perfectly disagreeable to many.

1839 November 2, “Memoirs of Harriot, Duchess of St. Albans. By Mrs. Cornwell Baron Wilson, Author of the ‘Life and Correspondence of M. G. Lewis.’ 2 vols. 12mo. London 1839. Colburn.”, in The Literary Gazette; and Journal of the Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c., number 1189, London: Printed by Moyes and Barclay, […]; published for the proprietors, at the Literary Gazette office, […], →OCLC, page 694, column 1:

If you fish for pike with a live-bait, snap tackle, or spinning, it should always be with the hooks attached to gimp, in consequence of the several rows of sharp teeth with which the pike is armed, and which enable it to bite gut in two.

1879 (indicated as 1880), [Charles Dickens Jr.], “Pike”, in Dickens’s Dictionary of the Thames: From Oxford to the Nore. … An Unconventional Handbook, London: Charles Dickens, […], →OCLC; republished as Dickens’s Dictionary of the Thames, from Its Source to the Nore. … An Unconventional Handbook, London: Macmillan & Co., […], 1883, →OCLC, page 164, column 2:

Any carnivorous freshwater fish of the genus Esox, especially the northern pike, Esox lucius.


guppy

→ Danish: gubbi

→ Dutch: guppie

Robert John Lechmere Guppy
guppy (disambiguation)

From a name mistakenly assigned, Girardinus guppii, after biologist Robert J. L. Guppy, to previously assigned Poecilia reticulata.

Throw that one back; it’s just a guppy!


lapwing

From Middle English lapwynge, lapwynke, lappewincke, lapwynche, lhapwynche, from Old English hlēapewince (“lapwing”), from Old English hlēapan (“to leap”) + wincian (“to wink, make a sign”), due to its manner of flight. Cognate with West Frisian ljip (“lapwing”).
The modern form is influenced by folk etymology to resemble English wing.

bibikinə

bird belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae

Plovers and lapwings are a large, virtually worldwide family that differs from sandpipers in, among other things, having a shorter, thicker, pigeonlike bill and more robust proportions.

1986, Steven L. Hilty, Bill Brown, A Guide to the Birds of Colombia, page 149:

The resident tropical plovers have much less pointed wings, and most of the lapwings have fairly rounded wing-tips, a wing shape apparently more adapted to aerial manoeuvrability than to long-distance migration.

2010, Des Thompson, Ingvar Byrkjedal, Tundra Plovers, page 36:

Lapwings are abundant winter visitors to the area but, like the Golden Plovers, vary greatly in number between years.

2010, Clive Finlayson, Birds of the Strait of Gibraltar, page 244:

Any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae, within family Charadriidae.

Vanellus vanellus
Vanellus vanellus#Translingual

The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).


Malinois

en-noun

Malinois (plural Malinoises or Malinois)

[ˈmælɪnˌwɑː]

From French Malines + -ois, Malines being the French name for the West Flemish city Mechelen.

I remember him so well because I love dogs and he had a malinois, which is quite a special dog. He was always in a good mood.

2024 March 4, Kate Connolly, “German prosecutors urge Red Army Faction suspects to surrender”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Belgian Malinois
Belgian Malinois#English


bugle

→ French: bugle

From Middle English bugle, from Anglo-Norman and Old French bugle, from Latin buculus (“young bull; ox; steer”).

Then tooke that squire an horne of bugle small, Which hong adowne his side in twisted gold And tassels gay.

1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faery Queene, page 88:

The tongue so rough, that were it licks, it fetches blood. The Greeks used not these, nor Bugles in Physick, not having tried their vertue; though Indian-woods are full of such, yet parts of them are of more efficacy in medicine, (it is thought) than any part of ordinary Oxen.

1678, Joannes Jonstonus (M.D., Polonus.), A Description of the Nature of Four-Footed Beasts, page 31:

All in the merry strand, With the ran, ran tan, And the tippy, tippy tran, And away with the royal bow! wow! wow! And the riddle diddle do, And the bugle's horn, For into the woods we'll run, brave boys, And into the woods we'll run.

1928, Lora Sarah La Mance, The House of Waltman and Its Allied Families, page 17:

a hunting horn, origin. made of the horn of a "bugle" or wild ox

1992, William Shakespeare, Holger Klein, Much Ado about Nothing: A New Critical Edition, page 145:


pachyderm

From French pachyderme, equivalent to pachy- (“thick”) + -derm (“skin”).

(obsolete, zoology) A member of the obsolete taxonomic order Pachydermata, grouping of thick-skinned, hoofed animals such as the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant and tapir.


tandem

tandem (countable and uncountable, plural tandems)

PIE word
 *téh₂m
The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix).
The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.

tandem

carriage pulled by two or more draught animals harnessed one behind the other; two draught animals harnessed one behind the other

tandem-

thing with two components arranged one behind the other

[H]e was a man whose head was at this time entirely full of gigs, and tandems, and unicorns: business was his aversion; pleasure was his business.

1804, Maria Edgeworth, “The Contrast. Chapter II. Ignorance of Things, into which It is a Duty to Enquire, is the Cause of Many Odious Vices.”, in Popular Tales, volume III, London: Printed for J[oseph] Johnson, […], [b]y C. Mercier and Co., […], →OCLC, page 30:

A friend of mine accompanies me in my carriage to Edinburgh. There we shall leave it, and proceed in a tandem (a species of open carriage) through the western passes to Inverary, where we shall purchase shelties, to enable us to view places inaccessible to vehicular conveyances.

1807 August 11, Lord Byron, “Letter XVII. To Miss ——.”, in Thomas Moore, editor, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: With Notices of His Life, […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1830, →OCLC, pages 118–119:

Mr. Foker was no more like a gentleman now than in his school days: and yet Pen felt a secret pride in strutting down High Street with a young fellow who owned tandems, talked to officers, and ordered turtle and champagne for dinner.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “In which Pendennis Appears as a Very Young Man Indeed”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 31:

The chief characteristic of this set was the most reckless extravagance of every kind. […] They drove tandems in all directions, scattering their ample allowances, which they treated as pocket money, about roadside inns and Oxford taverns with open hand, and going tick for every thing which could by possibility be booked.

1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “St. Ambrose’s College”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 1st, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 3:

(countable) A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing pulling power but only the animal in front being able to steer.

Later in the day the Row is empty, but, on the other hand, the pleasure horse monopolises the circle, now comparatively deserted. Singly, in pairs, tandems, and fours, he draws the family carriage with a lozenge on the panels, the brougham of the fashionable doctor, the coupé of the popular actress, the man about town's smart dog-cart.

[1903], Charles Dudley, “Equine London”, in George R[obert] Sims, editor, Living London: Its Work and Its Play, Its Humour and Its Pathos, Its Sights and Its Scenes, special edition, volume II, section I, London: Cassell and Company, →OCLC, pages 158–159, column 2:

Two draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other.


tandem

Their skillful tandem work made the project quick and successful.

(figurative) Working together collaboratively; collaborative, cooperative.

заедно

working together collaboratively — see also collaborative, cooperative


tandem

en-verb

tandem (third-person singular simple present tandems, present participle tandeming, simple past and past participle tandemed)

tandems (present singular third-person)
tandeming (participle present)
tandemed (participle past)
tandemed (past)

[O]ur dog-cart having come to hand, from the hilliness of the road, we tandemed the ten miles due west, along the southern shore of Clew Bay.

1861, “a retired civil engineer” [pseudonym], “Westport—The Killeries”, in Ierne. Or, Anecdotes and Incidents during a Life Chiefly in Ireland. […] (First Series), London: Partridge and Co., […], →OCLC, page 208:

And sometimes these nymphs [on frescoes] are tandeming the daintiest little gryphons so pleasantly that one longs (in the dream) to be with them, not fearing a reverse.

1866 May 1, “Visits to the Paradise of Artists. IV. Pompeii.—The Enchanting Sights and Disenchanting Sounds of Naples.—Capri.”, in The Art-Journal, volume V (New Series), London: Virtue & Co., page 129, column 2:

Hendee is located at the New Marlboro', and is tandeming with his lady friends through the Newtons daily.

1886 July 9, “Pencilled Paragraphs”, in The Cycle, volume I, number 15, Boston, Mass.: Abbot Bassett, →OCLC, page 263, column 3:

Mr. Cadman gives a humorous description of their journey, as they tandemed the donkey to drag their impedimenta up the slope of 1,200 feet.

1898 July 16, “The Gentle Art. Harry Druidale, Fisherman, from Manxland to England. By Henry Cadman. London: Macmillan & Co. [book review]”, in [Thomas Wemyss Reid], editor, The Speaker, London: The Speaker Office, →OCLC, page 87:

[A]n excessively dissipative error cancellation delay line is unacceptable, since that line directly tandems the main power amplifier.

1971 November, H. Seidel, “A Microwave Feed-forward Experiment”, in The Bell System Technical Journal, volume 50, number 9, New York, N.Y.: American Telephone and Telegraph Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2892:

Charlotte, who I had not yet had the chance to do more than talk to, was tandeming [on a tandem bicycle] with George but each was accusing the other of not putting in their fare share of the pedalling.

1989, Andrew Scott [pseudonym; Lionel Trapes?], chapter 3, in The Oyster, volume IV, New York, N.Y.: Blue Moon Books, published 2006, →ISBN, page 80:

No strained informality this as Judy [Garland] tandemed provocative chatter with her guests Lena Horne and Terry-Thomas.

1990, Coyne Steven Sanders, Rainbow’s End: The Judy Garland Show, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, →ISBN, page 233:

Remote-office-to-remote-office communication happens by tandeming through the headquarters router. The headquarters router and port connection can become bottlenecks. Network latency increases with tandeming.

2002, Regis J. (Bud) Bates, “Frame Relay”, in Broadband Telecommunications Handbook (McGraw-Hill Telecommunications), 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, page 205:

(transitive, intransitive) Synonym of tandemize (“(transitive) to harness or drive (two draught animals, generally draught horses) one behind the other; to set up (two or more things, such as pieces or equipment) to work in tandem or together; (intransitive) to drive a tandem (‘carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other’)”)


let the cat out of the bag

let the cat out of the bag (third-person singular simple present lets the cat out of the bag, present participle letting the cat out of the bag, simple past and past participle let the cat out of the bag)

lets the cat out of the bag (present singular third-person)
letting the cat out of the bag (participle present)
let the cat out of the bag (participle past)
let the cat out of the bag (past)

(Mid-1700s) The inverse of the idiom pig in a poke. If a dishonest merchant tries to sell a cat as a pig and the cat comes out or is taken out of the bag, the merchant's secret is disclosed.

It was going to be a surprise party until someone let the cat out of the bag.

He proved himself as decent, decorous, and conscientious as Peter was rampant, boisterous, and — This last epithet I choose to suppress, because it would let the cat out of the bag.

1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], Shirley. A Tale. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC:

(idiomatic) To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.

die aap uit die mou laat

to disclose a secret, often inadvertently


grackle

From translingual Gracula, from Latin graculus (“jackdaw”).

Outside, a gang of grackles combed the landscaped lawn like a homicide squad dragging a field for evidence.

1995, Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2, Vintage (2019), page 164:

Any of several American blackbirds of the genus Quiscalus, and related genera, having iridescent plumage.


pavonine

en-adj

pavonine (comparative more pavonine, superlative most pavonine)

more pavonine (comparative)
most pavonine (superlative)

From Latin pāvōnīnus, from pāvō (“peacock”).

... leaving its present body would find or construct another according to its chief intrinsic qualities and forces, whether those were a leonine magnanimity of courage, a vulpine subtlety of cunning, or a pavonine strut of vanity .

1864, William Rounseville Alger, A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life: With a Complete Bibliography of the Subject, page 479:

He had me all to himself; whilst his wife abased herself before my companion, he made up for the abasement by a truly pavonine strut and spread of his feathers. Amongst the few items of fact that floated on the torrent of his [lecture were...]

1901, John Macmillan Brown, Riallaro: The Archipelago of Exiles, page 223:

A list of acknowledgements can be a pavonine affair, an excuse more to flaunt than to thank. I have tried to avoid that here. But I must thank my excellent colleagues at QMUL,[…]

2021 December 14, Anthony Ossa-Richardson, A History of Ambiguity, Princeton University Press, →ISBN:

Showy, like a peacock's tail; exhibiting vanity.


myna

Borrowed from Hindi मैना (mainā)/Urdu مینا (mainā), from Sanskrit मदन (madana).

One of the South and East Asian birds of the starling family Sturnidae.

maina

genera Acridotheres, Gracula, Ampeliceps, Mino, Enodes, Leucopsar


Nemean Lion

(Greek mythology) A mythical lion of ancient Nemea that was invulnerable to attack by weapons and was slain by Hercules as one of his labours.


under the wire

Lying forward flattened along Sunfish's hard-muscled shoulders, Bud was gaining and gaining—one length, then two lengths as he shot under the wire, slowed and rode back to find a silent crowd watching him.

1921, B. M. Bower, chapter 15, in Cow-Country:


mischief

en-noun

mischief (countable and uncountable, plural mischiefs)

From Middle English myschef, meschef, meschief, mischef, from Old French meschief, from meschever (“to bring to grief”), from mes- (“badly”) + chever (“happen; come to a head”), from Vulgar Latin *capare, from Latin caput (“head”).

Drink led to mischief.

(uncountable) Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance.

kattekwaad

conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance

She had mischief in her heart.

Sooner or later he'll succeed in doing some serious mischief.

Was I the Cauſe of Miſchief, or the Man / Whoſe lawlesſ Luſt the bloody War began?

1697, Virgil, “The Tenth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 502, lines 139–140:

I have been tired in history with the perpetual folly of those states, who call in foreigners to assist them against a common enemy: but the mischief was, these allies would never be brought to allow, that the common enemy was quite subdued. And they had reason; for it proved at last, that one part of the common enemy was those who called them in, and so the allies became at length the masters.

1718 December 15 (Gregorian calendar), Jonathan Swift, “A Letter Concerning the Sacramental Test”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume IV, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 435:

Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.

1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 8, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:

I fear this means that there is some mischief afoot.

1914 September – 1915 May, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 1, in The Valley of Fear: A Sherlock Holmes Novel, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 27 February 1915, →OCLC:

(uncountable) Harm or trouble caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause.

беля

harm or trouble caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause

(law) A criminal offence defined in various ways in various jurisdictions, sometimes including causing damage to another's property.

What the mischief are you? and how the mischief did you get here, and where in thunder did you come from?

1967, The Statesman, volume 12, page 260:

(euphemistic) The Devil; used as an expletive.

(Australia) Casual and/or flirtatious sexual acts.


cat's cradle

cat's cradle (countable and uncountable, plural cat's cradles)

(uncountable) A children's game of forming string into various shapes around one's fingers.


lax

From Middle English lax, from Old English leax (“salmon”), from Proto-West Germanic *lahs (“salmon”), from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz (“salmon”), from Proto-Indo-European *laḱs- (“salmon, trout”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lacks, lachs, lasche (“salmon”), Middle Low German las (“salmon”), German Lachs (“salmon”), Norwegian laks (“salmon”), Danish laks (“salmon”), Swedish lax (“salmon”), Icelandic lax (“salmon”), Lithuanian lašišà (“salmon”), Latvian lasis, Russian лосо́сь (losósʹ, “salmon”), Albanian leshterik (“eel-grass”). Doublet of lox.

der

(now chiefly UK dialectal, Scotland) A salmon.


lax

en-adj

lax (comparative laxer, superlative laxest)

laxer (comparative)
laxest (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin laxus (“wide, roomy, loose”).

The rules are fairly lax, but you have to know which ones you can bend.

Society at that epoch was lenient, if not lax, in matters of the passions.

1886, John Addington Symonds, Philip Sidney:

Lenient and allowing for deviation; not strict.

մեղմ

not strict; lenient; allowing for deviation

The rope fell lax.

The Fleſh of this ſort of [cartilaginous] Fiſh being lax and ſpungy, and nothing ſo firm, ſolid and weighty as that of the bony Fiſhes, and there being a good quantity of Air contained in the Cavity of their Abdomen, they cannot ſink in the Water without letting in ſome of it by theſe Holes (the Orifices whereof are opened and ſhut at pleaſure by the help of Muſcles provided for that purpoſe) into the hollow of their Bellies, whereby they preponderate the Water and deſcend; […]

1701, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation, […], 3rd edition, London: […] Sam[uel] Smith, and Benj[amin] Walford, […], →OCLC, part II, page 355:

Sreedharan and Mirsa (1973) reported that two lax panicle mutants, designated as nude panicle mutation, were obtained from the M₂ of two rice cultivars.

1979, “Genetical Studies on Dense and Lax Panicles In Rice”, in Japan. J. Breed., volume 29, number 2, page 151:

(linguistics) (of a vowel) Produced with relatively little constriction of the vocal tract.


dust bunny

WASHINGTON: The common American household Dust Bunny has been designated as an endangered species, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USF&WS) announced last week. "The widespread use of household cleaning products and devices has drastically reduced the habitat of the Dust Bunny," said Noah Present, Acting Director of the Endangered Species Program. "American homes are cleaned too frequently, and much better than in the past." / "We are not to blame for the improper use of our products," responded a spokesman for the Household Products Association. "Correctly used, many of the Dust Bunnies should survive."

2008, Hugh A. Holub, “Dust Bunnies Designated Endangered Species: 25% of Homes Declared Critical Habitat”, in Deer Seen as Terrorist Threat and Other Stories, [Raleigh, N.C.]: Lulu, →ISBN, page 83:

About 3.6 billion years ago, the sun and its planets coalesced from a cloud of stellar debris, probably helped along by the push from the explosion of a nearby supernova. The particles of cosmic dust began sticking together by static electricity, the same force that forms dust bunnies under your bed. Eventually, the particles got big enough for gravity to start pulling more pieces together.

2016 August 28, Dale Gnidovec, “Geology: Chemically unique meteorite found in quarry might be ‘extinct’”, in The Columbus Dispatch, archived from the original on 2016-08-29:

Sure, some dogs may get super-itchy and lose extra fur, while others may seem to groom themselves incessantly, leaving your floors strewn with serious dust bunnies. In the absence of these and the above-mentioned problems, your Lab mix is just being a dog that conforms perfectly to her breed type. In other words, this breed sheds – a lot!

2016 August 30, Patty Khuly, “Dog shedding too much? Try these easy fixes”, in Miami Herald, archived from the original on 2016-08-31:

Phobos just can't catch a break. Not only is Mars' lumpy, crusted-over dust bunny of a moon destined to be ripped to pieces in 10 million years, it seems the poor thing can't stop punching itself.

2016 August 31, Maddie Stone, “We finally know what caused those mysterious craters on Phobos”, in Gizmodo Australia, archived from the original on 2016-08-31:

(US, informal) A small clump of dust, fluff, hair, particles of skin, etc., that tends to accumulate indoors in areas not regularly dusted, such as under heavy furniture.


Schrödinger's cat

en-noun

Schrödinger's cat (plural Schrödinger's cats)

Named after Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961).

named-after

A cat like yours is a Schrödinger's cat, sealed up in an office where someone's disintegration provides a 50-50 chance of its death.

2000, Thalia Field, Point and line, New Directions Publishing, →ISBN, page 8:

A hypothetical cat that is depicted as being surrounded by perfectly uncertain circumstances that make an external observer absolutely unable to deem the cat either alive or dead, especially if the possibilities of survival of the cat are expected to be analysed from the point of view of quantum mechanics. Typically, these circumstances involve the cat being inside a box while being the victim of a danger that may or may not kill it, such as radiation.

To see how, let us consider a nested system of Schrödinger's cats.

2004, Colin Bruce, Schrödinger's Rabbits: The Many Worlds of Quantum, page 83:

(by extension) Any hypothetical situation whose circumstances make it impossible to see which among two contrary propositions is correct, especially if the situation is expected to be analysed from the point of view of quantum mechanics.


Schrödinger's cat

The thought experiment which was devised by Erwin Schrödinger, is usually considered a paradox, involves a Schrödinger's cat and is typically supposed to be analysed from the point of view of quantum mechanics.

Schrödinger's cat is necessarily alive or dead.

2005, Jürgen Pafel, Quantifier scope in German, illustrated edition, John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 21:

And you thought Schrödinger's cat was schizophrenic, unsure about life and death.

2009, João Magueijo, A brilliant darkness, Basic Books, →ISBN, page 179:

Let us return to the laboratory, where Bob is about to lift the tarp off of the transparent box containing Schrödinger's cat.

2010, Rodrigo Enrico, The Physics of Stargates, Eridanus Press, →ISBN, page 80:

A Schrödinger's cat (a hypothetical cat that may or may not be dead) in particular, especially when implied to be the only Schrödinger's cat in the world.


bower bird

Any bird of the Australasian family Ptilonorhynchidae noted for building display structures (bowers) and decorating them with bright objects such as shells, glass, flowers, etc.


spermophile

From Spermophilus from σπέρμα (spérma, “seed”) + φιλέω (philéō, “love”), hence, "seed-lover". This genus formerly included most of the terrestrial squirrels, but all of the North American species have been split off into separate genera.

com

Your cousin, Seek Seek the Spermophile, sometimes called Gopher Squirrel, who lives on the open plains of the West where there are no rocks or stones. He likes best the flat, open country. He is called Spermophile because that means seed-eater, and he lives largely on seeds, especially on grain.

1920, Thornton W. Burgess, “Striped Chipmunk and his Cousins”, in The Burgess Animal Book for Children:

A terrestrial burrowing rodent; ground squirrel.


goldfinch

From Middle English goldfinch, goldfynch, goldefynch, from Old English goldfinċ, equivalent to gold + finch. Compare West Frisian goudfink (“goldfinch”), Dutch goudvink (“bullfinch”), German Goldfink (“goldfinch”), Danish guldfink (“goldfinch”), Icelandic gullfinka (“goldfinch”).

Lawrence's goldfinch
Lawrence's goldfinch

Any of several small passerine birds of the finch family

A Lawrence's goldfinch (Spinus lawrencei, syn. Carduelis lawrencei)


cowbird

From cow + bird, as they are often seen near cattle.

Any bird of the genus Molothrus. The cowbirds are brood parasites.


cowpat

Unfortunately, every cowpat that is burned as cooking fuel means that no nitrogen is available for use as fertilizer.

1979, Jack M. Hollander, Melvin K. Simmons, David O. Wood, Annual Review of Energy, →ISBN:


coydog

Canis latrans
Canis latrans#Translingual

Canis lupus familiaris
Canis lupus familiaris#Translingual

Any hybrid of a coyote (Canis latrans) and a (usually feral) dog (Canis lupus familiaris).


bubbler

(US) A freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens), of central North America.


sable

en-noun

sable (countable and uncountable, plural sables)

Attested since 1275, from Middle English sable, from Old French sable and martre sable (“sable marten”), in reference to the animal or its fur; from Medieval Latin sabelum, from Middle Low German sabel (compare Middle Dutch sabel, Middle High German zobel); ultimately from a Slavic word (compare Russian со́боль (sóbolʹ), Polish soból, Czech sobol). Compare also Middle Persian smwl (*samōr).

Martes zibellina
Martes zibellina#Translingual

(countable) A small carnivorous mammal of the Old World that resembles a weasel, Martes zibellina, from cold regions in Eurasia and the North Pacific islands, valued for its dark brown fur (Wikipedia).


flying fox

Australian Kriol: flain foks

The cyprinid fish Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus.

A device consisting of a chair suspended on a pulley, and running along a length of cable, used for transporting across ravines etc.


cuttie

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cuttie.wav

(colloquial) A T-shirt that has had the sleeves removed.


asp

From Middle English aspe, from Old French aspe, from Latin aspis, aspidis (“asp, viper; shield”), from Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”); compare Middle English aspide.

der

A venomous viper native to southwestern Europe (Vipera aspis).

A type of European fish (Aspius aspius).


asp

Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (2009 asp 9)

Act of the Scottish Parliament
w:Act of the Scottish Parliament

(UK, law, in citation) Initialism of Act of the Scottish Parliament.


duffer

Cognate with duff, which see (origin is uncertain).

(sports) A player having little skill, especially a golfer who duffs.


bower

From Middle English bour, from Old English būr, from Proto-West Germanic *būr, from Proto-Germanic *būrą (“room, abode”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Búur (“storage room, utility room; cage”), German Bauer (“birdcage”), Old Norse búr (“cage”) (Danish bur, Norwegian Bokmål bur, Swedish bur).

cog

(ornithology) A large structure made of grass, twigs, etc., and decorated with bright objects, used by male bower birds during courtship displays.

Laube

(ornithology) A large structure made of grass and bright objects


pedal

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pedal (noun, verb).wav

Borrowed from French pédale, Latin pedāl(is). By surface analysis, ped- + -al.


kinda

LL-Q1860 (eng)-JutishMale-kinda (n, subspecies of baboon).wav

After the town of Kinda, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In the wild, when a baboon called a kinda pairs with a chacma or yellow baboon, their progeny is still a baboon — but it's a hybrid of interest to Society grantees Jane Phillips-Conroy and Clifford Jolly, who are tracking gene flow in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park.

2006, The National Geographic Magazine, volume 212, numbers 4-6, page 18:

Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

A subspecies of baboon, Papio cynocephalus kindae, primarily found in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and possibly western Tanzania.


agama

From Sranan Tongo agama (“lizard”), from a Gbe language; compare Ewe agama (“chameleon”).

Any of the various small, long-tailed lizards of the subfamily Agaminae of family Agamidae, especially in genera Acanthocercus, Agama, Dendragama, Laudakia, Phrynocephalus, Trapelus and Xenagama.


buckskin

en-noun

buckskin (countable and uncountable, plural buckskins)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-buckskin.wav

From Middle English bukskyn; equivalent to buck + skin.

I have alluded to his buckskins.

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 3, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

buckskin:

A soft strong leather, usually yellowish or grayish in color, made of deerskin.

abaní

a soft strong leather, usually yellowish or grayish in color, made of deerskin


ballyhoo

en-verb

ballyhoo (third-person singular simple present ballyhoos, present participle ballyhooing, simple past and past participle ballyhooed)

ballyhoos (present singular third-person)
ballyhooing (participle present)
ballyhooed (participle past)
ballyhooed (past)

Unknown. Probably an expressive gibberish word.

sound-symbolic

expressive

Industry has picked up, railroads are carrying more freight, farm prices are better, but I am not going to indulge in issuing proclamations of over-enthusiastic assurance. We cannot ballyhoo ourselves back to prosperity.

1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside Chat (7 May):


ballyhoo

Certain species in family Hemiramphidae, inshore, surface-dwelling needlefish forming sizeable schools.


ballyhoo

Possibly from Spanish balahú (“schooner”).


eggshell

From Middle English eggeshell, ege schelle, egg-shel, egg shelle (also as Middle English eye schell, ey-schel, ey-schelle), partially continuing Old English ǣġsċill, ǣġsċyll (“eggshell”), equivalent to egg + shell. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Oaierskil (“eggshell”), Dutch eierschaal (“eggshell”), German Eierschale (“eggshell”), Danish æggeskal (“eggshell”), Swedish äggskal (“eggshell”).

cog

Like Egge-ſhels mou'd upon their Surges, crack'd / As eaſily ’gainſt our Rockes.

1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 380:


eggshell

en-adj

eggshell (comparative more eggshell, superlative most eggshell)

more eggshell (comparative)
most eggshell (superlative)

eggshell porcelain

Exhibiting the thinness, translucency or near-transparency, and fragility of an eggshell.

This clear varnish is available in gloss, matt and eggshell finishes.

Very matt, having a low reflexivity, like an eggshell.


topaz

en-noun

topaz (usually uncountable, plural topazes)

→ Irish: tópás

→ Welsh: topas

From Old French topace (compare French topaze), from Ancient Greek τόπαζος (tópazos).

Elgin. Topaz a Saltier and Chief Ruby, on a Canton Pearl a Lyon Rampant Saphyr, which last is their paternal Coat; and the Field Topaz, and Saltier, and Chief Ruby, was the Arms of King Robert the Bruce, they altering the Field from Pearl (as he bore it) to Topaz. / Eglington. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Saphyr three Flower-de-Liss Topaz, for Montgomery; 2d and 3d, Ruby three Anulets Topaz', ston'd Saphyr, for the Title of Eglington; […]

1720, Francis Nichols, Rudiments of Honour, page 296:

The Field is Ruby, on a Bend Topaz, three Martlets Diamond. […] 4. Pearl, on a Bend Diamond, nine Annulets conjoined in three Links Topaz.

1726, John Guillim, The Banner Display'd; Or, an Abridgment of Guillim, page 504:

(1) Pearl, a Cross, Ruby, with the Effigies of our Saviour thereon, Topaz, born in Memory of one of the Family's fighting against the Turks. (2) Topaz, a Chief Indented, Saphire. (3) Ruby, three covered Cups, Topaz […]

1754, John Lodge, The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the ..., page 71:

(heraldry) Or (gold or yellow), in blazoning by precious stones.

Either of two species of very large hummingbirds in the genus Topaza.

A ruby-topaz hummingbird, Chrysolampis mosquitus, the male of which has bright ruby feathers on the head and topaz on the throat


topaz

Various theories. Hobson-Jobson mentions as possibilities a corruption of Persian (from Turkish) top-chi, "gunner", or a connection with topee, from the hats they wore.

(historical, British India) A black Catholic soldier in the British Army.


snapping turtle

snapping turtle (plural snapping turtles)

Any of several large American freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, which have powerful hooked jaws that close with a snap.


tree frog

A frog of the family Hylidae, of small size and more elegant in form than the true frogs (family Ranidae), often with a bright coloration.


Peking duck

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Peking duck.wav

Calque from Chinese 北京烤鴨／北京烤鸭 (Běijīng kǎoyā). Same as Peking + duck.

zh-l

北京烤鴨／北京烤鸭 (Běijīng kǎoyā)

During out third day in Peking, we received word that Premier Chou En-lai would have dinner with us. We sat in a banquet room in the Great Hall of the People and enjoyed a fabulous meal of Peking duck.

1980, Gerald Ford, A Time to Heal, New York: Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 94:

As restaurants in the Chinese capital drift in the doldrums of a COVID ban on dining in, one eatery manager and his army of chefs have set up stalls on the pavement to keep alive some of the old magic and drum up sales of their big seller, Peking duck.[…]"Our Peking duck sales have even gone up," Zheng, 35, told Reuters outside his restaurant as a queue of customers waited.

2022 May 18, Thomas Suen Suen, Ryan Woo, Ellen Zhang, “COVID or no COVID, Beijing diners won't be denied their Peking duck”, in Robert Birsel, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-05-18, China:

A Chinese dish consisting of roasted duck skin, small pancakes, hoisin sauce and other ingredients.


bleg

Steve Thompson, on the Moonshadow, won last Wednesday’s WBA boat competition with the only fish of the night, a 1lb 8oz pouting (bleg)

4 July 2007, Jack Melton, “Fresh water gives shore anglers a clear problem”, in Sunderland Echo:

#*: Boats are taking ling to 18lb as well as codling to 5lbs and loads of pout whiting (blegs) on squid.

7 November 2007, “Sea Angling latest”, in Sunderland Echo:

The only report on boat fishing last week was on Tuesday when the Wanderer managed to get out and took about a dozen codling to three pounds plus a few blegs.

29 May 2008, “Sea Angling: Wear in doldrums, Tyne and Tees looking up”, in Sunderland Echo:

Saturday saw just three Seahan SAC juniors fishing for the J.T. Jacobs Cup, with two weighing in three coalies, a codling and a bleg.

10 December 2010, “Fishing: Pier marks look favourite for Big Open”, in Sunderland Echo:

Trisopterus luscus
Trisopterus luscus#Translingual

(Northumbria) A pouting (Trisopterus luscus).


salamander

/ˈsæləˌmɑːndə/

From Middle English salamandre, from Anglo-Norman salamandre, from Latin salamandra, from Ancient Greek σαλαμάνδρα (salamándra), of uncertain origin (per Beekes, likely Pre-Greek); possibly of Iranian origin, see Persian سمندر (samandar) for more information.

The necessary fires alone -- the salamanders and tinner's pots -- had caused dozens of small blazes.

2003, Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City, Vintage Books, page 192:

(construction) A portable stove used to heat or dry buildings under construction.


feague

en-verb

feague (third-person singular simple present feagues, present participle feaguing, simple past and past participle feagued)

feagues (present singular third-person)
feaguing (participle present)
feagued (participle past)
feagued (past)

From Dutch vegen (“to sweep, strike”), from Middle Dutch vēghen (“to cleanse”), from Old Dutch *fegōn (“to cleanse”), from Proto-West Germanic *faginōn, from Proto-Germanic *faginōną (“to decorate, make beautiful”), from Proto-Indo-European *pōḱ-, *pēḱ- (“to clean, to adorn”). Cognate with Danish feje (“to sweep”), German fegen (“to cleanse, scour, sweep”), Icelandic fægja (“to polish”), Swedish feja (“to sweep”). More at fay, fair, fake.

cog

Come, brother Cockwood, let us get 'em / To lay aſide theſe masking Fopperies, and then / We'll fegue 'em in earneſt: Give us a bottle, Waiter.

1668, George Etherege, She Wou’d if She Cou’d, a Comedy. […], London: […] [John Macocke] for H[enry] Herringman, […], →OCLC, Act III, scene iii, page 49:

Chor[us]. […] See, yonder ſits Well-born with his pretty Wife. / […] Shee ſeeks for her Gallant, and he o'my Life / Hath a mind to be feaguing yon Vizor-Mask-Whore.

1673, Henry Nevil Payne, The Morning Ramble, or The Town-humours: A Comedy. Acted at the Duke's Theatre, London: Printed for Thomas Dring, at the White Lyon, next Chancery-Lane end in Fleet-street, →OCLC, act I, scene i, page 11:

Sir Oliv[er Cockwood]. Here's my brother Jolly too can witneſs / The loyalty of my Heart, and that I did not intend / Any treaſonable practice againſt your Ladiſhip / In the leaſt. / Sir Joſ[lin Jolley]. Unleſs feguing 'em with a Beer-glaſs be / Included in the Statute. Come, Mr. Courtall, to / Satisfie my Lady, and put her in a little good humour, / Let us ſing the Catch I taught you yeſterday, […]

1668, George Etherege, She Wou'd if She Cou'd, a Comedy. Actes at His Highnesse the Duke of York's Theatre, London: Printed for H[enry] Herringman, at the sign of the Blew Anchor in the lower walk of the New Exchange, →OCLC, act III, scene iii, page 53:

feague coit with. Ex the primary sense, beat or thrash (a common shift).

1994, Gordon Willams, A Dictionary of Sexual Language and Imagery in Shakespearean and Stuart Literature, volumes I (A–F), London, Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: The Athlone Press, →ISBN, page 469:

(obsolete) To have sexual intercourse with.


stammel

en-noun

stammel (usually uncountable, plural stammels)

[…] booted he was after Saincte Benettes guise, and a blacke Stamell robe, with a lothlie monsterous hoode hanging backward […]

1564, William Bullein, A Dialogue Bothe Pleasaunte and Pietifull, London, page 11:

Our great men
Like to a Masse of clowds that now seeme like
An Elephant, and straight wayes like an Oxe
And then a Mouse, or like those changeable creatures
That liue in the Burdello, now in Satten
Tomorrow next in Stammell.

1606, George Chapman, Monsieur D’Olive, London: William Holmes, act II, scene 1:

[…] the lusty Lasses, and merry Good-wives, who were drest in all their Bravery, in their Stammel Petticoats, and their gray Cloath-Wastcoats, or white wrought Wastcoats, with black Woolstead, and green Aprons;

1671, Margaret Cavendish, “The Tale of a Traveller”, in Natures Picture Drawn by Fancies Pencil to the Life, London, page 525:

(historical) A woolen cloth (used in medieval times to make undergarments).


stammel

The Violet’s purple, the sweet Rose’s stammell,

1611, “The Third Daie of the First Week”, in Josuah Sylvester, transl., Du Bartas his Deuine Weekes, London:

Of a bright red colour, like that of the stammel cloth.


red drum

a large red edible fish, Sciaenops ocellatus, also called channel bass or redfish.


red kangaroo

A large kangaroo, Osphranter rufus, found in the desert areas of Australia.


redfish

Any of several species fish with red skin or flesh:

Any of genus Sebastes, or edible red rockfishs.

especially Sebastes norvegicus, found in North American waters, also called rosefish or ocean perch.

Sebastes norvegicus
Sebastes norvegicus#Translingual

A large red edible fish, Sciaenops ocellatus, also called channel bass or red drum.

Rhomboplites aurorubens, vermillion snapper.

Oncorhynchus nerka
Oncorhynchus nerka#Translingual


brill

Possibly from Cornish brilli (“mackerel”), from brithelli, plural of brithel (“mackerel”), from brith (“spotted”), from Proto-Brythonic *briθ.

A type of flatfish, Scophthalmus rhombus.


redcoat

en-verb

redcoat (third-person singular simple present redcoats, present participle redcoating, simple past and past participle redcoated)

redcoats (present singular third-person)
redcoating (participle present)
redcoated (participle past)
redcoated (past)

To work as a redcoat, in Butlin's. Also capital Redcoat


when pigs fly

Referencing the fact that pigs do not have wings and cannot fly.

List of idioms of improbability
when pigs fly

فِي الْمِشْمِش (fī l-mišmiš, literally “in the apricot [season]”)

إِذَا حَجَّتِ الْبَقَرَة عَلَى قُرُونِهَا (ʔiḏā ḥajjati l-baqara ʕalā qurūnihā, literally “when the cow goes on pilgrimage on its horns”)

لَمَّا يَنْوَر اَلْمِلْح (lammā yanwar al-milḥ, literally “when salt blossoms”)

երբ խոզը բարձրանա ծառը (erb xozə barjrana caṙə, literally “when the pig climbs up the tree”)

на святыя ніколі (na svjatyja nikóli, literally “on Saint Never[’s day]”)

на куково лято (na kukovo ljato, literally “in a cuckoo’s summer”)

猪乸会上树 (zyu¹ naa² wui⁵ soeng⁶ syu⁶, literally “when pig sows climb up the tree”)

马生角 (thiⁿ lo̍h âng-hō͘, bé seⁿ/siⁿ kak, literally “when rain is red and horses grow horns”)

烏頭白，馬生角 (wū tóu bái, mǎ shēng jiǎo, literally “when crows have white heads and horses grow horns”)

天雨粟，馬生角 (tiān yù sù, mǎ shēng jiǎo, literally “when it rains millets and horses grow horns”)

除非太阳从西边出来 (chúfēi tàiyáng cóng xībiān chūlái, literally “when the sun rises in the west”)

wanneer Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen

wenn Ostern und Pfingsten auf einen Tag fallen

כשחזירים יעופו (k'shekhazirím ya'úfu, literally “when pigs fly”)

सूरज पश्चिम से उगेगा (sūraj paścim se ugegā, literally “when the sun rises in the west”)

majd ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből

ᑐᓗᒃᑲᑦ ᖃᑯᖅᓯᒃᐸᑕ (tolokkat qakoqsikpata, literally “when the ravens turn white”)

枯れ木に花咲く (kareki ni hana saku, literally “dead trees blossom”)

കാക്ക മലന്നു പറക്കും (kākka malannu paṟakkuṁ, literally “the crow will fly upside down”)

وقت گل نی (vaght e gol e ney, literally “when the reed plant blossoms”)

когда́ рак на горе́ сви́стнет (kogdá rak na goré svístnet, literally “when a crayfish whistles on the mountain”)

по́сле до́ждичка в четве́рг (pósle dóždička v četvérg, literally “after a small rain on Thursday”)

جب زمین اور آسمان ایک ہونگے (jab zamīn aur āsmān ek hōngē, literally “when the sky and the Earth meet”)


apodal

(biology) Without feet or foot-like body parts; legless.


throstle

From Middle English throstle, throstel, from Old English þrostle, from Proto-West Germanic *þrostlā, possibly altered from or a diminutive of *þurstaz, related to *þrastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *trosdos.

THE RING THROSTLE. / A Throstle under the above title has been recently introduced from America, the principal novel feature of which, is a substitute for the flyer and heavy spindle of the common throstle, and for the cone or cape, and the barrel tube of the Danforth throstle.

1836, James Montgomery, The Theory and Practice of Cotton Spinning, or, The Carding and Spinning Master’s Assistant, page 223:

A machine for spinning wool, cotton, etc., from the rove, consisting of a set of drawing rollers with bobbins and flyers, and differing from the mule in having the twisting apparatus stationary and the processes continuous.


monotreme

(zoology) A mammal of the order Monotremata that lays eggs and has a single orifice for urogenital and digestive functions (cloaca); an echidna or a platypus.

однопрохо́дное

млекопита́ющее

яйцекладу́щее

млекопита́ющее

клоа́чное

млекопита́ющее


sorrel

en-noun

sorrel (countable and uncountable, plural sorrels)

From Middle English sorel, from Old French sorel, surele (“sorrel”), from Old French sur (“sour”), of Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sūraz (“sour”); equivalent to sour + -el (diminutive suffix). Compare Old English sūre (“sorrel”), Icelandic súra (“sorrel”), Dutch zuring (“dock (plant), sorrel”). More at sour.

Rumex acetosa
Rumex acetosa#Translingual

Any of various plants with acidic leaves of the genus Rumex, especially

Rumex acetosa (common sorrel, garden sorrel), sometimes used as a salad vegetable.


Afrikaner

/ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ/

Audio (US)

A member of an ethnic group of northwestern European ancestry and associated with southern Africa and the Afrikaans language.


Cashmere

Borrowed from Hindustani कश्मीर / کشمیر (kaśmīr, “Kashmir”), from Sanskrit कश्मीर (kaśmīra).


bow-wow

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bow-wow.wav

Lord Pembroke said once to me at Wilton, with a happy pleasantry, and some truth, that “Dr. Johnson’s sayings would not appear so extraordinary were it not for his bow-wow way;” but I admit the truth of this only on some occasions.

1785, James Boswell, The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, London: Charles Dilly, page 8:

1826, Walter Scott, Diary entry for 14 March, 1826, in The Complete Works of Sir Walter Scott; with a Biography, New York: Conner & Cooke, 1833, Volume 7, Chapter 68, p. 475,
Miss Austen […] had a talent for describing the involvements, and feelings, and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The Big Bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch, which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied to me.

(dated, informal, of language) Grandiose.


Dolly

Dolly Varden is the staple catch. To a point that, after two days, we find ourselves feeling guilty trying to shake them free from our fly or giving plenty of slack in the hope that another Dolly finds early freedom. […] Often the biggest challenge of hooking a big trout is avoiding Dollies.

2017 November–December, Dean Oelschig, “Kamchatka: 61 Hours from Jo'burg”, in The Mission: The Cult of Fly Fishing, number 6, pages 54–55:

Dolly Varden trout
Dolly Varden trout#English


serpentine

From Middle English serpentine, from Old French serpentin, from Latin serpentīnus, from serpēns (“serpent”), equivalent to serpent + -ine.

(equestrianism) In dressage, a winding walk across on the arena.


Himalayan

A domestic cat breed similar to (and, in some places, considered a variety of) the Persian breed, but with the colourpoint coat pattern of the Siamese.


Jersey

From Middle English Gersey, from Anglo-Norman Gersui, further etymology disputed. Probably from Old Norse [Term?], compound of Geirs (“Geirr's”) + ey (“island”). Also occasionally and historically connected to Latin Caesarea, a common name given to locations conquered by the Romans in honor of Caesar (compare French Césarée). The latter theory still bestows the Latin translation of the island.

unk

disputed


Rex

Rex Lex (meaning that the King is the law)

Lex Rex (meaning that the King is not absolute but subject to the law)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-s
Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs
Proto-Italic *rēks
Latin rēxbor.
English Rex
From Latin rēx (“king”). Doublet of rajah and roy.

etymon

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States.


Savannah

The cities are named after the Savannah River, possibly derived from Shawnee or Algonquian.

Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County#English

The name of a river and several cities in the United States:

A ghost town in Los Angeles County, California.

A city, the county seat of Andrew County, Missouri.

A census-designated place in Denton County, Texas.


buteo

From the genus name Buteo, from Latin būteō.

In flight, it has the broad-winged, wide-tailed look of the buteos, the soaring hawks that are built like small eagles.

1988 February 5, Jerry Sullivan, “Field & Street”, in Chicago Reader:

Any of the broad-winged soaring raptors of the genus Buteo.


morocco

en-noun

morocco (countable and uncountable, plural moroccos)

From the country name of Morocco, from which this leather was originally imported. Compare maroquin.

The purple morocco cases accompanying the latter contained a handsome set of gold ornaments. Louisa was deeply gratified, even more on Charles's account than on her own; it was such injustice on the part of her family to treat him with such insolence as Lady Anne and Lady Rotheles displayed.

1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 184:

Piers put the letter in an envelope and slipped it into a green morocco-covered volume on the window seat – his sister's diary.

1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 164:

A soft leather, made from goatskin, used especially in bookbinding.