tooth-to-jowl

Most Latinos don’t live tooth-to-jowl because they love each other so much. In fact, new census data (again, statistics) show that Latinos in the Pajaro Valley have some of the highest crowding problems in the state.

2002 April 7, Heather Boerner, “Gimme Shelter Rethinking California’s housing needs”, in Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Having no safe, private sanitation facilities in areas where people are living tooth-to-jowl means going the whole day without relieving oneself and then risking exposure at night.

2004, Millennium Project, Interim Report of Task Force 7 on Water and Sanitation, 02-01:


onward

[…] yonder cloud
That rises upward always higher,
And onward drags a labouring breast,
And topples round the dreary west,
A looming bastion fringed with fire.

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XV, page 24:

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war...

1871, “Onward, Christian Soldiers”, Sabine Baring-Gould (lyrics):


automatically

en-adv

automatically (comparative more automatically, superlative most automatically)

more automatically (comparative)
most automatically (superlative)

The mere existence of a dictionary of a certain variety of English does not automatically confer acceptance of that variety.

2014, James Lambert, “Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis”, in World Englishes, page 114:


properly

properly (comparative more properly, superlative most properly)

more properly (comparative)
most properly (superlative)

Hospitals are failing to care properly for the growing number of people with dementia, according to an NHS-funded report, which has prompted demands for big improvements to help patients.

2011 December 16, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in Guardian:

in a proper manner, appropriately, suitably; correctly, justifiably

(obsolete) individually; in one's own manner.

I was properly tired after that party.

(colloquial) Entirely; extremely; thoroughly.


deadpan

deadpan (comparative more deadpan, superlative most deadpan)

more deadpan (comparative)
most deadpan (superlative)

A city-hired consultant from a firm called Urban Futures was booed repeatedly by the agitated homeowners as he talked deadpan, in bureaucratese, about his firm's "evidentiary record" pointing to blight in the neighborhood.

2004, Steven Greenhut, Abuse of Power: How the Government Misuses Eminent Domain, page 46:


cheek by jowl

We shared the long hours, the often rough seas, the successes and the disappointments in a close companionship with the captains and crews of the Italian boats and also with the little clique of fishermen whose small draggers were moored cheek by jowl with us in Annisquam Harbor.

2008, Kitty Crockett Robertson, Measuring Time - By an Hourglass, page 140:

Wee see Merchants, countrey-Justices, and Artificers to march cheeke by joll with our Nobilitie, in valour, and militarie discipline.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

he had made his peace with the idea of spending half-term cheek-by-jowl on a cruise ship with the world's biggest Titanic enthusiasts.

In very close physical proximity, crowded together.

By so doing you will certainly profit the art of fiction. For books have a way of influencing each other. Fiction will be much the better for standing cheek by jowl with poetry and philosophy.

1929, Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own:

Exit and voice, social theorist Albert O. Hirschman's famous dichotomous strategies, collided in the South Carolina countryside, where renewed commitment to the nation existed cheek by jowl with exit from it.

2009, John Fabian Witt, Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law:

(by extension) In very close or intimate association.


kingly

kingly (comparative more kingly, superlative most kingly)

more kingly (comparative)
most kingly (superlative)

From Middle English kyngly, from Old English *cyninglīċe (“kingly, royally”), equivalent to king + -ly. Compare Old English cynelīċe (“kingly, royally, publicly”).


outright

From Middle English outright, equivalent to out + right.

I refute those allegations outright.

Special facilities frequently are provided to enable visiting photographers to get the best results, whereas in the past cameras were sometimes banned outright.

1951 April, R. S. McNaught, “Railway Enthusiasts”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 269:

I have just responded outright to that question.

Two people died outright and one more later.

I have bought the house outright.

That was an outright stupid thing to say.

(informal) Blatantly; inexcusably; unambiguously.


gently

en-adv

gently (comparative gentlier or more gently, superlative gentliest or most gently)

gentlier (comparative)
more gently (comparative)
gentliest (superlative)
most gently (superlative)

From Middle English gentilly, gentlych, gentilliche, equivalent to gentle + -ly, with *-lely simplified to -ly by haplology.

First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.

2012 May 8, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Random House, →ISBN, page 79:

Without strong force or quickness: softly, lightly.

From Blackwater there is a more or less level run through gently rolling farmlands and downs to Merstone, with its island platform and passing loop.

1946 July and August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 243:

In a manner characterized by gentleness
In a gentle manner; to a gentle degree.

I look at the world, and I notice it's turning / While my guitar gently weeps / With every mistake, we must surely be learning / Still my guitar gently weeps

1968, George Harrison (lyrics and music), “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, performed by The Beatles:

In a manner characterized by gentleness
Quietly: without much noise or motion.

gently born

(historical) From a gentle or high-class family.

(obsolete) In the manner of one of gentle birth; in a manner that reflects the traditional virtues of the gentry: courteously, nobly.


automagically

automagically (comparative more automagically, superlative most automagically)

more automagically (comparative)
most automagically (superlative)

In an automagical manner; happening seemingly without effort.


outward

outward (comparative more outward, superlative most outward)

more outward (comparative)
most outward (superlative)

From Middle English outward, from Old English ūtweard, equivalent to out + -ward.

We are outward bound.

The wrong side may be turned outward.

c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

Towards the outside; away from the centre.

навън

toward the outside; away from the centre

ANd thenne the quene lete make a preuy dyner in london vnto the knyȝtes of the round table / and al was for to shewe outward that she had as grete Ioye in al other knyghtes of the table round as she had in sir launcelot / al only at that dyner she had sir Gawayne and his bretheren

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “iij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVIII:

(obsolete) Outwardly, in outer appearances; publicly.


anytime

From Middle English any time, ony tyme, from Old English ǣniġum tīman, equivalent to any + time.


rarely

rarely (comparative rarelier or more rarely, superlative rareliest or most rarely)

rarelier (comparative)
more rarely (comparative)
rareliest (superlative)
most rarely (superlative)

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class I § 137. Infrequency

We rarely go to the theatre.

Rarely do you ever find an eagle this far up the river.

Not occurring at a regular interval; seldom; not often.

others speake very honourably of his life and death, and in all other circumstances declare him to have beene a most excellent and rarely virtuous man.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 32, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:


yah

An alternative pronunciation, akin to yeah.

Yah, we did go along but it turned out the wedding was a load of nonsense.

(UK, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand) Yes.


ought

From Middle English oughte, aughte, aȝte, ahte, from Old English āhte, first and third person singular past tense of Old English āgan (“to own, possess”), equivalent to owe + -t.
Cognate with Sanskrit ईश्वर (īśvará, “capable of, liable”).

cog

Alternative spelling of aught; at all, to any degree.


mezzo piano

Italian mezzo (“half”) + piano (“soft, quiet”)


basically

en-adv

basically (comparative more basically, superlative most basically)

more basically (comparative)
most basically (superlative)

They've added some fancy features, but it's basically still a crappy car.

In a fundamental, essential or basic manner.

I shouldn't have done it, basically.

To get your eyes tested, you should basically go to the opticians.

(filler) Used to refer to the most important or fundamental point that the speaker is making or to indicate a generalization or simplification; sometimes tending towards a meaningless filler word.


up in the air

He threw the ball high up in the air.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see up, in, the, air.


barely

From Middle English barely, baarly, barly, bareliche, equivalent to bare + -ly. Compare Danish bare (“only, just”), Norwegian bare (“only, just”).

It becomes, therefore, no inconsiderable part of science barely to know the different operations of mind,

1748, [David Hume], Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, part VIII:

1925, Walter Anthony and Tom Reed (titles), Rupert Julian (director), The Phantom of the Opera, silent movie
‘It is barely possible you may hear of a ghost, a Phantom of the Opera!’

As our train to Paris dashed through the labyrynthine flyovers at Porchefontaine, barely a mile from Versailles, the 75 m.p.h. limit was already almost attained.

1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 670:

The plane is so far away now I can barely see it.

Yes, it is barely visible.

In contrast to what was to come, City were barely allowed any time to settle on the ball in the opening exchanges, with Ashley Young prominent and drawing heavy fouls from Micah Richards and James Milner.

2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport:

Now that fire do's not alwayes barely separate the Elementary parts, but sometimes at least alter also the Ingredients of Bodies […]

1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist, page 29:


disorderly

disorderly (comparative more disorderly, superlative most disorderly)

more disorderly (comparative)
most disorderly (superlative)

From disorder + -ly or from dis- + orderly.


effectively

effectively (comparative more effectively, superlative most effectively)

more effectively (comparative)
most effectively (superlative)

The nightclubs generally provide liquor (at a price), pretty girls who are clad diaphanously but extremely effectively, a tiny space in which to dance [...] and food[.]

1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 89:

A state ideology, mixing nationalism, and basic Marxist economics, going under the name "Juche", was constructed, and Kim Il-sung effectively silenced, disposed of and cleared away any opposition, isolating the country and exercising an iron grip on the military, the state media and the government and party organs.

2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:

In an efficient or effective manner; with powerful effect.

efektivně

in an efficient or effective manner; with powerful effect

On paper, the answer seems to be yes, but, effectively, the answer is no.

A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.

2012 March 5, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:

for all practical purposes
for all practical purposes

Essentially, in effect, for all practical purposes.


agog

agog (comparative more agog, superlative most agog)

more agog (comparative)
most agog (superlative)

From Middle English agogge, from Old French en + gogues (“in a merry mood”). See also Italian agognare (“to desire eagerly”).

Whenever they managed to steal a peak at what he was doing, the other girls were agog that he loved me so much.

2000, Charles Baxter, chapter 3, in The Feast of Love, page 29:

In a state of high anticipation, excitement, or interest.


infield

infield (comparative more infield, superlative most infield)

more infield (comparative)
most infield (superlative)

[Huw] Jones was also involved in the second try, which started when [Finn] Russell received the ball near his own 22 and immediately detected that England’s defence was narrow, with Jonny May having strayed infield.

2018 February 24, Paul Rees, “Finn Russell masterminds historic Scotland victory over England”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2018-04-22:


newly

newly (comparative more newly, superlative most newly)

more newly (comparative)
most newly (superlative)

From Middle English newly, newely, neweliche, from Old English nīewlīċe (“newly”), equivalent to new + -ly. Compare Dutch nieuwelijks, German neulich, Danish nylig, Icelandic nýlega. More at new, -ly.

She smelled the newly budding flowers.

One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Very recently/lately; in the immediate past.


cold turkey

Various explanations; see Cold turkey § Etymology on Wikipedia.

It is difficult, but possible to quit smoking cold turkey.

I knew that, if I had daily access to video games, I would spend literally every day playing them, forever. So I cut myself off, more or less cold turkey, and as a result I was more or less happy and productive.

2012 April 4, Sam Anderson, “Just One More Game ...”, in The New York Times Magazine:

Joan Baez:: ‘I talk to trees to get answers. They give it to you cold turkey’.

2023 October 5, Rich Pelley, “Joan Baez: ‘I talk to trees to get answers. They give it to you cold turkey’”, in The Guardian, UK:

(idiomatic) Not gradually; all at once. Refers especially to quitting a habit by force of will rather than by a gradual reduction.


historically

historically (comparative more historically, superlative most historically)

more historically (comparative)
most historically (superlative)

From historical + -ly or historic + -ally.

Historically speaking, this company has always collected payment before starting work.

Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically.

In a historic manner; with reference to history or the historical record.

Historically, this company collected payment before starting work.

According to history: formerly, in the past, traditionally.

In January, the anti-corruption organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, released a detailed report on the historically unethical presidency of Donald Trump.

2018 February 23, Michelle Goldberg, “The De-Trumpification Agenda”, in The New York Times:

To an unprecedented or extremely rare degree.


weakly

weakly (comparative more weakly, superlative most weakly)

more weakly (comparative)
most weakly (superlative)

From Middle English weykly, equivalent to weak + -ly. Compare Old High German weihlīcho (“weakly”), Middle English wocliche, wokli, wacliche (both from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkō).

super weakly interacting massive particle


way out

He lives way out in the middle of nowhere.


totally

They've totally demolished the bank on Main Street.

Antonio. He misses not much.
Sebastian. No; he doth but mistake the truth totally.

1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

The languages of different nations did not totally differ […] They were therefore easily learned;

1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 2, in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, volume 1, London: for the author, page 59:

Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you.

1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 57:

I trust him totally and without reservation.

1969, Chaim Potok, chapter 12, in The Promise, New York: Knopf, page 226:

That was totally wicked!

That was totally not what happened.

(modal, colloquial) Definitely; for sure.


thereon

Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 23:20-21:


until one is blue in the face

You can explain it until you're blue in the face, but he will never understand.

Poor Johnny one-note yelled willy nilly / Until he was blue in the face

1937, Rodgers and Hart (lyrics and music), “Johnny One Note”:

(duration, idiomatic) For a hopelessly long time; used especially in respect to discussing, explaining, insisting, etc.


unseemly

unseemly (comparative more unseemly, superlative most unseemly)

more unseemly (comparative)
most unseemly (superlative)

From Middle English unsemli, probably a partial calque of Old Norse úsǽmiligr (“unseemly”); equivalent to un- + seemly. Cognate with Icelandic ósæmileg (“offensive”), Norwegian usømmelig (“unseemly”), Danish usømmeligt (“unseemly”).


stour

en-adv

stour (comparative more stour, superlative most stour)

more stour (comparative)
most stour (superlative)

From Middle English store, stoor, stour (“tall, powerful”), from Old English stōr (“tall, great, mighty, strong”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōr, from Proto-Germanic *stōraz, *stōrijaz (“great, big, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *stā-r-, *stō-r- (“steadfast, firm; standing tall; big, bulky”).
Cognates
Akin to Scots stour (“tall, large, great, stout”), Saterland Frisian stor (“great, many”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian stor (“large, great”), Icelandic stórr (“large, tall”), Polish stary (“old, ancient”), Albanian stër- (“big, huge”). Compare also stoor, steer, stately.

cog

(now chiefly dialectal) Severely; strongly.


anally

en-adv

anally (comparative more anally, superlative most anally)

more anally (comparative)
most anally (superlative)

Martin penetrated his partner anally.

The doctor will examine the patient anally.


what is more

I've done it wrong, and what's more, I don't care.

(idiomatic) furthermore, or in addition, moreover.


successfully

successfully (comparative more successfully, superlative most successfully)

more successfully (comparative)
most successfully (superlative)

He successfully climbed the mountain.

They successfully completed their project together.

In a successful manner; with success; without failing.


out and out

1921, Bernadotte Perrin (translator), "Tiberius and Caius Gracchus", Plutarch's Lives, Loeb Classics
However, he soon saw that the senate was hostile to him out and out, and that the good will of Fannius towards him had lost his edge, and therefore again began to attach the multitude to himself by other laws […]


increasingly

From Middle English encreessingli, equivalent to increasing + -ly.

Sydney is a fast city, and the pace is becoming increasingly more frantic.

1968, Carl Ruhen, The Key Club, Sydney: Scripts, page 15:

As more and more people moved behind the increasingly larger walls, the fortress settlement evolved into the walled city.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 161:

Rooney had been suffered a barren spell for England with only one goal in 15 games but he was in no mood to ignore the gifts on offer in front of an increasingly subdued Bulgarian support.

2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:

They will remind you that rail already faces fierce competition from cars, coaches, airlines, and (increasingly) remote working and videoconferencing.

2023 July 26, Ben Jones, “EU open access growth offers pointers for UK hopefuls”, in RAIL, number 988, page 32:


uncommon

‘Is Suffolk your county, sir?’ asked William.
‘Yes,’ I said, with some importance. ‘Suffolk’s my county.’
‘I’m told the dumplings is uncommon fine down there,’ said William.

1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

'The Squire's pretty springe, considering his weight,' said Mr Macey, 'and he stamps uncommon well.'

1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner, London: Penguin Books, published 1967, page 159:

(archaic, UK, dialect) Exceedingly, exceptionally.


partly

they partly finished the house so they could move in before winter; the car was partly visible in the garage

Five minutes into the game the Black Cats were facing a mountain, partly because of West Brom's newly-found ruthlessness in front of goal but also as a result of the home side's defensive generosity.

2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2-2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

Clara's cultural cache soon gave way to Betty Boop, the iconic cartoon flapper created partly in her image by animator Grim Natwick.

2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 27:

The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about[…] and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained.

2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 48:

In part, or to some degree, but not completely.


entirely

From Middle English entyerly, entierly, enterely, entyreliche, equivalent to entire + -ly.

It is entirely up to you where we go, as I’ll be happy with anywhere.

The cake hadn’t entirely been eaten, so some was saved for later.

[O]bſerving [...] abundance of Matter floating in the Urine like Bran, with a great Number of Recrements like Cuttings of Hair, ſome above an Inch long, which Subſtances were found in all the Water that I made in above Twelve Months; for which I could get no Remedy: I was adviſed to drink Water, which in about half a Year did intirely free me from thoſe Symptoms, [...]

1723, John Smith, The Curiosities of Common Water: Or The Advantages thereof in Preventing and Curing Many Distempers. […], 5th edition, London: […] John and Barham Clark, […], →OCLC, pages 9–10:

Unlike Ali G Indahouse, Baron Cohen’s failed attempt to bring his most famous character into an entirely fictional universe, Borat found the comic tension in placing his Kazakhstani buffoon in delicate social situations, like a rodeo where he supports the “War Of Terror” a bit too zealously.

2012 May 15, Scott Tobias, “Film: Reviews: The Dictator”, in The Onion AV Club:

As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol inducing an inflammatory response, which can also attract and trap more cellular debris over time.

2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:

I'm entirely to blame.

This part of the park is used entirely by the workers; everyone else will have to go to the other side.


sempre

(music, as a qualifier) always, still; maintaining the same style


rapidly

rapidly (comparative more rapidly, superlative most rapidly)

more rapidly (comparative)
most rapidly (superlative)

She packed her case rapidly and hurried out.

We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.

2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

Typically for the 'get-on-with-it' era, the railway and military worked like demons to restore the vital rail link. The crater was rapidly filled in and the earth tamped solid, the wreckage was removed by breakdown trains, new rails and sleepers were rushed forward by willing hands, and US Army bulldozers piled in. By 2020 on the same day, both tracks were open for traffic again where there had been a gaping pit just hours before.

2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43:


briefly

briefly (comparative more briefly, superlative most briefly)

more briefly (comparative)
most briefly (superlative)

From Middle English breefly, breffly, brevely, brevelike, breveliche, equivalent to brief + -ly.

He covered the subject briefly in his book.

He only worked here briefly.

Briefly, I am not happy about what happened, but no one will be losing their job.


wholly

From Middle English holly, holeliche, holliche (also as halely, hallich, etc.), equivalent to whole + -ly. Doublet of holy.

And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet haue troden, shall be thine inheritance, and thy childrens for euer, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joshua 14:9:

Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.

1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

‘You ain't very strong, are you?’ said a neighbour with sympathetic intent, and ‘You don't have very good health, I expect?’ asked another. Mr Colville said, ‘He do look wholly pale, that's a fact.’ The word ‘wholly’ thus used puzzled me for some time. In Suffolk it is used for ‘very’ or ‘really’, and crops up in almost every sentence. But at first I thought Mr Colville was ascribing to me an air of sanctity.

1930, Adrian Bell, Corduroy, Faber and Faber:

With the descent of the cold war, relations between the two countries (for this is, to all intents and purposes, what they became after the end of the war) were almost completely broken off, with whole families split for the ensuing decades, some for ever. This event and its after-effects, along with the war against the Japanese in the 1940s, was to cast a long shadow over the years ahead, and led to the creation of the wholly unprecedented worship of Kim Il-sung, and his elevation to almost God-like status. It was also to create the system in which his son was to occupy almost as impossibly elevated a position.

2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:

The explosion rocked the Riteng Computer Accessory Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pegatron, in Shanghai’s Songjiang district.

2011 December 20, Hayley Tsukayama, “Report: Apple partner Pegatron under scrutiny after blast”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2011-12-20, Tech:

Completely and entirely; to the fullest extent; (loosely, exaggeratedly) very; to a great extent.

A creature wholly given to brawls and wine.


more often than not

Origin obscure. Perhaps an ellipsis of more often than not [often], although this doesn't appear to be very well supported in writing. Alternatively, possibly meaning more often than "zero" (see nought and naught), especially in reference to scales or gauges where mark zero represents the midpoint of measurement or frequency.

unk

obscure

More often than not, tomato seeds will sprout even if they are a couple of years old.

Regular passengers become familiar with their train and attempts to change its make-up or any other aspect of its working are more often than not frowned upon, even though the change is probably for the better.

1962 September, Warren Smith, “The problems of coaching stock rostering and operation”, in Modern Railways, page 193:

he would gather his courage and set out between the columned arches to ask one of the unaccompanied women to partner him. More often than not, their answer was no.

2020 September 1, Tom Lamont, “The butcher's shop that lasted 300 years (give or take)”, in The Guardian:

(idiomatic) Usually; more than half the time; more likely to be the case than not to be the case.


by and large

From sailing: a ship may (or may not) sail well both close by the wind, and large, downwind, with sheets extended.

It was, by and large, an unexceptional presentation.

“The people doing this by and large don’t have any real concept of how to tell a story, and neither do any kind of A.I.,” Ms. Williams said on Wednesday.

2023 February 23, Michael Levenson, quoting Sheila Williams, “Science Fiction Magazines Battle a Flood of Chatbot-Generated Stories”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Akers claims that ETCS signalling renewals are roughly 50% of the cost of conventional renewals. If nothing else, this is an important reason for NR to be keen to switch. "There's no rocket science or magic in that, there's just physically less to deliver," he says. "There are no trackside signals. Yes, you have balises and marker boards, and you still have train detection, but by and large there is simply less to deliver.

2024 May 29, Philip Haigh, “The digital revolution and the switch to in-cab signalling”, in RAIL, number 1010, page 29:

(set phrase, focus) Mostly, generally; with few exceptions.


wherewithal

/ˈwɛə.wɪ.ðɔːl/

Wherewithall shall a yong man cleanse his way? by taking heede thereto according to thy word.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 119:9:

Rich. Northumberland, thou Ladder wherewithall / The mounting Bullingbrooke aſcends my Throne

1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 41, column 2:


adventitiously

en-adv

adventitiously (comparative more adventitiously, superlative most adventitiously)

more adventitiously (comparative)
most adventitiously (superlative)

in an adventitious manner; sporadically.


willingly

willingly (comparative more willingly, superlative most willingly)

more willingly (comparative)
most willingly (superlative)

From Middle English willyngly, wyllyngly (“intentionally, deliverately; freely, gladly”), from Old English willendlīċe (“diligently”), equivalent to willing + -ly.

Now this is a process of the mind or thought, of which I would willingly know the foundation.

1748, [David Hume], chapter 29, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

Of one’s own free will; freely and spontaneously.


calumniously

calumniously (comparative more calumniously, superlative most calumniously)

more calumniously (comparative)
most calumniously (superlative)

In the manner of a falsification intended to discredit another.

calumniosament

in the manner of a falsification intended to discredit another


westerly

westerly (comparative more westerly, superlative most westerly)

more westerly (comparative)
most westerly (superlative)


wherever

Wherever have you been all my life?

(interrogative) Where ever; an emphatic form of where.

I don't care what you do with it; just put it wherever.

Where do you want to have lunch? — Wherever; I don't mind.

(informal) In, at or to any place that one likes or chooses.

He's back from wherever he's been hiding.

Go home to wherever you belong.

(fused relative) The place (no matter where) in, at or to which.


attacca

They played the remaining sections attacca.

(music) Without any break between the current movement and the next movement of the work.


what for

What is this tool for?

That's what friends are for.

He wants four copies of it? What for?

Ow! What did you do that for?

What do you want to know for?


whereabouts

From Middle English wheraboutes, equivalent to whereabout + -s.

Whereabouts do you live?


allargando

allargando (comparative more allargando, superlative most allargando)

more allargando (comparative)
most allargando (superlative)

Borrowed from Italian allargando, present participle of allargare (“to broaden”).

(music) Decreasing in tempo; getting slower.


formerly

Xenia Robertson, formerly known as Xenia Isaamov, is from Ukraine.

This ranch was formerly owned by slaveholders.


counter

From Old French contre, Anglo-Norman cuntre, both from Latin contra.

[ˈkʰaʊ̯.ɾ̃ɚ]

running counter to all the rules of virtue

1693, [John Locke], “§94”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:

Contrary, in opposition; in an opposite direction.

contra

contrary, in opposition; in an opposite direction

a hound that runs counter

She hated being pregnant; it ran counter to everything she wanted from her body

2004, Bee Lavender, Maia Rossini, Mamaphonic: Balancing Motherhood and Other Creative Acts:

My lord, for your many courtesies I thank you.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

which [darts] they never throw counter, but at the back of the flyer

1615, George Sandys, “(please specify the page)”, in The Relation of a Iourney Begun An: Dom: 1610. […], London: […] [Richard Field] for W. Barrett, →OCLC:

In the wrong way; contrary to the right course.


whereof

From Middle English wherof; equivalent to where + of. Compare the parallel formations of Swedish varav and Dutch waaraf.

Anthonio.
[I]n ſooth I know not why I am ſo ſad,
It wearies me: you ſay it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What ſtuffe ’tis made of, whereof it is borne,
I am to learne: and ſuch a Want-wit ſadnesse makes of mee,
That I haue much ado to know my ſelfe.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 163, column 1:

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.

1922, Ludwig Wittgenstein, translated by F. P. Ramsey and C. K. Ogden, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, →OCLC, Proposition 7, page 189:


circumambient

circumambient (comparative more circumambient, superlative most circumambient)

more circumambient (comparative)
most circumambient (superlative)

From Latin circum (“around”) + ambiō, from amb- (“both side”) + eō (“go”), literally "go on both sides of". Synchronically circum- + ambient.


max

Four days max, then, to get them to safety.

1962, Poul Anderson, Time and Stars, published 1966, page 88:


mofo

Abbreviation of motherfucker or motherfucking.

(vulgar, slang) Abbreviation of motherfucking.


significantly

significantly (comparative more significantly, superlative most significantly)

more significantly (comparative)
most significantly (superlative)

Irene's English significantly improved after taking a year out in Ireland.

The quality of life is significantly higher than it was twenty years ago.

It's the water that makes this area famous. […] That water is still being used to supply Blackford's two dominant industries, Tullibardine whisky distillery to the south of the village and, more significantly, Highland Spring Group's bottling plant to the north.

2023 December 27, Richard Foster, “New rail freight terminal leads the way”, in RAIL, number 999, page 38:

In a significant manner or to a significant extent.


thereinafter

in the following part (of a document or speech)


virtually

virtually (comparative more virtually, superlative most virtually)

more virtually (comparative)
most virtually (superlative)

[ˈvɝt͡ʃuəɫi]

From Middle English vertually; equivalent to virtual + -ly.

With our Medicare supplemental insurance plan, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. (Advertisement)

By surviving the first six minutes Hargreaves matched the total amount of playing time he had managed previously in virtually three years - and by scoring his first goal since April 2008 he set the hosts on their way to a fifth win of the season in all competitions.

2011 September 21, Sam Lyon, “Man City 2-0 Birmingham”, in BBC Sport:

Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.

2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:

virtually a member of the family

In essence or functionally, but not in fact, formally, or technically.

In this case W has a diagram with 2 vertices and one edge labelled ∞, and is therefore the infinite dihedral group. Thus W is virtually ℤ.

1998, Daryl Cooper, D. D. Long, A. W. Reid, “Infinite Coxeter Groups are Virtually Indicable”, in Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society, volume 41, page 309:

In this paper, we are mainly concerned with homogeneity in the class of finitely generated virtually free groups, i.e. finitely generated groups with a free subgroup of finite index.

2018, Simon André, “Virtually free groups are almost homogeneous”, in arXiv, section 1:

(algebra) Of a subgroup of finite index.

Another class of small manifolds consists of those that are not virtually Haken (a manifold is virtually Haken if it is finitely covered by a Haken manifold).

2002, Steven Boyer, “Dehn surgery on knots” (chapter 4), in R.J. Daverman, R.B. Sher, editors, Handbook of Geometric Topology, page 206:

We call a hyperplane Y in a VH-complex X virtually clean if there exists a finite-sheeted covering map p : X̂ → X and a connected component Y ⊆ p⁻¹Y such that the hyperplane Ŷ of X̂ is clean.

2017, Martin R. Bridson, Henry Wilton, “Hyperbolic Geometry and Geometric Group Theory”, in Advanced Studies in Pure Mathematics, volume 73, page 40:

(topology) Of a covering space of finite degree.


henceforward

From Middle English hennes forward, equivalent to hence + forward. Compare Middle English hens-forthward, hennes forthward (“henceforward”).

In other words, what we can expect to see henceforward, provided that all Regions make the effort, is a welcome brightening-up of stations and improvement in the general standard of amenities.

1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 255:

henceforwards see also Thesaurus:henceforth


therewithal

1874, Ernest Myers (transl.), The Extant Odes of Pindar, translated into English, Olympian Ode I, page 5.
[…] the Father hath hung above him a mighty stone that he would fain ward from his head, and therewithal he is fallen from joy.

in addition; besides; with all this/that


nonetheless

/ˌnʌnðəˈlɛs/

From Middle English *non-the-les, variant of no-the-les, noþeles, naþelees, from Old English nān þȳ lǣs, nā þē lǣs, nā þȳ lǣs. By surface analysis, none + the + less.

Nonetheless, some insect prey take advantage of clutter by hiding in it. Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.

2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7:


whopping

Is she doing a tango? A buck and wing? A soulful modern ballet? No, Joan Crawford is having a whopping good time learning judo, the Japanese art of self-defense, for her new movie, The Caretakers. Joan plays a nurse who uses judo holds to subdue unruly patients in a mental hospital.

1962 September 28, “Shall We Dance? Thud!”, in Life, volume 53, number 13, Chicago, Ill.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 57:

Doss and I run the house, cooking dinner—whopping great pots of stew and rice, sewing and darning clothes, ironing, bathing the kids, blacking the grate, scrubbing the doorstep, running errands.

2000, James Riordan, When the Guns Fall Silent, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

(colloquial) Exceedingly, extremely, very.


tenuto

tenuto (comparative more tenuto, superlative most tenuto)

more tenuto (comparative)
most tenuto (superlative)


word for word

He was able to repeat the entire script word for word.

The two essays were the same, word for word.

In exactly the same words (as were originally used); verbatim.


thereupon

/ˌðɛəɹəˈpɒn/

From Middle English therupon, theruppon. Equivalent to there + upon. Compare German darauf.

Once John, being overtaken in drink on the roadside by the cottage, and dreaming that he was burning in hell, awoke and saw the old wife hobbling toward him. Thereupon he fled soberly to the hills, and from that day became a quiet-living, humble-minded Christian.

1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

In consequence, or by reason, of that; therefore.

Following that; forthwith; in sequence, but not necessarily in consequence.


allegedly

The suspect was allegedly involved in the robbery, but his alibi placed him in another state at the time.

The game is allegedly exciting.

Philip Rivers is allegedly having the best season of any quarterback in the league.

2008 November 13, Jason Whitlock, “The 10 best and 10 worst NFL coaches”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

...her onscreen tears are allegedly real.

2009 February 20, “The Closer”, in New York Daily News, archived from the original on 2009-02-22:

According to someone's conspicuous impressions (which could subsequently be alleged).


likely

likely (comparative more likely, superlative most likely)

more likely (comparative)
most likely (superlative)

From Middle English likely, likly, lykly, likliche, from Old English ġelīclīċe (“equally”) and Old Norse líkliga, glíkliga (“likely”), both from Proto-Germanic *līkalīka, equivalent to like + -ly (adverbial suffix).

Likely he’ll win the election in this economy.

Dismounting on the sidewalk, their helmets still on, they fall into a lengthy conversation. Their dialogue is known only to them. But there is something the men themselves likely don’t know: About a mile away, from a windowless room, two other men are watching them.

2018 February, Robert Draper, “They are Watching You—and Everything Else on the Planet: Technology and Our Increasing Demand for Security have Put Us All under Surveillance. Is Privacy Becoming just a Memory?”, in National Geographic, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-06-14:


henceforth

From Middle English hennes forth, hens-forþ, hennes-forþ. By surface analysis, hence (“from here”) + forth (“forward”).

surf

I will try to do a better job, henceforth, now that I know the proper technique!

My thanes and kinsmen,/Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland /In such an honour named

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth...Vader.

2005, George Lucas, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith:

(formal, temporal) From now on; from this time on.

Coordinate term: hereinelsewhere

(in metatextual self-reference) Further within this document.


ya

From Middle English ya, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”). More at yea.

'Ya, wilt thou!' said Wallace, 'then tak thee that, […]'

Ya, auld man, ye ken fine ye wad like me.

Ya, bur 'ee did, […]

(UK dialectal, West Country, Northern England, Scotland) yea; yes


unawares

/ˌʌnəˈwɛə(ɹ)z/

And I with these untoward thoughts had striven, / I saw a Man before me unawares: / The oldest Man he seemed that ever wore grey hairs.

1815 [1802], William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence:

неожи́данно (neožídanno, literally “unexpectedly”)

несподі́вано (nespodívano, literally “unexpectedly”)


partially

To a partial degree or extent, incompletely.


perfectly

en-adv

perfectly (comparative more perfectly, superlative most perfectly)

more perfectly (comparative)
most perfectly (superlative)

They completed the first series perfectly.

Their performance was perfectly fine.

Skydiving is the act jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.

The Gentiles would not perfectly relinquish all their Idols; so, they were persuaded to turne the Image of Jupiter with his thunderbolt to Christus crucifixus, and Venus and Cupid to the Madonna and her Babe.

1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 6:

I was perfectly stunned. I sat and moistened my lips a little, but otherwise made no effort to do anything: my chest was in a pitiful state.

1899, Knut Hamsun, “Part III”, in George Egerton [pseudonym; Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright], transl., Hunger […], London: Leonard Smithers and Co […], →OCLC, page 168:

James Milner's angled free-kick was headed on to the post by the tireless [Darren] Bent and [Frank] Lampard the opportunist was perfectly placed to stoop and head in from virtually on the goal-line.

2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1 – 0 Spain”, in BBC Sport:

The route taken does not have to be a perfectly straight line, just so long as it is linear and is followed consistently for each transect taken.

2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 4:


repeatedly

repeatedly (comparative more repeatedly, superlative most repeatedly)

more repeatedly (comparative)
most repeatedly (superlative)

He repeatedly violated the court order, and shall now be punished.

Scotland had the territory and the momentum, forcing England into almost twice as many tackles and rattling them repeatedly at set-pieces.

2011 October 1, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport:

Since 2017, the DfT has "repeatedly altered the scope of the TRU [TransPennine Route Upgrade] to meet differing ministerial priorities and budget constraints", says the NAO [National Audit Office].

2022 August 10, Mel Holley, “Network News: Question marks over TransPennine upgrade spending”, in RAIL, number 963, page 24:


upstage

upstage (comparative more upstage, superlative most upstage)

more upstage (comparative)
most upstage (superlative)

From up- + stage. The figurative uses “haughty” and “to draw attention away” derive from actors moving to a higher and thus more visible position on a sloped stage.

The actor turned and walked upstage.

Toward or at the rear of a theatrical stage.


wither

wither (comparative more wither, superlative most wither)

more wither (comparative)
most wither (superlative)

From Middle English wither, from Old English wiþer (“again, against”, adverb in compounds), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþr (“against, toward”).
Cognates
From Proto-Germanic: Low German wedder (“against”), Dutch weer (“again, back”), German wider (“against, contrary to”), German wieder (“again”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌸𐍂𐌰 (wiþra), Old Norse viðr.
More at with.

inh

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-wither.wav

(obsolete or chiefly in compounds) Against, in opposition to.


thusly

From thus + -ly, dating from the 19th century, seemingly coined by educated writers to make fun of uneducated persons trying to sound genteel, with a false inference that thus is not an adverb.

Ar, tell me it is not so thusly as this thusness wouldst seem!

1865, Hingston, editor, Artemus Ward (His Travels) Among the Mormons:

His course can only be akkounted for thusly:

1866, Petroleum V. Nasby, Life of Androo Johnson:

He had an attack of catarrh not long ago, and it happened, as J. Billings would say, "thusly:"

Stories never lose anything in the recital, and consequently this one grew thusly.

1893, Isabel Burton, The Life of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton KCMG, FRGS, volume II:

The history of the Universe has been summed up thusly: "Hydrogen is a light, odorless gas, which, given enough time, turns into people."

1995 December, John P. Wiley Jr, quoting Edward R. Harrison, Smithsonian Magazine

Going thusly, unwillingly at the bell,
Answering the call to recycle my time.

1996, Charles Harding, High Rise Dwelling:

Lately, they [the prison authorities] came up with a new excuse. Seems like they consider owning a Gay publication is an expression of a person's sexuality and would thusly identify the person as a homosexual which would then subject him to assault or pressures.

1976 August 21, Calvin Keach, quotee, “Leavenworth, Again”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 8, page 2:


fervently

en-adv

fervently (comparative more fervently, superlative most fervently)

more fervently (comparative)
most fervently (superlative)

From Middle English fervently; equivalent to fervent + -ly.


vigorously

vigorously (comparative more vigorously, superlative most vigorously)

more vigorously (comparative)
most vigorously (superlative)

/ˈvɪɡəɹəsli/

The lawyer vigorously defended her client.

He knocked vigorously on the door.

The tender roared along vibrating vigorously; braking had resulted in "flats" on most of its tyres.

1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 706:


balls to the wall

First attested in the 1960s in the context of aviation, in reference to ball-shaped grips on an aircraft's engine controls (typically throttle, prop pitch and fuel mixture). Pushing these "balls to the wall" would put the aircraft at maximum thrust. Analogous to pedal to the metal.
Not related to the term balls-out, which refers to steam engine machinery.
Not related to the vulgar sense of balls (“testicles”).

I told the staff...the day before the hurricane struck that I expected them to cut every piece of red tape, do everything they could, that it was balls to the wall, that I didn't want to hear anybody say that we couldn't do anything—to do everything they humanly could to respond.

2006, Michael D. Brown, Testimony before the US Senate Homeland Security Committee:

“I always go balls to the wall,” founding Ape Gordon Goner tells Rolling Stone over Zoom.

2021 November 1, Samantha Hissong, quoting Gordon Goner, “How Four NFT Novices Created a Billion-Dollar Ecosystem of Cartoon Apes”, in Rolling Stone:

“Asian women on-screen, especially in America and Hollywood, have been so sexualized and fetishized for the benefit of other people’s stories or jokes,” Ashley says. “And we’re like, ‘We’re gonna go balls to the wall, further than anyone’s gone with Asian women.’”

2023 June 15, Kat Moon, “Ashley Park’s Main Character Energy From ‘Joy Ride’ Is Here To Stay: ‘I’m Treating Myself Like A Lead Now’”, in Women's Health:

(US, idiomatic, slang) With maximum effort or commitment.

(US, idiomatic, slang) Full throttle; (at) maximum speed.


somewhat

The crowd was somewhat larger than expected, perhaps due to the good weather.

The decision to shave or not is a somewhat personal one.

I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […] and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

To a limited extent or degree; not completely.

(prefixed to adjectives or adverbs) sub-

Two of the coaches are still on the site of the line; one, a first class observation coach carrying the S.R. number 6991, is at Snapper Halt, where it still stands, in fair condition but somewhat weatherbeaten […]

1942 September and October, “Notes and News: Lynton & Barnstaple Stock”, in Railway Magazine, page 309:


ditto

First attested in 1625. From regional Italian ditto, variant of detto, past participle of dire (“to say”), from Latin dīcō (“I say, I speak”). Not related to English dittography or Italian dito (“finger”).
The specific meaning of making copies of paper comes from ditto machine, the brand name of a spirit duplicator.

The inflationary effect of injecting $1 billion into the economy could be dire; ditto the impact on the tumbling bolivar of treating foreign reserves as if they were the government's piggy-bank.

2004 January 15, “Smash and grab”, in The Economist:

Some of the players were concerned about what the future held for them – given that one of the measures involved Chelsea not being able to operate in the transfer market or offer new contracts. Ditto many members of staff.

March 11 2022, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian:


north-west

north-west (not generally comparable, comparative more north-west, superlative most north-west)

more north-west (comparative)
most north-west (superlative)

(chiefly UK) Alternative form of northwest


gradually

gradually (comparative more gradually, superlative most gradually)

more gradually (comparative)
most gradually (superlative)

/ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəli/

The most likely conclusion, the researchers say, is that the Levallois method was not taken to Eurasia by African migrants, but evolved there gradually and independently.

2014 September 29, Douglas Quenqua, “Toolmaking May Have Risen Independently”, in The New York Times:

In a gradual manner; making slow progress; slowly.

Horns, upon the due accession of Moisture, doth gradually become Soft.

1682, Nehemiah Grew, The Anatomy of Plants. […], [London]: […] W. Rawlins, for the author, published 1682, →OCLC:


north-east

north-east (not generally comparable, comparative more north-east, superlative most north-east)

more north-east (comparative)
most north-east (superlative)

(chiefly UK) Alternative form of northeast


consistently

consistently (comparative more consistently, superlative most consistently)

more consistently (comparative)
most consistently (superlative)

Thus from October 1 the French National Railways made a number of changes in their services and consistently in the direction of higher speeds.

1961 November, “More accelerations in the French winter timetables”, in Trains Illustrated, page 670:


voluntarily

voluntarily (comparative more voluntarily, superlative most voluntarily)

more voluntarily (comparative)
most voluntarily (superlative)

But no state has voluntarily sought a statewide remedy to segregation in the 70 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawed government sanctioned, racially separate schools.

2024 June 9, Tracey Tully, “Facing Entrenched School Segregation, New Jersey Tries Something New”, in The New York Times:


notwithstanding

From Middle English notwithstandinge, notwithstondyng, natwithstandyng, equivalent to not + withstanding. Compare Middle English notgainstonding, not aȝenstondynge, of similar meaning and formation.

He, notwithstanding, persisted in his inquiries.

But notwithstanding, man,
I'll do you your master what good I can;

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

1789, United States Contitution, Supremacy Clause, (Please provide the book title or journal name):


the whole nine yards

Dave Wilton summarises the findings of Bonnie Taylor-Blake and others:
:The phrase doesn’t have one particular origin, nor does it represent one particular metaphor. Instead, it seems to have evolved from a sense of yard meaning a vague quantity of something. Later, the words full or whole were attached to it, and even later it was quantified by the numbers six and nine, with the whole nine yards eventually winning out and becoming the canonical form. Use of the full phrase was for a long time restricted to the American Midwest, in particular to the region around the Kentucky-Indiana border, before breaking out into general American parlance in the middle of the twentieth century. …
:So regardless of what someone else has told you, the whole nine yards does not refer to the length of a belt of WWII machine-gun ammunition, the amount of material needed to make a Scottish kilt or a sari, the number of spars on a sailing ship, the amount of concrete a cement mixer holds, or anything else.

Would they want me to vote my conscience or would they want us to unanimously go the whole nine yards, declare him sane and possibly have the trial end up in a death sentence?

2007, Thomas Mchenry, Along the Rails: A Juror's Journey, page 85:

WWE went the whole nine yards, from making Tshirts with the slogan to having announcers mention his new handle approximately every four seconds anytime he was on-screen.

2007, R. D. Reynolds, The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!, page 18:

Colleen had gone the whole nine yards, dressing up as a fortune teller, complete with huge gold earrings and a headscarf, which she'd plucked from her normal accessory box, she told Bronte.

2012, Susan Stephens, Working with the Enemy, page 164:

All the way; with everything done completely or thoroughly.


viva voce

/ˈvaɪvə ˈvoʊt͡ʃɪ/

From Latin vīvā (“living”) and vōce (“voice”) (ablative of vōx).


surely

surely (comparative surelier or more surely, superlative sureliest or most surely)

surelier (comparative)
more surely (comparative)
sureliest (superlative)
most surely (superlative)

From Middle English surely; equivalent to sure + -ly.

slowly but surely

Surely, you must be joking.

But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window[…].

1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

His feet were planted surely on the ground.


nightly

From Middle English nyghtly, neghtly, from Old English *nihtlīċe (“nightly”), equivalent to night + -ly.

He checks his email nightly.

This tunnel assumed some measure of importance during the second world war, when it was used nightly as an air raid shelter for multiple unit electric trains which were propelled over the branch by a steam engine.

1952 December, R. C. Riley, “By Rail to Kemp Town”, in Railway Magazine, page 836:

I practice nightly, I try to keep ahead / This art of surfacing is all but dead

1979, The Boomtown Rats (lyrics and music), “Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)”, in The Fine Art of Surfacing:


north-northeast

We are travelling north-northeast at the moment.

Towards or in the direction of the north-northeast; north-northeastwards.


doggy

(slang, of sexual intercourse) Doggy style.


north-northwest

We are travelling north-northwest at the moment.

Towards or in the direction of the north-northwest; north-northwestwards.


freaking

You think you're so freaking smart, don't you?

He was so scared he freaking ran into a police station.

Suddenly his eyeballs are glazed with tears. “Mom, can you come get me,” he pleads. “Yeah, ’cause I freaking hate it here.[…]”

2021 April 27, Amanda Hess, “Inject the Vaccine Fan Fiction Directly Into My Veins”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:


e'er

“… No rogue e’er felt the halter draw, with a good opinion of the law, and perhaps my own detestation of the law arises from my having frequently broken it. […]”

1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:

(dialectal or poetic, otherwise archaic) Contraction of ever.


ne'er

Come, stack arms, Men! Pile on the rails; stir up the campfire bright; no matter if the canteen fails, we'll make a roaring night. Here Shenandoah brawls along, there burly Blue Ridge echoes strong, to swell the Brigade's rousing song, of “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”
We see him now — the old slouched hat cocked o’er his eye askew, the shrewd, dry smile, the speech so pat, so calm, so blunt, so true. The “Blue-Light Elder” knows ’em well; says he, “That’s Banks — he’s fond of shell; Lord save his soul! We’ll give him” — well, that’s “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”
Silence! Ground arms! Kneel all! Caps off! Old Blue Light’s going to pray. Strangle the fool that dares to scoff: Attention! 'Tis his way. Appealing from his native sod in forma pauperis to God: “Lay bare thine arm, stretch forth thy rod! Amen!” That’s “Stonewall’s Way.”
He’s in the saddle now. Fall in! Steady, the whole brigade! Hill’s at the ford, cut off — we’ll win his way out, ball and blade! What matter if our shoes are worn? What matter if our feet are torn? “Quick step! We’re with him before the morn!” That’s “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”
The sun’s bright lances rout the mists of morning, and by George! Here’s Longstreet struggling in the lists, hemmed in an ugly gorge. Pope and his Yankees, whipped before, “Bay’nets and grape!” hear Stonewall roar; “Charge, Stuart! Pay off Ashby’s score!” in “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”
Ah! Maiden, wait and watch and yearn for news of Stonewall’s band! Ah! Widow read with eyes that burn that ring upon thy hand. Ah! Wife, sew on, pray on, hope on! Thy life shall not be all forlorn. The foe had better ne’er been born that gets in “Stonewall’s Way.”

1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way

(dialectal or poetic, otherwise archaic) Contraction of never.


bodily

From Middle English bodily; equivalent to body + -ly.

For in him dwelleth all the fulneſſe of the Godhead bodily.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Colossians 2:9:

In I got bodily into the apple barrel, and found there was scarce an apple left; but sitting down there in the dark, what with the sound of the waters and the rocking movement of the ship, I had either fallen asleep or was on the point of doing so when a heavy man sat down with rather a clash close by.

1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Voyage”, in Treasure Islandᵂⁱᵏⁱˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ:

The papering of one side of the room had dropped down bodily, with fragments of plaster adhering to it, and almost blocked up the door.

1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House:

It is true that in adopting the short view many of the younger economists have not merely taken over the lay notions bodily.

1958, Jacob Viner, The Long View and the Short, page 112:

Pertaining to the whole body or mass; wholly.

He was thrown bodily out of the house.


as well

Wearing his hat and coat, he looked outside and decided he should take an umbrella as well.

They might as well walk as drive in this traffic.

There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. As well speak of the female liver.

1898, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Women and Economics:

―Would you though? ―I would as well.


effing

She is effing hot!

I effing hate snow!

(euphemistic, slang) bowdlerization of fucking


kinder

I told ’im to give you the strings last night, but I’m kinder glad thet Rosebud interfered an’ saved yer life.

1882, James Jackson, Tom Terror, the Outlaw:

'No, he was kinder reticent about that part of it.'

1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 9, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017:


esp.

Male 6', 180 lbs, 26 yrs old […] Have many interests. Will answer all, esp-fond of gay fems.

1982 December 25, Robert Anderson, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 23, page 15:


mañana

/mɑːˈnjɑːnə/

(US, in Spanish-speaking contexts) Tomorrow.

The plumber said he would come tomorrow. But I think he will probably be here mañana.

He swore he was coming to New York to join me. I pictured him in New York, putting off everything till manana.

1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 13, in On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC, part 1:

Oh, my sweet Diana, I can't wait for the manana / There's a hotel down in Mexico just made for two

1978, “Dirty Weekend”, in Blondes Have More Fun, performed by Rod Stewart:

“[With]^([sic]) the Greek government it is every time ‘mañana’,” said Lithuania’s president, Dalia Grybauskaitė, one of the Greek government’s harshest critics. “It can always be ‘mañana’ every day.”

2015 July 7, Ian Traynor, Larry Elliott, quoting Dalia Grybauskaitė, “Greece given days to agree bailout deal or face banking collapse and euro exit”, in The Guardian:

(humorous) Some unspecified time in the future.


broadside

[...] the slight fluctuations [in speed] were due to a strong side-wind, which caught the train broadside along exposed stretches of the line.

1964 June, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Modern Railways, page 388:

1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
They were going some 60-80 mph [on a motorcycle] down a 30 mph street, hit a car broadside & Pat pushed against Bert, who was crushed into the side of the car.

Sideways; with the side turned to the direction of some object.


hyem

From Northern Middle English hame, from Old English hām, from Proto-West Germanic *haim, from Proto-Germanic *haimaz. Cognate with German Heim, Swedish hem, Dutch heem, heim- and West Frisian hiem. Note that this pronunciation is not derived from Old Norse, as is sometimes assumed on the basis of Danish and Norwegian hjem - the pronunciation in Geordie is directly derivable from the Old English form by regular rules. Compare traditional [stjɛn] 'stone' from stān. It can also be found in some other northern dialects like Yorkshire.

[19th c.] 1993, Ned Corvan, “Yer Gannin to be a Keelman,” in Visions of the People, Patrick Joyce http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=z_nMtyp7XCEC&pg=PA270&lpg=PA270&sig=SHwbkD-bXZaWxJharfiXxajyEGU
Ye’ll be comin’ hyem at neets, with yor fyece all ower black,
And ye’ll lie an snore aside the fire, and never gis yor crack, …

“He had just come in,” he said, “to see if his mate was come hyem yet; but as he had not, he thought he could guess right weel where he wad be, and wad just step o’er to Brown’s (the gin-shop) and see.”

1985, David Wright tr. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=hXCi_DViuqwC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&sig=3KRd23dvj1DbGak23VXz2q-VDDc
And so Aah’s cum, and also brought Alan,
To grind wor corn, and bring it hyem again;
Aah begs ye de the job fast as ye can.


severely

severely (comparative more severely, superlative most severely)

more severely (comparative)
most severely (superlative)

After the first day they left her severely alone, their plea to their husbands, her uncompromising independence.

1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 15:

Meanwhile the Christian Church from these speculations has kept itself severely apart - as of course representing a unique and divine revelation little concerned or interested in such heathenisms[.]

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 11:


bleeding

His car's motor is bleeding smoking down the motorway.

It turns out he was too bleeding cheap to ever drain the oil.

It does highlight some of the difficulties, but does not dare state the bleeding obvious, which is that neither are likely to play a major part in delivering a decarbonised agenda on the railways – […].

2021 April 7, Christian Wolmar, “Electrification is a given... but comfort matters as well”, in RAIL, number 928, page 47:

(British, slang) used as an intensifier: Extremely.


underway

underway (comparative more underway, superlative most underway)

more underway (comparative)
most underway (superlative)

Calque of Dutch onderweg (“underway”), equivalent to under- + way. Compare also German unterwegs.

The next wave, well underway, is shipping back-office business tasks overseas, ...

2008 February 14, Steve Lohr, “Offshore Outsourcing’s Next Wave: How High?”, in NY Times, retrieved 2012-01-22:

The political world might still be recovering from the 2016 presidential election and focusing now on the midterm fights for Congress, but here in the nation's first primary state the battle for 2020 is already well underway.

2018 April 7, Andrew Dickinson, “In New Hampshire, the 2020 presidential race is already well underway”, in NBC News, retrieved 2018-09-20:

In motion, in progress; being done or carried out; on a journey.

在進行中的

in motion, in progress; being done or carried out

в проце́ссе

разрабо́тки, реализа́ции


overnight

Inherited from Middle English overnyght, from Old English ofer niht (“through the night, overnight”), equivalent to over + night. Verbal use (late 19th c.) may have been influenced by German übernachten (16th c.), though it could also have developed independently.

inh

Let it run overnight and we'll check on it in the morning.

They delivered the package overnight.

I have heard of a man, who having been drunk overnight, and passed over a very narrow Bridge, which no sober Horseman durst attempt, being brought the next day to see what danger he went through, fell down in a swoon upon the sight of it.

1677, N. Ingelo, A Discourse Concerning Repentance, London, page 36:

[…]then put the glass into a damp cellar, on sand, and the gold will overnight shoot into crystals, which take out, and let them dissolve again in distilled vinegar[…].

1765 February, “The Art of Guilding”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure, volume 36, London: John Hinton, page 81:

There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…].

1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:

Overnight, as the storm bore down on urban flood zones, city officials ramped up emergency spaces to shelter thousands more people, mostly in public schools and colleges.

2012 November 20, Nina Bernstein, “Storm Bared a Lack of Options for the Homeless in New York”, in New York Times:

During or throughout the night, especially during the evening or night just past.

The change seemed to happen overnight.

Overnight, the vivacious young actress became a caricature, a relic of the previous decade, whose hard-partying socialite image seemed frivolous and out of touch amid the ensuing years of the Great Depression.

2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 27:

"You can't overnight turn everyone into an expert on everything. [...]."

2021 December 29, Paul Stephen, “Rail's accident investigators”, in RAIL, number 947, page 32:

(figurative) In a very short (but unspecified) amount of time.


perchance

/ˌpɜːˈtʃɑːns/

/ˌpɜɹˈtʃæns/

[ˌpɝˈt͡ʃʰɛə̯ns]

[pɚˈt͡ʃʰɛə̯ns]

From Middle English parchaunce, from Old French par cheance (“by chance”).

You wouldn't, perchance, have a bottle opener on you, would you?

Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him[…]

1624, John Donne, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, section XVII:

A great black bird, Apollyon's bosom-friend, / Sailed past, nor beat his wide wing dragon-penned / That brushed my cap—perchance the guide I sought.

1855, Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, section XXVII:


paramour

/ˈpæ.ɹə.mʊə/

/ˈpæ.ɹə.mɔː/

From Middle English paramour, paramoure, peramour, paramur, from Old French par amor (“for love's sake”). The modern pronunciation is apparently an Early Modern English readaptation of the French.

(obsolete, of loving, etc.) Passionately, out of sexual desire.


big time

en-adv

big time (comparative more big time, superlative most big time)

more big time (comparative)
most big time (superlative)

A Wheel of Fortune contestant was about to win a shot at the million dollar grand prize when he bumbled his answer and lost out big time.

2013 September 18, “Wheel of Fortune contestant loses chance at $1 million after mispronouncing a word”, in Daily Mail:

“American doesn’t hedge,” said Seth Kaplan, managing partner for the trade publication Airlines Weekly. “So, they have won big time.”

2015 January 28, Hugo Martin, “American Airlines’ fuel-buying bet pays off in record profit”, in Los Angeles Times:

North Vancouver condo buyers ‘won big time playing the long game’ [title]

2019 December 6, Kerry Gold, “North Vancouver condo buyers ‘won big time playing the long game’”, in The Globe and Mail (Vancouver):

Peterborough United almost missed out on signing star man Ivan Toney, but now they are set to cash in big-time [title]

2020 June 22, Alan Swann, “Peterborough United almost missed out on signing star man Ivan Toney, but now they are set to cash in big-time”, in Peterborough Telegraph:

But on other fronts there’s a clear case for optimism. Science has come to our rescue, big time, with the miraculously fast development of vaccines against the coronavirus.

2021 January 1, Paul Krugman, “Things Will Get Better. Seriously.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(informal) By a large margin; with great significance.


upstate

upstate (comparative more upstate, superlative most upstate)

more upstate (comparative)
most upstate (superlative)

He drove upstate to visit his mother.

(US) To the northern section of a state.


lock, stock and barrel

From the three principal parts of a flintlock.


environmentally

environmentally (comparative more environmentally, superlative most environmentally)

more environmentally (comparative)
most environmentally (superlative)


all things being equal

So, all things being equal, who would you like to date?

Without considering or being affected by external factors.

pri neizménnosti vsex ostalʹnýx fáktorov

при неизме́нности всех остальны́х фа́кторов

siempre que las demás condiciones no varíen

permaneciendo invariables los demás datos


strictly

strictly (comparative strictlier or more strictly, superlative strictliest or most strictly)

strictlier (comparative)
more strictly (comparative)
strictliest (superlative)
most strictly (superlative)

He adhered strictly to the diet his doctor prescribed.

“If any pupil considers it acceptable to bring a pet into this school, let me tell you it is forbidden. Strictly forbidden!” pronounced the headmaster from the front of the class.

2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.

1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

That term refers strictly to smaller birds.

(mathematics) In a manner that applies to every member of a set or every interval of a function


unfortunately

unfortunately (comparative more unfortunately, superlative most unfortunately)

more unfortunately (comparative)
most unfortunately (superlative)

/ʌnˈfɔɹt͡ʃnəʔli/

The houses which burned down could have been saved. Unfortunately, the fire truck had broken down on the way.

Happening through bad luck, or because of some unfortunate event.

Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr. Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a fox in the yard.

Unfortunately, even in the palmiest days of the old Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway Company, passengers were few and far between at Troutbeck, and since the advent of the motor bus road services they are rarer than ever, and never likely to increase.

1951 October, “Notes and News: The Harmonium at Troutbeck”, in Railway Magazine, page 709:

Used (as a parenthetical word) to express disappointment, compassion, sorrow, regret, or grief.


above and beyond

Shortened from the phrase above and beyond the call of duty, referring to heroic behavior during a military operation (“conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty”), traditionally used in citations of awards of a U.S. Medal of Honor.

Boy, they sure went above and beyond when they were planning this party!

Doing more than is expected or required.


arduously

arduously (comparative more arduously, superlative most arduously)

more arduously (comparative)
most arduously (superlative)


heyem

From Old Norse heimr, compare Danish hjem. Doublet of home.


importantly

importantly (comparative more importantly, superlative most importantly)

more importantly (comparative)
most importantly (superlative)

[ɪmˈpʰɔːʔn̩ʔli]

[ɪmˈpʰɔɹʔn̩ʔli]

These potentially ground-breaking discoveries need to be tempered by the knowledge that very high doses - the equivalent of 100-plus bottles of red wine daily - were given to mice. Importantly, after resveratrol is absorbed into the blood, it is broken down quickly and may have limited effect in humans.

2009 August 23, Michael Apstein, “Here's to good health - maybe”, in San Francisco Chronicle, page K1:

Importantly, apprenticeships provide an alternate route into employment, giving people from all backgrounds the chance to build in-demand skills and a career for life.

2023 March 8, Neil Robertson, “Tackling the skills shortage”, in RAIL, number 978, page 33:

(sentence adverb) Used to mark a statement as having importance.

notablement

used to mark a statement as having importance

Even sitting in a restaurant, the person on a cell phone seems importantly busy and on the move.

2001 January/February, Ian Frazier, “Dearly Disconnected.”, in Mother Jones, volume 25, number 1, page 60:


back to square one

Probably from a metaphorical use of the children’s games snakes and ladders.

After spending six hours on the intake we realized that there was nothing wrong with it, so we went back to square one.

(idiomatic) Back to the start, as after a dead end or failure.

回到原點

back to the start, as after a dead-end or failure


underhand

underhand (comparative more underhand, superlative most underhand)

more underhand (comparative)
most underhand (superlative)


experimentally

experimentally (comparative more experimentally, superlative most experimentally)

more experimentally (comparative)
most experimentally (superlative)

The end of the 20th century and the start of the new millennium have bore witness to a remarkable revolution in the way parasite/host biological interactions can be conceptually designed and experimentally studied.

2006 February 10, Karl F. Hoffman, Jennifer M. Fitzpatrick, “The Application of DNA Microarrays in the Functional Study of Schisostome/Host Biology”, in W. Evan Secor, Daniel G. Colley, editors, Schistosomiasis, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 101:


dumb

"What, you don't like your food?" Russo asks. ¶ "Are you kidding? It's dumb good."

2017, Don Winslow, The Force, London: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, page 134:

Yo this shit is crazy how these females are making these doctors rich. My baby moms Miracle is getting surgery in a week or so. She's flying out to Colombia. That shit really baffles me as far as she's concerned, because Miracle is already dumb thick. I'm like damn ma, how big do you want your ass to be?

2019, Natisha Raynor, She Made a Savage Change His Ways 2, Atlanta, G.A.: Royalty Publishing House, →ISBN, page 4:

(African-American Vernacular) Very, extremely.


exclusively

exclusively (comparative more exclusively, superlative most exclusively)

more exclusively (comparative)
most exclusively (superlative)

From Middle English exclusyvely; equivalent to exclusive + -ly.

These new shoes are made exclusively out of recycled cardboard.

Every photographer of experience has his own theories and methods of working, but for the last 14 years I have used a Leica exclusively, and have found it best adapted to the somewhat exacting demands of railway photography, which is by no means an easy branch of the art.

1952 February, H. C. Casserley, “Permanent Wayfarings”, in Railway Magazine, page 78:

(focus) to the exclusion of anything or anyone else; solely or entirely


platitudinously

platitudinously (comparative more platitudinously, superlative most platitudinously)

more platitudinously (comparative)
most platitudinously (superlative)


dead weight

He rolled the red in dead weight, and now he's nicely on the blue.

I had no escape other than trying to roll off a side cushion, just ahead of the middle pocket, and lay on a red, dead weight, about a foot from the pocket in open play.

2015, Steve Davis, Interesting: My Autobiography, →ISBN:

I potted a really difficult cut red into the middle pocket, dropping it in dead weight and finishing on the pink for a 59 break that pretty much got me there.

2017, Hector Nunns, The Crucible's Greatest Matches: Forty Years of Snooker's World Championship, →ISBN:

From behind the Brown, aim to drop in dead-weight into the back of the pack.

2018, David Horrix, Complete Book of Snooker Shots, →ISBN:

(of a shot in snooker or other cue sports) With just enough weight for a ball to drop into a pocket, or come to rest in a precisely determined position.


technically

technically (comparative more technically, superlative most technically)

more technically (comparative)
most technically (superlative)

Near-synonym: stricto sensu

Technically, he was Canadian, but everyone assumed he was American.

Technically, a guinea pig is not a pig, nor is it from Guinea.

Based on precise facts, which, however, may be contrary to common misbelief or to a traditional name.

tegnies

based on precise facts, which however may be contrary to common misbelief or to a traditional name

technically correct

Due to an omission in the peace treaty of the Russo-Japanese War, Montenegro was technically at war with Japan for 102 years.

Stalin was not technically the Head of State.

Number 1.0 [the head bureaucrat of a legion of bureaucrats]: Bureaucrat Conrad, you are technically correct — the best kind of correct. I hereby promote you to grade 37.

2000, Bill Odenkirk, How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back (Futurama), season 2, episode 11, spoken by Number 1.0, 20th Century Fox:

"I warned you not to gaze upon my grand godson with that spell. I warned you it would not work properly. Granted, you couldn't hear me then any more than you can now, and you'd never met Tedd, but I diiiid technically say it!"

2014 July 14, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Monday, Jul 14, 2014:

For the Japanese, however, it's easier to summarize what is still afloat. Nagato, Kongō, and Haruna are technically still afloat, but all three are quite clearly on their way to the bottom.

2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 45:02 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?, archived from the original on 2022-08-19:

Based on formal (de jure) arguments, which, however, may be misleading.

դե յուրե

based on formal (de jure) arguments, which however may be misleading

техни́чески

having or using the skills or talent required for a certain job or profession

Although she is technically gifted, her piano playing lacks passion.

In Choosing Children one literally feels as if one were entering the lives of these parents and feels welcomed as they share their experiences with us openly and generously. Technically, this effect is enhanced by the straightforward camera work.

1984 December 8, Ellen Grabiner, “A Candid Portrait of Choosing Children”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 21, page 10:

The ladies were not much the wiser, though, I confess, they were not far removed from the door. The great men inside talked indistinctly and technically, and once Doctor Dillon was so unfeeling as to crack a joke […]

1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

In a technical (involving specialized knowledge) way.

For now, it is technically impossible to have a manned flight to Mercury.

According to the current state of technology.

техни́чески

according to the current state of technology


explicitly

explicitly (comparative more explicitly, superlative most explicitly)

more explicitly (comparative)
most explicitly (superlative)

The fifth amendment to the United States constitution provides explicitly for the protection of private property.


high on the hog

high on the hog (comparative higher on the hog, superlative highest on the hog)

higher on the hog (comparative)
highest on the hog (superlative)

An allusion to the best and costliest cuts of meat from a hog, considered to be parts above the belly such as the loin, rather than lower parts such as the feet, knuckles, hocks, belly, and jowls. US, late 1800s; popularized 1940s. The variant forms – live/eat and on/off – are attested since at least the 1930s. However, decades earlier is the phrase on the hog, originally on the hog train meaning someone living on little expense.

Ever since his promotion, they’ve been living high on the hog.

With all the tenderloin, spareribs and backbones, we lived “high off the hog”.

1912, George S. Jack, Edward Boyle Jacobs, History of Roanoke County,, page 29:

Down our way there is a favorite expression used quite often—“eating high on the hog”. That is what our competitors have been doing…

1927, Allegheny Regional Advisory Board, Proceedings of the regular meeting,, page 21:

The synthetic belle wins the prize and her creators are eating high off the hog until the nation’s Press demands a look at the original.

If she was pulling this scam off all that time, I think she'd be living a little higher on the hog, don't you?

2006, Julia Spencer-Fleming, All Mortal Flesh: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery:

(idiomatic, US) Well off; living comfortably or extravagantly due to great wealth or financial security.


barefoot

From Middle English barefote, barfot, from Old English bærfōt (“barefoot”), from Proto-Germanic *bazafōts (“barefoot”) equivalent to bare + foot. Cognate with Scots barefit (“barefoot”), Old Frisian berfōt ("barefoot"; modern Saterland Frisian boarfouts (“barefoot”, adverb)), Dutch barrevoets (“barefoot”, adverb), German barfuß (“barefoot”), Danish barfodet (“barefoot”), Swedish barfota (“barefoot”, adverb), Icelandic berfættur (“barefoot”), Yiddish באָרוועס (borves, “barefoot”).

gloss

"barefoot"; modern Saterland Frisian <i class="Latn mention" lang="stq">boarfouts</i> (“barefoot”, adverb)

She likes to go barefoot in the summertime.

Ignoring the familiar discomfort, he padded barefoot across the thick white carpet toward the heavy curtains that lined the richly appointed bedroom’s wide transparisteel window.

2007, Andy Mangels, Michael A. Martin, Star Trek: Enterprise: The Good That Men Do:

(CB radio slang) Transmitting without the use of an amplifier.


as all get-out

Miss Collins looks pretty as all get out on a club floor, much more so than a frequent TV camera shot would lead you to suppose.

John and I got over to the house around eight o’clock and were all set to watch a television show when we noticed Mr. Pignati was sad as all get out.

1968 October 12, Paul Zindel, chapter 10, in The Pigman:

(idiomatic, informal, simile) Extremely; to a superlative degree; very much.


parlous

From Middle English parles, parlous, perlous, [and other forms], a contraction of perilous (“dangerous; dreadful, terrible; morally corrupt, sinful, wicked; inauspicious, unlucky”) (and thus a doublet of perilous), from Old French perilleus, perillos, perillous, perilluse, perilleuse, perilleux (“very dangerous, perilous”) (modern French périlleux), from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous, hazardous, perilous”), from perīculum (“danger, hazard, peril, risk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to dare, risk, try”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives).

nb...

parels, parlious, parlows, parlyous, parlyus, perleous, perlews, perlewse, perlios, perlious, perliouse, perlioux, perliouz, perlis, perlius, perllous, perlouse, perlus, perlyous, perlyows, perlys

der

[L]ast week I had a distinctly unpleasant experience, and came parlous near qualifying as a beachcomber. [...] I cast round, trying one or two charming little hotels within reasonable radius, only to find the "house full" boards up everywhere.

1919 August 6, Gerald Biss, “A Warning to Tourists: Shortage of Hotel Room”, in Bruce Ingram, editor, The Sketch, volume CVII, number 1384, London: Illustrated London News & Sketch, →OCLC, page 210:


all but

The food is all but finished.

A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. [...] Now the Jedi are all but extinct.

1977, George Lucas, Star Wars, spoken by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), 20th Century Fox:

I practice nightly, I try to keep ahead / This art of surfacing is all but dead

1979, The Boomtown Rats (lyrics and music), “Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)”, in The Fine Art of Surfacing:

When the first wave of postwar immigrants arrived in Britain in the 1950s and ’60s, it was a period of rising wages, full employment, an expanding welfare state and strong trade unions. Today, Britain’s manufacturing base has all but disappeared, working-class communities have disintegrated, unions have been neutered and the welfare state has begun to crumble.

2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-09-28:

A stunning performance from the Republic of Ireland all but sealed progress to Euro 2012 as they crushed nine-man Estonia 4-0 in the first leg of the qualifying play-off tie in A Le Coq Arena in Tallinn.

2011 November 11, Rory Houston, “Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland”, in RTE Sport:

The freight market has changed beyond all recognition from when RAIL was first published. Coal, the then-dominant traffic, has all but disappeared. Instead, maritime intermodal flows have shown steady growth.

2024 January 10, 'Industry Insider', “Success built on liberalisation and market freedom”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 69:

Very nearly; everything short of. Most often precedes a verb or adjective.

All but three of the students skipped school the day of the parade.

In the event, higher sale proceeds were achieved by allowing EWS Railway to acquire all but Freightliner, which was sold as a management buy-out.

Everything except. Typically precedes a noun or noun phrase.


arse over tit

I missed the step and went arse over tit.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, idiomatic, vulgar) Tumbling; falling; upside-down, unstable or unbalanced.


all over hell's half acre

en-adv

all over hell's half acre (not comparable)

We came back outside and the neat pile of leaves we had raked had been blown all over hell’s half acre.

All over the place
all over the place#English

(idiomatic) All over the place; everywhere.


usefully

usefully (comparative more usefully, superlative most usefully)

more usefully (comparative)
most usefully (superlative)

I would rather have it said, "He lived usefully," than, "He died rich."

In a useful manner; in a way that achieves something


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.


all the way

Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.

1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 16:

The train was the 3 p.m. from Waterloo, which, doubtless because of the coal crisis, had been mercilessly pared down to no more than eight vehicles—[…]—and as a result of this drastic treatment passengers were standing all the way to Templecombe.

1951 May, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 329:

I'm a dyke (butch, all the way) and would like to correspond with a fem lesbian who is tender, fine, smart, witty and all the way into loving other women.

1981 April 4, Robin Jackson, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 15:

Completely, as much as possible; in full; to the end or full extent.

“Two dogs and a burger all the way, hold the onions on the burger; coming right up.”

2011, Al Thomas, Quiet Places of the Heart, page 35:

I wedged my way into the crowd and up to the counter. All I had to do was catch Janice's eye. She'd bring me the usual, two hot dogs all the way, and a steaming pack of artery-clogging fries.

(of food, colloquial) With every typical condiment or topping; with every available one.


momentarily

I imagined momentarily that it was four score and seven years ago, that I had just been brought forth from my mother[…]

2010 December 23, Phillip Roth, “Prologue”, in The Great American Novel, →ISBN, page 21:

The numbers thin out the further we get from London, so I don't feel guilty when I remove my mask momentarily to scoff some of the snacks I'd bought at Marylebone.

2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:

(manner) In a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.

This plane will be landing at Idlewild Airport momentarily.

He told me, further, that the second coming was at hand--was looked for momentarily in Jerusalem.

1880, Lew Wallace, chapter 3, in Ben-Hur, a Tale of the Christ:

(US, proscribed, duration) In a moment or very soon; any minute now, any time now.


urgently

urgently (comparative more urgently, superlative most urgently)

more urgently (comparative)
most urgently (superlative)

We all urgently need to apply solutions to the problem of pollution.

Funds are urgently required if this work is to be completed as planned.

And now we're waiting for the very same people to establish GBR, drive through urgently needed fares reform, and come up with imaginative and effective train operating contracts...

2022 January 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, in RAIL, number 948, page 3:

With great haste, with a sense of urgency, because it is very important.

He pleaded urgently for release from what he considered to be an unjust imprisonment.


fearfully

fearfully (comparative more fearfully, superlative most fearfully)

more fearfully (comparative)
most fearfully (superlative)

I stepped fearfully into the pitch-dark cave.

In a fearful manner; characterized by fear.

He's a fearfully good striker.

Remember, when a horse is on its side the kicking-strap is useless, and the breechen nearly so, to prevent the swing of its hind legs; your aim is to get it away from the steps or wheel-plate of the trap, which, in its struggles, may cut its legs fearfully.

1 November 1884, John Kemp, Saddlers, Harness Makers, and Carriage Builders' Gazette, volume XIV, London, pages 155–6:


asap

I feel the impatience in her voice, the desire to sell all her stuff asap and return home.

2023, Stephen Buoro, The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, Bloomsbury Circus, page 17:


day before yesterday

ホㇱキ ヌマン

on the day before yesterday - translation entry