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Brewer's: Cucking-stool
(The) or Choking-stool, for ducking scolds, is not connected with choke (to stifle), but the French choquer; hence the archaic verb cuck (to throw), and one still in use, chuck (chuck-…Brewer's: Claw
means the foot of an animal armed with claws; a hand. To claw is to lay one's hands upon things. It also means to tickle with the hand; hence to please or flatter, puff or praise. (Anglo-…Brewer's: Close as a Clam
A clam is a bivalve mollusca, which burrows in sand or mud. It is about the size of a florin, and may be eaten raw or fried like an oyster. Clams are gathered only when the tide is out.…Brewer's: Deal
A portion. “A tenth deal of flour.” (Exodus xxix. 40.) (German, theil; Anglo-Saxon, dael verb, daelan, to share; Irish, dail; English, dole.) To deal the cards is to give each his dole or…Brewer's: Stock
From the verb to stick (to fasten, make firm, fix). Live stock. The fixed capital of a farm. Stock in trade. The fixed capital. The village stocks, in which the feet are stuck or…Brewer's: Tartaros
(Greek), Tartarus (Latin). That part of the infernal regions where the wicked are punished. (Classic mythology.) The word “Hell” occurs seventeen times in the English version of the New…Brewer's: Tournament
or Tournay. A tilt of knights; the chief art of the game being so to manoeuvre or turn your horse as to avoid the adversary's blow. (French, tournoiement, verb, tournoyer.) Tournament of…Brewer's: Turlupin
a punster or farceur, with turlupinade, and the verb turlupiner. It was usual in the 17th century for play-writers in Italy and France to change their names. Thus Le Grand called himself…Brewer's: Ugly
means hag-like. Mr. Dyer derives it from ouph-lie, like an ough or goblin. The Welsh hagr, ugly, would rather point to hag-lie, like a hag; but we need only go to the Old English verb ugge…Brewer's: Rooky Wood
(The). Not the wood where rooks do congregate, but the misty or dark wood. The verb reek (to emit vapour) had the preterite roke, rook, or roak; hence Hamilton, in his Wallace, speaks of…Trending
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