g/f
(SMS) girlfriend
gadabout
- social
butterfly
- social
- butterfly
- gadfly
- gad
[GAD-uh-bowt] ("ow" as
in "cow")
A person who flits about in social activity; someone
who roams about in search of amusement or social
activity.
Examples:
1) In his unorthodox and callow
way, he frequently upset and annoyed his countrymen,
but they continued to vote for him, perhaps taking
a vicarious pleasure in being led by such a world-famous
gadabout. ("Milestones of 2000,"
Times (London), December 29, 2000)
2) She hugged him fiercely. "Oh,
I love you, Jake Grafton, you worthless gadabout
fly-boy, you fool that sails away and leaves me."
(Jack Anderson, "Control")
3) Teddy was a bon vivant and gadabout.
(Nadine Brozan, "Born in a Trunk: The
Story of the Hornes," New York Times, June
20, 1986)
4) Mr. Hart-Davis, as befits a professional
literary man, is something of a gadabout. (Daphne
Merkin, "From Two Most English Men,"
New York Times, June 23, 1985)
5) Emily had been a gadabout in
college, so none of her friends were surprised
that she ended up as a Hollywood gossip columnist.
Etymology, synonyms, related words:
"Gadabout" is formed from
the verb "gad" ("to rove
or go about without purpose or restlessly",
from Middle English "gadden"
- "to hurry") + "about".
If you had to pick the insect most closely related
to a "gadabout," you might
wryly guess the "social butterfly."
But there's another bug that's commonly heard
buzzing around discussions of "gadabout"
- the gadfly. "Gadfly"
is a term used for any of a number of winged pests
(such as horseflies) that bite or annoy livestock.
Since gadflies are known for their nasty bite,
it's not surprising that they are named after
a sharp chisel or pointed bar used by miners to
loosen rock and ore called a "gad."
But, although a gadabout's gossip can bite, "gadfly"
doesn't have any clear etymological relation to
"gadabout".
gadget grandparents
- gadget
grandparent
- gadget
- grandparents
- gadget
grannies
- gadget
granny
- gadget
grandpas
- gadget
grandpa
- grannies
- granny
- grandpas
- grandpa
Older consumers becoming technology savvy; "new"
grandparents that prefer traveling and relaxation
with the help of different technical gimmicks
to babysitting.
Example:
"Gadget grandparents" turn on to the
latest technology.
gadzookery
[gad-ZOO-kuh-ree]
(British) the use of archaisms (as in a
historical novel)
Example:
"Get rid of the gadzookery," Bruce's
editor cautioned. "Mirabella can perfectly
well say 'please' instead of 'prithee.'"
Etymology:
"Gadzooks . . . you astonish me!" cries
Mr. Lenville in Charles Dickens' "Nicholas
Nickleby". We won't accuse Dickens
of "gadzookery" ("the
bane of historical fiction," as historical
novelist John Vernon called it in "Newsday"
magazine), because we assume people actually
said "gadzooks" back in
the 1830s. That mild oath is an old-fashioned
euphemism, so it is thought, for "God's hooks"
(a reference, supposedly, to the nails of the
Crucifixion). But it's a fine line today's historical
novelist must toe, avoiding expressions like "zounds"
and "pshaw" and "tush" ("tushery"
is a synonym of the newer "gadzookery",
which first cropped up in the 1950s), as well
as "gadzooks", while at
the same time rejecting modern expressions such
as "okay" and "nice".
gadzooks
- gadzook
- gadzookery
- God's
hooks
- God's
hook
- gad
- Gadsbobs
- Gadsbob
- Gadsnigs
- Gadsnig
- Gadsbudlikins
- Gadsbudlikin
- Gadsokers
- Gadsoker
- Gadsprecious
- Gadswookers
- Gadswooker
An exclamation of surprise or annoyance.
History, examples:
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, has been
widely reported recently as uttering this imprecation
upon seeing a new portrait of himself by Stuart
Pearson Wright in which he is bare-chested, with
a bug on his shoulder and a plant growing out
of his finger. "Gadzooks!",
he commented. "As long as I don't have to
have it on my wall." How very eighteenth-century
of HRH to choose this word to express his feelings,
since nobody but he these days utters this word
other than as a conscious attempt at humorous
archaism or as a cheap way to invoke a period.
This latter trick is so derided that historical
novelists who introduce words like "prithee",
"zounds", "gramercy"
and "gadzooks" into their
dialogue are sometimes accused by British literary
critics of indulging in "gadzookery".
Not only modern authors, since by 1869, when R.
D. Blackmore wrote "Lorna Doone",
set in the previous century, the word was already
out of fashion: "'Gadzooks, Master Pooke,'
said I, having learned fine words at Tiverton;
'do you suppose that I know not then the way to
carry firearms?" Tobias Smollett published "The Adventures
of Peregrine Pickle" in 1751, when the
word was at the height of its popularity: "'What!'
cried the painter, in despair, 'become a singer?
Gadzooks! and the devil and all that! I'll rather
be still where I am, and let myself be devoured
by vermin.'" "Gadzooks"
is usually said to be an alteration of "God's
hooks", that is, the nails by which
Christ was fastened to the cross. It's one of
a set of late seventeenth and early eighteenth
century euphemistic oaths that used "gad"
as a thinly disguised version of "God",
often attached to a second element of uncertain
parentage. Other examples are "Gadsbobs",
"Gadsnigs", "Gadsbudlikins",
"Gadsokers", "Gadsprecious",
and "Gadswookers".
gainsay
[gayn-SAY; GAYN-say] 1. To deny
or dispute; to declare false or invalid.
2. To oppose; to contradict.
Examples:
1) In our present, imperfectly postmodern
world, where most information still takes the
potentially embarrassing form of printed matter
lurking in archives, liars still must position
themselves so that the historical record may not
easily gainsay them. (Thomas M. Disch, "The
Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of")
2) But, owing to government's cynical
policy of inaction, suppression and hoping the
problem would go away, there was nothing to gainsay
it either. (Mary Riddell, "I don't mind
about midsummer madness, but I'd rather not have
it in my fridge or purring on the sofa",
New Statesman, July 26, 1996)
Etymology:
"Gainsay" comes
from Middle English "geinseien",
from "gein-" ("against"),
from Old English "gegn-, gean-"
+ "sayen" ("to say"),
from Old English "secgan".
galligaskins
- gallygaskins
- gallygaskin
- Galligaskin
1. loose wide breeches or hose, esp. as
worn by men in the 17th century
2. leather leggings, as worn in the 19th
century
3. loose trousers
Example:
Galligaskins - Clothing Alaskans love to live
in Etymology:
This was a fashion of the 16th and 17th centuries,
one that eventually disappeared, as did the active
use of the word, which survives in historical
contexts or as a humorous word for nether garments.
It's an odd-looking word, well fitted to the epithet
weird. It came about through another of those
cloth-eared Englishmen's attempts at getting their
minds around a foreign term. They knew it was
French in immediate origin, "gargesque",
and they knew the garments were often worn by
sailors, so they assumed that the first part was
"galley", either from the oared ship,
or from the cooking area on board ship. Similar
items were known at about the same time as "gally-slops"
or "gally-breeches", so that
would easily account for the conversion of the
first element of the French word into something
more English-sounding. (The first of these was
often abbreviated to "slops",
a similar item; the material for them was kept
on board ship in the "slop-chest",
though sailors' working garments, at least of
a later period, were loose trousers rather than
breeches.) In his famous dictionary of 1828 Noah
Webster said that the word was derived from "Gallic
Gascons", the inhabitants of Gascony. But
the French word was taken from the Italian "grechesca",
something Greek, because the fashion for loose
breeches was originally from that country. Around
the years 1580-1620 similar garments were called
"Venetians", because a comparable fashion
had been imported from Venice. "Galligaskins"
made a relatively late appearance in "Sir
Nigel", an historical novel by Arthur
Conan Doyle, published in 1906: "It was
a wretched, rutted mule-track running through
thick forests with occasional clearings in which
lay the small Kentish villages, where rude shock-headed
peasants with smocks and galligaskins stared with
bold, greedy eyes at the travellers." This
is probably a different sense of the word, since
the English Dialect Dictionary says that it was
used in Kent and other counties for work leggings,
which it described as "rough leather overalls,
worn by thatchers, hedgers, and labourers. They
are usually home-made from dried raw skin, and
are fastened to the front only of the leg and
thigh."
galumph
[guh-LUHM(P)F]
To move in a clumsy manner or with a heavy
tread.
Example:
1) Julia was just then galumphing
down the stairs with her overstuffed suitcase.
(Jonathan Lethem, "Motherless Brooklyn")
2) Then he climbed up the little
iron ladder that led to the wharf's cap, placed
me once more upon his shoulders and galumphed
off again. (Alistair MacLeod, "Island:
The Complete Stories")
3) Lizards patrol the . .. landscape,
and giant tortoises galumph on the beaches. (Peter
M. Nichols, "Gal?pagos," New York Times,
March 30, 2001)
Etymology:
Bump, thump, thud. There's no doubt about it,
when someone or something galumphs onto the scene,
ears take notice. "Galumph"
first lumbered onto the English scene in 1872
when Lewis Carroll used the word to describe
the actions of the vanquisher of the Jabberwocky
in "Through the Looking Glass":
"He left it dead, and with its head / He
went galumphing back". Etymologists suspect
Carroll created "galumph"
by altering the word "gallop,"
perhaps throwing in a pinch of "triumphant"
for good measure (in its earliest uses, "galumph"
did convey a sense of exultant bounding). Other
19th-century writers must have liked the sound
of "galumph", because
they began plying it in their own prose and it
has been clumping around our language ever since.
gambit
[GAM-bit]
1. A chess opening in which a player risks
one or more pawns or a minor piece to gain an
advantage in position.
2. A remark intended to start a conversation
or make a telling point.
3. A topic.
4. A calculated move; a stratagem
Example:
Amy wasn't very impressed with Ryan's opening
gambit: spilling his drink to get her attention.
History:
In 1656, a chess handbook was published that was
said to have almost a hundred illustrated "gambetts."
That early spelling of "gambit"
is close to the Italian word, "gambetto,"
from which it is derived. "Gambetto"
was used for an act of tripping - especially one
that gave an advantage, as in wrestling. The original
chess gambit is an opening in which a bishop's
pawn is sacrificed to gain some advantage, but
the name is now applied to many other chess openings.
After being pinned down to chess for about two
centuries, "gambit" finally
broke free of the hold and showed itself to be
a legitimate contender in the English language
by weighing in with other meanings.
gambol
1. To dance and skip about in play; to
frolic.
Examples:
1) I've been told dolphins like
to gambol in the waves in these waters, and that
sighting them brings good luck. (Barbara Kingsolver,
"Where the Map Stopped", New York Times,
May 17, 1992)
2) The bad news is that while most
of us gambol in the sun, there will be much wringing
of hands in environment-hugging circles about
global warming and climate change. (Derek Brown,
"Heatwaves", The Guardian, June 16,
2000)
2. A skipping or leaping about in frolic.
Example:
Then they joined hands (it was the stranger who
began it by catching Martha and Matilda) and danced...
until they were breathless, every one of them,
save little Sammy, who was not asked to join the
gambol, but sat still in his chair, and seemed
to expect no invitation. (Norman Duncan, "Santa
Claus At Lonely Cove", The Atlantic, December
1903)
Etymology:
"Gambol", earlier "gambolde"
or "gambalde", comes from
Medieval French "gambade" ("a
leaping or skipping"), from Late Latin "gamba"
("hock (of a horse), leg"), from Greek
"kampe" ("a joint or bend").
gamine
[gam-EEN; GAM-een]
1. A girl who wanders about the streets;
an urchin.
2. A playfully mischievous girl or young
woman.
Examples:
1) And the whole world is whacked
out with fear of nuclear doom, except for Claire,
a French gamine who is "living her own nightmare"
and waking up in lots of strange places. (Joe
Brown, "Washington Post", January 17,
1992)
2) ... the delectable young gamine
employed as a waitress in a Montmartre cafe. (Peter
Bradshaw, "Jolie good show," The Guardian,
October 5, 2001)
Etymology, a related word:
"Gamine" comes from the
French.
A boy who wanders about the street is a gamin
(pronounced [GAM-in]).
gamut
[GAM-ut]
1. The whole series of recognized musical
notes.
2. An entire range or series.
Example:
Jenny's musical tastes run the gamut from Bach
to Janis Joplin to Usher.
Etymology:
To get the lowdown on "gamut,"
we have to dive to the bottom of a musical scale
developed by 11th-century musician and monk Guido
of Arezzo. Guido called the first line
of his bass staff "gamma" and
the first note in his scale "ut,"
which meant that "gamma ut" was
the term for a note written on the first staff
line. In time, "gamma ut" underwent
a shortening to "gamut"
but climbed the scale of meaning. It expanded
to cover all the notes of Guido's scale, then
all the notes in the range of an instrument, and,
eventually, an entire range of any sort.
gangsta
Member of a street gang; clothing or attitudes
associated with urban street gangs in the United
States.
Example: Tony likes to dress like a gansta,
but we all know that he's actually from the suburbs.
Etymology: From 'gangster', meaning a tough
guy who belongs to a criminal gang or group.
garbology
- garbologist
- dumpster
diving
- dumpster
- diving
- dumpster
diver
- diver
- trolleyology
The study of a person or group of people
by examining what they throw away.
Examples:
1) In Garbology, everyday pieces
of trash suddenly become valuable and interesting
artefacts from which many inferences about their
source can be drawn. ("Ampersand",
vol. two, issue two, Florida Gulf Coast University,
Spring semester 1999) 2) Garbologists
estimate that it will take a paper bag forty to
fifty years to decompose. (APLD (California
Chapter) Newsletter, July 2006) History,
related words: These are extremes, of course,
but the majority of us dispose of a wide range
of food items and domestic products every day,
which, when accumulated, might reveal something
about our habits. Analysis of this idiosyncratic
combination of refuse has now become known as
garbology - basically, the study
of someone's trash. Garbology involves
the careful observation and study of the waste
products produced by a population in order to
learn about that population's activities, mainly
in areas such as waste disposal and food consumption.
Garbage anthropologists, known as garbologists,
can use rubbish to draw comparisons between what
is known as real behaviour (what people
actually do) and ideal behaviour (what
people say they do or what they'd like to think
they do). The analysis of food consumption and
domestic habits is not the only application of
garbology. It has also been used
as a form of IT-related espionage, a means of
acquiring the personal details of computer users
without their knowledge or consent. For instance,
forgetful people will often write passwords down
on bits of paper, which may end up in office rubbish
bins. As well as sorting and analysing physical
bits of paper, this form of garbology
sometimes includes analysis of files found in
a computer's 'recycle bin'. Even if passwords
and other security information can't be found
here, it is often possible to collect information
which forms a profile of a computer user, enabling
an attacker to guess passwords or security details
based on the names of pets, family members etc.,
or whatever seems important to a user. The
word "garbology" is
a blend of the noun "garbage"
(originating from a 15th century Anglo-Norman
French word denoting 'the entrails or 'waste'
parts of an animal'), and the suffix "-ology",
used to describe a subject of study or a branch
of knowledge. First use of the term dates back
to the 1970s, and is mainly attributed to William
Rathje, an archaeologist and former
professor at the University of Arizona. Rathje
directed the Garbage Project, a long-term
study dedicated to field research in trash dumps,
and he co-authored "Rubbish! The Archaeology
of Garbage" (<http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/BOOKS/bid1369.htm>).
An American English term used in
related contexts is "dumpster diving",
the practice of rummaging through commercial
or residential rubbish containers in order to
find useful items that have been discarded. Practitioners
are called "dumpster divers".
For an anthropological analysis of food and
domestic products before they hit the rubbish
bin, compare trolleyology, which
explores how the contents of a person's shopping
trolley reveal something about their behaviour
or personality.
gardening leave
(used euphemistically) departing employee's
paid leave: obligatory leave with full
pay given to employees between notification of
termination of employment and the actual termination
date; an employee's suspension from work on full
pay for some reason.
Example:
My old firm required you to work until the last
minute of the last day, so "gardening leave"
and having to go in now and again is a bonus,
believe me.
gargantuan
[gar-GAN-shuh-wun]
Tremendous in size, volume, or degree.
Synonyms: gigantic, colossal
Example:
The town's wealthiest family lived in a gargantuan
mansion at the top of the hill, complete with
twelve bedrooms, two swimming pools and a tennis
court.
Etymology:
"Gargantua" is the name
of a giant king in Francois Rabelais's
16th-century satiric novel "Gargantua".
All of the details of Gargantua's life
befit a giant. He rides a colossal mare whose
tail switches so violently that it fells the entire
forest of Orleans. He has an enormous appetite
- in one memorable incident, he inadvertently
swallows five pilgrims while eating a salad. The
scale of everything connected with Gargantua
gave rise to the adjective "gargantuan,"
which since Shakespeare's time has been used of
anything of tremendous size or volume.
garrulous
- talkative
- loquacious
- chatty
[GAIR-uh-lus; GAIR-yuh-]
1. Talking much, especially
about commonplace or trivial things.
2. Wordy.
Synonyms: talkative, loquacious, chatty
Examples:
1) Without saying a single word
she managed to radiate disapproval ... the air
seemed to grow heavy with it and the most garrulous
talker would wilt and fall silent. (Mark Amory,
"Lord Berners: The Last Eccentric")
2) He was as garrulous as a magpie.
(Ferdinand Mount, "Jem (and Sam)")
3) The garrulous ancient was for
once holding his tongue. (William Black, "Madcap
Violet")
4) Crammed with gossip, anecdotes,
and confessions..., his garrulous, untidy narratives
read like a good novel. (James Atlas, "A
Modern Whitman," The Atlantic, December 1984)
5) He took a great liking to this Rev.
Mr. Peters, and talked with him a great deal:
told him yarns, gave him toothsome scraps of personal
history, and wove a glittering streak of profanity
through his garrulous fabric that was refreshing
to a spirit weary of the dull neutralities of
undecorated speech. (Mark Twain, "Some
Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion II,"
The Atlantic, November 1877)
Etymology:
"Garrulous" is from Latin
"garrulus", from "garrire"
("to chatter, to babble").
gastronome
[GAS-truh-nohm]
A connoisseur of good food and drink.
Examples:
1) If "poultry is for the cook
what canvas is for a painter," to quote the
19th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin,
why paint the same painting over and over again?
(John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger, "From
Poussin to Capon, a Chicken in Every Size,"
New York Times, September 22, 1999)
2) Even though Paris was then considered
the culinary capital of Europe, the food at the
Cercle was so highly revered that many well-known
gastronomes regularly made the trip to Lyon to
eat there. (Daniel Rogov, "Three culinary
tales for Hanukka," Jerusalem Post, December
6, 1996)
3) I am no gastronome at the best;
moreover, I have, over the years, eaten in so
many unpropitious circumstances and from so many
truly awful kitchens that I have come to consider
myself almost as much a connoisseur of bad food
as other men are of good. (James Cameron, "Albania:
The Last Marxist Paradise," The Atlantic,
June 1963)
Etymology:
"Gastronome" is ultimately
derived from Greek "gaster" ("stomach")
+ "nomos" ("rule, law").
gauche
- adroit
- dexterous
- ambidextrous
Lacking social polish; tactless; awkward; clumsy.
Examples:
1. He was largely exempted from the formal
socializing he said he found so hard to manage,
flustered and gauche in polite company as he had
always been. (John Sturrock, "Well on
the Way to Paranoia", New York Times, July
28, 1991)
2. He was by nature intellectual, shy,
even gauche and he always believed he lacked the
common touch. ("Editor whose legacy was
diversity", Irish Times, October 9, 1999)
3. The audience's performance was altogether
more gauche, with scores of people in the stalls
constantly turning round to gawp at Mick Jagger
seated ten rows back. (Noreen Taylor, "How
was it for him?", Times (London), August
3, 2000)
Etymology:
"Gauche" is from the French
for left, awkward. The left side of anything is
often considered to be unlucky or bad, and our
language reflects this. A "left-handed compliment",
one that is insincere, backhanded, or dubious,
is not one you are happy to receive; a "left-handed
oath" is one not intended to be binding.
"Sinister", Latin for left, suggests
or threatens evil. Gauche is tactless,
awkward and clumsy, but "droit",
the French word for right, gives us "adroit"
("skillful"), and "dexter",
the Latin for right, gives us "dexterous"
(also meaning skillful). If you are ambidextrous,
able to use both hands with equal facility, then,
etymologically speaking, you have right hands
on both sides ("ambi-" = "on
both sides"). "Left" itself comes
from Old English "lyft", "left"
("weak, useless"), since it names the
hand which in most people is weaker.
gaucherie
- blunder
- faux
pas
- faux
- pas
- gaffe
[goh-shuh-REE]
1. A socially awkward or tactless
act.
2. Lack of tact; boorishness; awkwardness.
Synonyms: blunder, faux pas, gaffe.
Examples:
1) If you find yourself sitting
next to an obviously prosperous guest at a dinner
party and your host introduces him (it will be
a him) as a "successful barrister",
you will be guilty of a gaucherie of the crassest
kind if you exclaim: "How fascinating! If
I promise not to call you Rumpole, will you tell
me about your goriest murder trials?"
(Nick Cohen, "Don't leave justice to the
judges," New Statesman, December 13, 1999)
2) Here we see the insecure, unattractive
woman who at long last has found someone even
more insecure and unattractive than herself, calling
attention to her companion's gaucherie in order
to feel, for once in her life, like the belle
of the ball. (Florence King, "Out and
About," National Review, November 9, 1998)
Etymology:
"Gaucherie" comes from
the French, from "gauche"
("lefthanded; awkward"), from Old French,
from "gauchir" ("to turn
aside, to swerve, to walk clumsily").
gauntlet
- throw
down the gauntlet
- throw
down
- throw
- pick
up the gauntlet
- pick
up
- pick
[GAWNT-lut]
1. A glove worn with medieval armor to
protect the hand.
2. Any of various protective gloves used
especially in industry.
3. An open challenge (as to combat)
- used in phrases like "throw down the
gauntlet".
Example:
Herb threw down the gauntlet, asking his guests,
"Which one of you wants to get beaten in
a game of chess?"
4. A dress glove extending above the wrist.
Etymology, history, related expressions:
"Gauntlet" comes from
Middle French "gantelet," the
diminutive of "gant," meaning
"glove." (The "gauntlet"
that means "severe trial," "ordeal,"
or "double file of armed men" is
a different word that originates from Old Swedish
"gata," meaning "road,"
and "lop," meaning "course.")
"To throw down the gauntlet"
means "to issue an open challenge."
"To pick up the gauntlet"
means "to accept an open challenge."
These figurative phrases come from the conventions
of medieval combat. The gauntlet
was the glove of a suit of armor. To challenge
someone to combat, a knight would throw his glove
at another knight's feet. The second knight would
take it up if he intended to accept the challenge,
in which case a jousting match might ensue.
gazebo
[g'zi:b@U]
A small building, usually in a garden, with a
good view.
Example:
Corsham Court (5 miles) has some fine Georgian
state rooms, and grounds with a 15th-century gazebo.
(Stone, Mike and Russell, Roger. "Warm welcomes
in Britain". Newton Abbot, Devon: David &
Charles Publishers plc, 1990)
History:
This word is surrounded by more mystery than an
earnest etymologist would like. It appears in
1752 without any warning or antecedent in part
four of a book by William and John Halfpenny
with the title "New Designs for Chinese
Temples", an influential work that was
aimed at the then new English fashion for the
oriental in design and architecture. Little is
known about William Halfpenny, who described
himself as an architect and carpenter, not even
if this was his real name (another architectural
writer of the period, Batty Langley, said
he was actually called Michael Hoare),
nor whether his collaborator John Halfpenny
was his son, as some have assumed, or even existed.
The word "gazebo" is equally
mysterious. A lot of people have assumed that
- like the temples described in the book - it
must be of oriental origin. If it is, nobody has
found its source. Failing that, etymologists have
made an educated guess that he named the structure
tongue-in-cheek, taking the ending "-ebo"
from the Latin future tense and adding it to "gaze",
so making a hybrid word that might mean "I
will look". If true, the model was probably
"videbo", "I shall see",
or perhaps "lavabo", literally
"I will wash", taken from the Latin
mass of the Roman Catholic Church to refer to
the towel or basin used in the ritual washing
of the celebrant's hands. Early gazebos
were often a tower or lantern on the roof
of a house, a projecting balcony, or a structure
attached to the top of a wall. Only much later
was the word applied to a summerhouse, usually
one with open sides. To be strict about it, only
those edifices with a good view may be given that
name; all others are mere shelters.
gazette
1. (British) A newspaper; a printed
sheet published periodically; esp., the official
journal published by the British government, and
containing legal and state notices. 2.
(British) To publish in an official government
journal; to announce officially, as an appointment,
or a case of bankruptcy.
Examples:
1) In 1964, the annual Labour Gazette
stopped printing annual retirement figures.
2) I say, we could have a newspaper, a
sort of Gazette!
Etymology:
"Newspaper," 1605; originally, a newssheet
containing an abstract of current events, from
Fr. "gazette", from the Italian
phrase "gazeta de la novita",
from It. "gazzetta", Venetian
dial. "gazeta" = "newspaper,"
originally the name of a small copper coin, lit.
"little magpie," from "gazza";
applied to the monthly newspaper published in
Venice by the government mid-1500s, either from
its price (it was sold for one gazeta)
or its association with the bird (typical of false
chatter), or both. First used in Eng. 1665 for
the paper issued at Oxford, whither the court
had fled from the plague. Gazetteer "geographical
dictionary" is from Laurence Eachard's
1693 geographical handbook for journalists,
"The Gazetteer's, or Newsman's, Interpreter,"
second edition simply titled "The
Gazetteer."
gd&h
(SMS) grinning, ducking and hiding
gee
1. charm or attractiveness in trying to
talk to a female.
Example:
Your gee ain't strong enough to get a date.
2. a mild oath, euphemism for "Jesus!";
3. a girlfriend;
4. to have sexual intercourse
geisha
- geishas
- geisha
girl
- prostitute
- courtesan
Pl. - geisha, geishas
A Japanese woman trained and paid to host and
entertain men with conversation and singing and
dancing; a member of a professional class of women
in Japan whose traditional occupation is to entertain
men, in modern times, particularly at businessmen's
parties in restaurants or teahouses.
Example:
She is the perceptive observer - be it of the
radiation victims in Nagasaki or the aged geisha
dancing exquisitely well for her venerable patron.
Etymology, history:
1887, "Japanese girl whose profession is
to sing and dance to entertain men"; hence,
loosely, "prostitute," from Japanese,
lit. "person accomplished in the social
arts," "art person," from "gei"
("art, performance") + "sha"
("society"). Cf. Athenian "auletrides"
- "flute-girls," female musicians who
entertained guests at a symposium with music at
the start of the party and sex at the end of it.
A geisha must be adept at singing, dancing, and
playing traditional musical instruments (e.g.,
the samisen) in addition to being skilled at making
conversation. The geisha system is thought to
have emerged in the 17th century to provide a
class of well-trained entertainers set apart from
courtesans and prostitutes: though geisha sometimes
had sexual relationships with their clients, they
were supposed to entertain primarily through their
accomplishments. The numbers of geisha have declined
from some 80,000 in the 1920s to a few thousand
at present, almost all in the Tokyo and Kyoto
areas, where they are patronized by only the wealthiest
businessmen and most influential politicians.
Ordinary businessmen seek out bar hostesses, who,
though not trained in traditional singing or dance,
like geisha excel at supportive conversation.
Synonyms: geisha girl; prostitute, courtesan.
gelid
[JEL-id]
Extremely cold; icy.
Examples:
1) The weather is gelid on a recent
Thursday night - so uninviting that it's hard
to imagine anyone venturing out. (Letta Tayler,
"The Accent's on Brooklyn," Newsday,
April 6, 2000)
2) Last January a major crisis arose
when the Argentine naval supply ship Bahia Paraiso
foundered near an island off the Antarctic Peninsula,
creating a diesel-oil spill that inflicted untold
damage on the ecosystems clinging to the edges
of the icy continent or swimming in its gelid
seas. (Christopher Redman Paris, "Could anything
be more terrible than this silent, windswept immensity?"
Time, October 23, 1989)
Etymology:
"Gelid" comes from Latin
"gelidus", from "gelu"
- "frost, cold."
gender bender
- gender
bending
- gender
- bender
- bending
- cross-dresser
- transvestite
- trannie
- crossdresser
- altering
device
- altering
- cross
- dresser
- tranny
1. a person who dresses and behaves like
a member of the opposite sex.
Synonym: cross-dresser.
2. a person who believes their gender differs
from their sex; a transgendered person.
Synonyms:
transvestite; (vulg.) trannie.
Example:
"He puts on his dress And he heads to the
party The lipstick is moist And he's ready to
get rowdy He's a gender bender"
("Gender Bender/The Land of My Dreams"
by Seth Leeper)
3. Something, such as a theatrical performance
or a book, whose portrayal of gender roles is
nontraditional or androgynous.
4. (computing) a device that converts
a male plug or connector to female, or vice versa.
Synonym: altering device
gender studies
- gender
study
- gender
- studies
- study
Theoretical work in the social sciences or humanities
that focuses on issues of sex and gender in language
and society, and often addresses related issues
including racial and ethnic oppression, postcolonial
societies, and globalization. Work in gender studies
is often associated with work in feminist theory,
queer studies, and other theoretical aspects of
cultural studies.
Example:
While work in gender studies is principally found
in humanities departments and publications (in
areas such as English literature and other literary
studies), it is also found in social-scientific
areas such as anthropology, and psychology.
generica
Features of the American landscape (such as strip
malls, pre-fab housing, and streets named "Main")
that are exactly the same no matter where one
is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and
subdivisions; Generic America.
Example:
Along with the supe and the poet, the progressive
alty paper argues chain stores give neighborhoods
a 'homogenous look many call 'Generica', generic
America.' (Bob Armstrong, "Howling against
the siren-song of gentrification," The San
Francisco Examiner)
geniculate
1. bent abruptly at an angle, like the
knee when bent
Examples:
a geniculate stem; a geniculate ganglion; a geniculate
twin crystal.
2. to form joints or knots on.
Etymology:
Lat. "geniculatus", Fr. "geniculum"
(little knee, knot or joint), dim. of "genu
knee".
genteel
1. a) having an aristocratic quality
or flavor; stylish; b) elegant or
graceful in manner, appearance, or shape
Example:
Eleanor is a very genteel lady, always meticulously
groomed, faultlessly polite, and thoroughly elegant
in her manner.
2. maintaining the appearance of superior
social status
Etymology:
In Roman times, the Latin noun "gens"
was used to refer to a clan, a group of related
people. Its plural "gentes" was
used to designate all the people of the world,
particularly non- Romans. An adjective form, "gentilis",
applied to both senses. Over time, the adjective
was borrowed and passed through several languages.
It came into Old French as "gentil",
a word that then meant "high-born" (in
modern French it means "nice"); that
term was carried over into Anglo-French, where
English speakers found and borrowed it in the
16th century. Nowadays it is used to describe
people or things that are of high social status
or that simply give the appearance of being so.
genuflect
- reflect
- deflect
- geniculate
1. To bend the knee or touch one
knee to the ground, as in worship.
2. To be servilely respectful or
obedient.
Synonym: to grovel.
Examples:
1) After graduation I talked my
way into a job at Ionic Development Corporation,
a legendary place in Cambridge on the Charles
River, a huge brick building with a lobby the
size of a cathedral; every time I walked in, I
felt as if I should genuflect. (Daniel Lyons,
"Dog Days")
2) People worship capital, adore
its aura, genuflect before Porsches and Tokyo
land values. (Haruki Murakami, "Dance
Dance Dance", translated by Alfred Birnbaum)
3) Chen said recently he was proud
to be a Chinese, a signal to Beijing that he is
willing to be conciliatory. The communists, however,
apparently want him to genuflect more unambiguously.
(Sin-Ming Shaw, "Give This Guy a Break!",
Time Asia, October 30, 2000)
4) As part of the ceremony, the
ambassador genuflected before the queen so that
she could bestow knighthood upon him.
Etymology, related words:
"Genuflect" is derived
from the Late Latin "genuflectere,"
formed from the noun "genu" ("knee")
and the verb "flectere" ("to
bend"). "Flectere" appears
in a number of more common verbs, such as "reflect"
("to bend or throw back," as light)
and "deflect" ("to
turn aside"). By comparison "genu"
sees little use in English, but it did give us
"geniculate", a word often
used in scientific contexts to mean "bent
abruptly at an angle like a bent knee." Despite
the resemblance, words such as "genius"
and "genuine" are not related
to "genuflect"; instead,
they are of a family that includes the Latin verb
"gignere," meaning "to beget."
geolocation
- geolocate
- geotargetting
- geo-targetting
- geolocated
(Noun) Geolocation - The technological
process of determining the real geographical location
of an Internet user.
Related word: geotargetting; also:
geo-targetting
(Verb) Geolocate - To determine
the real geographical location of an Internet
user by means of some technological facilities.
Examples:
1) Prominent among those tools is
geolocation, the web geography technology that
determines the true geographic location of the
online customer at the moment he clicks into the
website - the country, state or even city.
(BankersOnline.com <http://www.bankersonline.com/
security/safebanking.html>, 25th April
2005) 2) According to documents
lodged with US Patent and Trademarks Office over
the last week, the NSA [National Security Agency]
is looking to patent what it calls a "method for
geolocating logical network addresses", and names
the Internet as one of many possible applications.
(Computerworld Australia <http://www.computerworld.com.au/
index.php/id;1837942684;fp;16;fpid;0>,
28th September 2005)
3) Geo-targeting should determine
what country the website is from by using the
top domain level (.ca, .com, .uk), and match it
up with the searcher's IP location, of the searcher
is using msn.ca, msn.co.uk, etc.
4) MSN use Geotargetting to feed
relevant 'local' results.
History, related forms:
There was a time, not long ago, when as we sat
at the computer surfing the Internet, we felt
anonymous in the virtual world, no one knowing
who we were or where in the world we happened
to be. However in 2006, Big Brother could indeed
be watching you - or at least know where you are
- due to the advent of geolocation.
Geolocation is a technology in increasingly
widespread use which makes it possible to determine
the exact location, in the real world, of visitors
to particular websites. It usually works by identifying
locations based on a computer's IP address (Internet
Protocol address), a unique number (similar
to a telephone number) used as an identifier when
the machine is linked to the Internet. "GeoPinpoint"
<http://www.dmtispatial.com/geopinpoint_suite.htm>"
is one example of commercially available
geolocation software which translates
IP addresses into real geographical locations.
Among the range of useful applications of
geolocation software is the prevention
of online fraud. Until now, anonymity has been
one of the main strategies adopted by online criminals
to avoid detection. Banks or other targeted institutions
have not usually known where in the world the
fraudulent user is sitting as they access accounts,
submit credit applications, etc, but now they
have a means of finding out. Geolocation
also has an important application in e-commerce.
Businesses who know the location of online customers
can tailor products and advertising information
to suit the preferences of particular regions,
varying such things as language, currency, product
range or marketing strategy according to the location
of consumers. This concept is now often referred
to as geotargeting, based on the
established business principle of targeted marketing.
Geolocation is not confined to the
Internet. Some mobile phone service providers
have used the technique to determine the location
of a mobile phone on their network and provide
services appropriate to the geographical location
of the user. The term "geolocation"
is a blend of the words "geographical"
and "location". The concept
evolved about five years ago but has steadily
gained ground against the growing significance
of online commerce. The verb form "geolocate"
is also sometimes used, often in the passive
or as a participle adjective as
in "geolocated web pages".
Geolocation can be controversial,
some regarding it as an invasion of privacy which
forces users to disclose their location when they
may have good reasons not to. Internet users wanting
to avoid geolocation can purchase
software to counteract it, available at websites
such as "anonymizer.com"
<http://www.anonymizer.com/>.
georgic
[JOR-jik]
Of or relating to agriculture.
Example:
Lanford Wilson has created yet another remarkable
play... a fascinating tale of a georgic Midwestern
community and the secrets lurking beneath the
surface of its bucolic hum. ("Adweek",
March 25, 2004)
History, related words, more meanings:
The adjective "georgic,"
which dates from the first half of the 18th century,
derives by way of Latin "georgicus"
and Greek "georgikos" from the
Greek noun "georgos," meaning
"farmer." That noun, in turn, was formed
by a combination of the prefix "geo-"
(meaning "earth") and "ergon"
("work"), the latter of which gave us
words such as "allergy" and "ergonomics."
The noun sense of "georgic,"
which dates from the early 16th century, refers
to a poem that deals with the practical aspects
of agriculture and rural affairs. The standard
for such poems, Virgil's "Georgics",
is responsible for its name. The poem, written
between 37 and 30 B.C., called for a restoration
of agricultural life in Italy after its farms
fell into neglect during civil war.
germane
- appropriate
- fitting
- relevant
- germinate
[juhr-MAYN; jer-MAYN]
Being at once relevant and appropriate.
Synonyms: appropriate; fitting; relevant
Examples:
1) The issue is not germane to the
present discussion. (Richard Wollheim, "On
the Emotions")
2) As long as the argument remains
germane, he listens attentively, putting on and
removing heavy tortoise-shell glasses and leaning
across the bench. (Philip Hamburger, "Matters
of State")
3) [I]n times of catastrophe we allow
public officials to declare "states of emergency"
that replace some normal rules... with a more
germane set. (Seth Shulman, "Owning the
Future: In Africa, Patents Kill," Technology
Review, April 2001)
4) I have many secrets, most of
which are not at all germane to the topic . .
. and would probably be completely inappropriate
to tell. (David Gewirtz, "I Have a Secret,"
PalmPower Magazine, August 2000)
Etymology, more examples:
"Germane" comes from Middle
English "germain", literally,
"having the same parents", ultimately
deriving from Latin "germanus",
from "germen" - "a bud,
a shoot, a sprout", which is also at the
root of the English verb "germinate,"
meaning "to sprout" or "begin to
develop."
"Wert thou a Leopard, thou wert Germane
to the Lion." So wrote Shakespeare in
"Timon of Athens" (circa 1607),
using an old (and now obsolete) sense of "germane"
meaning "closely akin." An early sense
of "germane" referred
specifically to children of the same parents,
who were perhaps seen as being like buds on a
single tree.
gesundheit
- God
bless you
- God
bless
- God
- bless
[guh-ZOONT-hyte]
Interjection; used to wish good health
especially to one who has just sneezed.
Example:
"Gesundheit!" said the man on the bicycle
as he passed a lady on the sidewalk who had sneezed.
History, synonyms, difference:
When English speakers hear "achoo,"
they usually respond with either "gesundheit"
or "God bless you." "Gesundheit"
was borrowed from German, where it literally means
"health"; it was formed by a combination
of "gesund" ("healthy")
and "-heit" ("-hood").
Wishing a person good health when they sneezed
was believed to forestall the illness that a sneeze
often portends. "God bless you"
had a similar purpose, albeit with more divine
weight to the well-wishing. It was once believed
the soul could exit the body during a sneeze,
causing ill health, so folks said "God
bless you" to ward off this danger.
"Gesundheit," at one time,
also served as a toast when drinking (much like
its English counterpart, "to your health"),
but this usage is now mostly obsolete.
get
(n):
1. offspring; progeny.
Example:
No doubt, all gets of that stallion are champions.
2. Bastard; twat.
Often applied to children and accompanied by a
swipe to the back of the head.
Example:
What are you doing, you cheeky little get!
3. jet, the mineral; 4. fashion;
manner; custom; 5. artifice; contrivance
get a foot in the door
- get
a toe in the door
- get
one's foot in the door
- get
one's toe in the door
- foot
in the door
- get
- foot
- door
- take
the first step
- make
an initial step
- take
- first
step
- make
- initial
step
- first
- initial
- toe
(Slang) To get a first opportunity; to
get a start toward success, an opening; to try
and get involved in something desirable.
Synonyms: take the first step; make an
initial step; get a toe in the door.
Examples:
1) Working as an intern is one way
to get your foot in the door of a big corporation.
2) It isn't always easy to get your
foot in the door - a lot of obstacles are lying
in your path.
Etymology:
To get a foot (or at least a
toe) in the door helps to
prevent a person from shutting a door in their
face; by means of it, they (and not only they)
try and sometimes get involved in something desirable.
get a handle on
- get
a handle on smth.
- get
a handle
- handle
To understand, find out about; to investigate
and learn about something when very little is
known before hand; to find a way to understand
or deal with something; to start to overcome
a difficult problem or situation.
Examples: 1) We will respond
when we get a handle on that.
2) We have to get a handle on the
parking problem - get the facts.
3) Rachel had a lot of trouble with
geometry, but I think she's getting a handle on
it.
Etymology:
This bit of American slang became popular
in the mid-1900s. Did you ever try to lift up
a heavy, bulky object that had no handles?
How do you get a secure grip on it?
The answer is to attach a handle to it.
Today this expression refers to any difficulty
you need to deal with or get control of. When
you finally "get a handle on it",
you start to solve the problem.
get a kick out of smth.
- get a kick out of
- get a kick out
- kick
- get
- kick out of smth.
- kick out of
- kick out
- get a bang of smth.
- get a bang of
- get a bang
- bang
- get a charge out of smth.
- get a charge out of
- get a charge out
- get a charge
- charge
- charge out of smth.
- charge out of
- charge out
- bang of smth.
- bang of
To find something amusing; to enjoy doing something;
to get a thrill out of something.
Example:
My grandmother really gets a kick out of playing
these video games with me.
Etymology, synonyms:
A famous songwriter, Cole Porter, made
this 20th century American saying popular in his
1934 song "I Get a Kick Out of You."
The title means "I really enjoy being
with you." In this expression "kick"
has to do with a thrill, not striking something
with your foot. There are two variations
on this idiom: "get a bang of something"
and "get a charge out of something".
All three words - kick, bang, charge -
suggest something that will really shake you up.
get a taste of one's
own medicine
- get a taste of your own medicine
- get
- taste
- own
- medicine
People use this expression to mean that someone
who has been bothering or mistreating others gets
treated in the same way.
Example:
"So, did Tom play any tricks on you guys
at school today, Rosa?" asked her sister.
"Nope," replied Rosa. "And I don't
think he will for a while. He finally got a taste
of his own medicine. During the school assembly,
we presented him with a medal for playing mean
tricks. And he was really embarrassed."
get away with murder
- get
away with
- murder
- get
away
- get
- away
To do something very bad, wrong, or illegal
without being caught or punished.
Examples:
1) The child was able to get away
with murder while the substitute teacher was at
the school.
2) It's a darling cocker spaniel,
but they let it get away with murder.
History:
This American expression from the late 20th century
is really an exaggeration. It can refer to any
offense, major or minor, that you're not punished
for, such as chewing gum in class, cheating on
a test, or stealing. But, figuratively speaking,
if you can get away without being punished for
murder, you can probably get away with less serious
crimes.
get down to brass tacks
- get
down to
- brass
tacks
- get
down
- brass
- tack
- tacks
To get straight to the basic facts of the matter;
begin the most important work or business; to
get started with the essentials.
Example:
Let's get down to brass tacks and begin talking
about the new contract.
Etymology:
Although this idiom has been widely used since
the early 1900s, word experts are not sure what
"brass tacks" stand for. The
phrase might refer to copper bolts on a boat that
have been scrubbed clean, or to brass-topped
tacks used in the upholstery trade. If
you get down to business by discussing the most
basic, essential, and practical realities, then
you're "getting down to brass tacks."
get hitched
- tie
the knot
- get
- hitched
- hitch
- tie
- knot
To get married.
Examples:
1) We got hitched out in Vegas.
2) You're thinking about getting
hitched already? But you only met him last week!
Etymology: To 'hitch' something means to
tie it to something else, or to connect things
in some way.
Synonym: tie the knot
get hot under the collar
- hot
under the collar
- get
hot
- hot
- collar
To become upset; becoming angry, hot and bothered.
Example:
It's only a joke. Don't get hot under the collar.
get in on the ground floor
- get in on
- ground floor
- get in
- ground
- floor
- get on
- get
To be there at the start, be one of the first;
to be part of some big or important project or
business at its start.
Examples:
1) If I get in on the ground floor
at MING'S, I'll advance quickly.
2) Miss Cohen got in on the ground
floor with a new women's clothing company.
Etymology:
This saying probably originated in the financial
world of the late 1800s. It's an advantage to
get in at the beginning of an enterprise. As the
company succeeds and prospers, so will you. After
all, you were there at the start and helped it
grow. The ground floor is where you enter
a big building. After that, there's no place to
go but up.
get into the swing of things
- get into
- swing of things
- get
- swing
- things
- thing
- in full swing
- full swing
To become accustomed to routine activities.
Example:
Anna didn't join in many activities at first,
but now she's gotten into the swing of things.
Etymology:
In the 1500s the phrase, "in full swing",
meant to be very active in something. "Swing"
could have come from the motion of a children's
swing or a clock pendulum. In the 1800s a new
expression developed that was based on the old
one: "get into the swing of things."
That meant getting involved with whatever was
going on, especially socially.
get off the hook
- get
off the hook
- get
off
- hook
- get
To free yourself or someone from a distasteful
obligation; to get out of trouble; to evade a
punishment.
Example:
I don't want to baby-sit tonight, so I hope my
sister will get me off the hook.
Etymology:
This expression comes from fishing. If a fish
is caught on a hook, it desperately wants
to be off the hook. In the same way, if
people are in trouble, have unwanted obligations,
or are about to be punished, they want to "get
off the hook" by ridding themselves
of all these burdens.
get one's back up
To show anger or annoyance.
Etymology: The allusion is to a cat, which
sets its back up when attacked by a dog or other
animal.
get one's feet wet
- get
your feet wet
- get
feet wet
- get
wet
- take
the plunge
- get
- feet
- wet
- foot
- take
- plunge
1. (Slang) To have a first experience
in something; to begin to do something for the
first time.
2. To dare to make a move, dare to do something;
to go for the whole experience; to do something
decisive (often used when you get married).
3. Try to do it, attempt it, try your hand
at.
Examples:
1) Grace had never been in a play,
but she took a small part just to get her feet
wet.
2) To become a lawyer, learn the
theory; then get your feet wet.
3) He finally decided to take the
plunge and will get married next year.
Synonym: take the plunge
Etymology:
This expression has been used for centuries, as
far back as the 1500s. Imagine a swimmer who is
afraid of diving into the water. He tiptoes in
slowly, just getting his feet wet
so he can get used to the water. Then he can plunge
in when he's ready. In the same way, we "get
our feet wet" when we venture into
new territory by having our first experience with
something. On the other hand, some swimmers jump
off the bank into cold water to get the whole
shock over with at one time, instead of slowly
entering the water and prolonging the torture,
i.e. they take the plunge.
get one's goat
To annoy (very badly), irritate, bug smb; to make
a person angry.
Examples:
1) Don't let Jason get your goat.
He teases everybody.
2) It really got my uncle's goat
when he cooked for three hours and no one ate
the meal.
Etymology:
This American expression dates from about 1900.
It was a common practice to put a goat
in the stall of a nervous racehorse to be its
friend and keep it calm. If people wanted the
horse to lose a race, they would sneak the goat
out of the stall to upset the horse. There are
several expressions that also mean to disturb
or annoy someone.
get out of my face
- get
out of my face!
- get
out of
- face
- get
out
- get
Go away!, be gone!, get out of here!, get out
of my sight; stop standing in front of me in a
provocative manner, close to my face, arguing
with me, or disapproving of my actions.
Examples:
1) I am sick of you I didn't ask
for your advice. Get out of my face!
2) You'd better get out of my face
right now or you'll be sorry!
Etymology:
This recent, vivid African-American expression
means exactly what it says. Stop facing me in
a way that causes trouble between us. Get away!
Leave me alone! It is usually said in anger and
with the understanding that if the other person
doesn't stop talking and move away fast, he or
she will suffer consequences.
get right on it
- get
right on
- get
right
- get
- right
on it
- right
on
- right
To begin work on that immediately.
Examples:
1) Bob: Please do this report immediately.
Fred: I'll get right on it.
2) Jane: Please call Tom and ask
him to rethink this proposal.
John: I'll get right on it.
get smth. off one's chest
- get smth. off your chest
- get smth. off
- chest
- get off
- get
- off your chest
- off one's chest
To make known something that is bothersome, angering,
or irritating, but kept secret for a time.
Example:
Something is bothering me, and I want to get it
off my chest. Please don't smoke here.
Etymology:
Your heart is in your chest, and the heart
"feels" emotions such as love and fear.
So if some worry, criticism, or secret has been
troubling you and you finally tell someone, you're
getting it "off your chest" (out
of your heart) at last.
get the Monday-morning blues
- get
- Monday-morning blues
- Monday-morning
- blues
- Monday blues
- morning blues
- blue
- Monday blue
- morning blue
feel down because it's Monday morning
Example:
Do you suffer from 'Monday morning blues'?
History:
Most people don't like Monday mornings, and feel
a bit tired (after the weekend), and a bit depressed
that a new working week has only just started
and the next weekend is still far away; they "feel
blue" about it.
get the lead out of one's
feet
- get the lead out of your feet
- get smth. out of
- get out of
- get smth. out
- get out
- get
- lead
- feet
- get the lead out of your pants
- get the lead out of one's pants
- pants
To get busy; to move or work more quickly.
Example:
C'mon, you guys. Get moving. Get the lead out
of your feet.
Etymology:
This expression, which was used a lot in the American
armed forces during the Second World War, suggested
that if you were moving sluggishly or working
slowly, it was as if you had lead, a heavy metal,
in your feet. If you got it out, you could speed
up your actions.
Synonym: get the lead out of your pants;
get the lead out of one's pants.
get the nod
To be chosen; to receive support or approval.
Examples:
1) There were dozens of applicants
for the job, but Hempstead got the nod. 2)
No one is sure when the troops will get the nod
to begin the invasion.
Etymology:
'Nod' refers to a movement of the
head, a slight bowing which indicates approval
or choice.
get to the bottom of
- get
to the bottom of smth.
- get
to
- get
to the bottom
- get
- bottom
To get to the real issue; to figure something
out, unravel the mystery; to get the facts, to
find out the real cause of something; to uncover
the hidden reason for something.
Examples:
1) Did you get to the bottom of
the problem? What is the cause?
2) The principal vowed to get to
the bottom of the graffiti on the walls.
Etymology:
Writers were using this expression in the late
1500s. The bottom is usually the base or
root. If you search and investigate enough, you'll
get to the bottom of something.
Then you'll know how it got started.
get under one's skin
- get under your skin
- get under
- skin
- get
- under one's skin
- under your skin
(Slang) To irritate someone; to bother
or upset someone.
Synonym: get
Etymology:
If something irritating like a bug gets under
your skin, it can cause a bad rash and itching.
In the same way, if a person does something that
irritates or upsets you, he's "getting under
your skin." The famous American songwriter
Cole Porter put a different twist on this expression
when he wrote "I've Got Under My Skin"
in 1936. He changed the expression to suggest
romantic addiction instead of annoying irritation.
get up on the wrong side
of the bed
- get up
- wrong side of the bed
- get
- wrong side
- bed
- wrong
- side
To be in a bad mood; to be grumpy or unpleasant
for no apparent reason. The phrase refers to
someone being in a bad mood from the moment they
wake up.
Examples:
1) Oh boy, was my mom a grouch this
morning. I think she got up on the wrong side
of the bed.
2) Stephan, you sure are irritable
today - did you get up on the wrong side of the
bed this morning? 3) I feel awful.
I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the
bed this morning. On second thought, maybe it
was all that champagne I drank last night!
get-up-and-go
- get
up
- go
- get
- energy
- push
Enterprising or ambitious drive; energy
and motivation; pep; enthusiasm; ambition; vitality,
vigor.
Examples:
1) I feel so lazy. I have no get-up-and-go.
2) Since Grandmother joined that
health club, she's had a lot more
get-up-and-go.
3) Europeans often laugh at american
get-up-and-go.
Synonyms: energy, push
Etymology, more examples:
This early 20th-century American expression means
just what it says: get up and go
rather than sit still and do nothing. It probably
started as a verb phrase ("I wish she
would get up and go") and eventually
turned into a noun ("She needs more get-up-and-go").
gewgaw
[G(Y)OO-gaw]
A showy trifle; a trinket; a bauble.
Examples:
1) Bidders paid hundreds of thousands
of dollars for worthless gewgaws - fake pearls,
ashtrays, golf clubs - merely, one supposes, because
they were touched by the hand of this celebrity
of celebrities. (Lawrence M. Friedman, "The
Horizontal Society")
2) At least, you're tempted until
you discover that the price of this gewgaw is
$175. (Walter Shapiro, "Earn exciting
prizes from the Republicans!", USA Today,
March 27, 2002)
3) Walk into almost any department
store, and there it is -- along with mounds of
other gimmicky gadgets and garish gewgaws that
(no offense, Vanna) the world can live without.
(James A. Russell, "What the World Needs
Now... Is Not Another Gimmicky Gadget or Worthless
Doohickey," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September
9, 1995)
Etymology:
The origin of gewgaw is uncertain. C.1225, possibly
a reduplication connected with O.Fr. "gogue"
("joke, game"), or "jou-jou"
("toy"), baby-talk word, from "jouer"
("to play"), from L. "jocare".
gift of gab
Skill in talking; ability to make interesting
talk that makes people believe you.
Examples:
1) Uncle Frank really had the gift
of gab.
2) Many men get elected because
of their gift of gab.
3) Mr. Taylor's gift of gab helped
him get a good job.
Etymology:
As early as the late 1600s and early 1700s, British
writers and speakers were using this phrase. There
are a few theories about its origin. Middle Dutch
was a language used from the middle of the 12th
century through the 15th, and the word for foolish
chatter was "gabbelen." In the
Gaelic language (spoken by some people in Scotland
and Ireland) the word for mouth is "gob",
and over the years it may have changed to "gab",
the English word that today means to talk a lot
about small matters. So today somehow,
between "gabbelen" and "gob",
we get the "gift of gab".
gild the lily
- paint
the lily
- gild
- lily
- paint
1. To needlessly adorn something that is
already very beautiful; to decorate a beautiful
object, to improve a work of art.
2. To make unnecessary additions to what
is already complete; to spoil something that is
already beautiful by adding something extra or
not needed. Examples:
1) Decorating that Scotch pine would
be gilding the lily.
2) She really doesn't need all that
makeup. That's like gilding the lily.
Etymology:
William Shakespeare used a similar expression
in his play "King John": "to
gild refined gold, to paint the lily:is wasteful
and ridiculous excess". Over the years
the saying got shortened to just "gild
the lily". "Gild"
means to cover with a thin layer of gold. Why
did Shakespeare use "lily"?
Because it is already a beautiful flower, and
covering it with gold to make it more beautiful
would be unnecessary.
Synonym: paint the lily
gimcrack
[JIM-krak]
1. A showy but useless or worthless object;
a gewgaw.
2. Tastelessly showy; cheap; gaudy.
Examples:
1) Yet the set is more than a collection
of pretty gimcracks. (Frank Rich, "Hot
Seat")
2) In those cities most self-conscious
about their claim to be part of English history,
like Oxford or Bath, the shops where you could
have bought a dozen nails, home-made cakes or
had a suit run up, have shut down and been replaced
with places selling teddy bears, T-shirts and
gimcrack souvenirs. (Jeremy Paxman, "The
English: A Portrait of a People")
3) And as for coincidences in books
- there's something cheap and sentimental about
the device; it can't help always seeming aesthetically
gimcrack. (Peter Brooks, "Obsessed with
the Hermit of Croisset," New York Times,
March 10, 1985)
Etymology:
The origin of "gimcrack"
is uncertain. It is perhaps an alteration of Middle
English "gibecrake" ("a
slight or flimsy ornament").
gingerly
[JIN-jer-lee]
1. (Adjective) Very cautious or
careful.
2. (Adverb) Cautiously; timidly;
fastidiously; daintily.
Examples:
1) What is't that you took up so
gingerly?
2) Simon held the soda bottle at
arm's length after its shaky ride home on his
bicycle and gave the cap a gingerly twist.
Etymology:
Etymologists take a gingerly approach
to assigning any particular origins to this word.
"Gingerly" is thought
to come from a Latin root meaning "well-born".
It has nothing to do with the other sort of root,
the tropical spice called ginger
(whose name comes, much distorted, from a Dravidian
language of the Indian subcontinent). The Latin
word was "genitus", which is
closely connected to other words associated with
birth and reproduction, such as "genital",
"congenital" and "progenitor".
Strictly, "genitus" meant merely
"born" or "begotten" (it's
the past participle of the verb "gignere"
- "to beget") but seems to have implied
a person who was born into a noble or wealthy
family. After about 1000 years or so, this turns
into the Old French "gensor",
meaning "delicate" or "dainty"
(from "gent", noble) and 500
years later still is first recorded in English
in much its modern form. In its early days in
English it was associated specifically with dancing
or walking. If you did these things gingerly
you took small elegant steps. In 1583 a writer
referred to such dancers "tripping like goats,
that an egg would not break under their feet".
As you might gather from this, the word was then
rather negative in tone, suggesting a mincing
or effeminate way of moving. Not till the 17th
century did it change to apply to movements that
were cautious in order to avoid being noisy or
causing injury, and to a wary manner in handling
or presenting ideas. It express the idea of requiring
cautious movement on a morning after the night
before.
Not too surprisingly, given its "-ly"
ending, "gingerly" is
also quite often correctly used as an adverb.
give me five
- give
smb. five
- give
five
- give
- five
- Give
me some skin
- Give
smb. some skin
- Give
some skin
- skin
To slap a person's hand as a hearty greeting or
a sign of solid agreement.
Example:
My little cousin always yells, "Give me five!"
Synonym: Give me some skin.
Etymology:
"Five" in this 20th-century African-American
expression refers to fingers on your hand. Giving
someone your five fingers (and your palm,
too) is a common gesture when meeting. This way
of saying hello, showing harmony, or celebrating
victory comes from
a style of communication used in West Africa.
give one's ear to
- give
ear to
- give
one's ear
- give
smb. one's ear
- lend
ear to
- give
an ear
- give
an ear to
- lend
one's ear
- lend
smb. one's ear
- lend
one's ear to
- lend
an ear
- lend
an ear to
- give
- lend
- ear
pay close attention; listen attentively
Examples:
1) Dionysius . . . would give no
ear to his suit. (Bacon) 2) Friends,
Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. (Shak)
give one's eye-teeth for
- give one's eye-teeth for smth.
- give one's eye-teeth
- give one's eyeteeth for
- give one's eyeteeth for smth.
- give one's eyeteeth
- give
- eye-teeth
- give for
- eyeteeth
- give one's eyes
- give one's eyes for
- give one's eyes for smth.
- give one's eye
- give one's eye for
- give one's eye for smth.
- eye
- eyes
- give one's right arm
- give one's right arm for
- give one's right arm for smth.
- right arm
- right
- arm
To go to any lengths to obtain something greatly
desired.
Examples:
1) She'd give her eyeteeth for a
mink coat.
2) He'd give his right arm for a
new car.
Synonym:
To give one's right arm (for smth.)
Etymology:
These hyperbolic expressions both allude to something
precious, the eyeteeth (or canines)
being useful for both biting and chewing and the
right arm a virtual necessity for the 90 percent
of the population who are right-handed. Both date
from the first half of the 1900s, when the first
replaced give one's eyes, from the
mid-1800s.
give smb. a hand
- lend
smb. a hand
- lend
a hand
- give
a hand
- give
- hand
- lend
1. To help smb.; to assist; to aid; to support
Example: And now, we see our heroes! Let's
give them a hand!
2. to help smb. physically to carry, lift, move
smth. etc.
Examples:
You gonna change the tyre. I can give you a hand
if you like.
Let me give you a hand with this stuff.
Synonym: lend smb. a hand
give smb. gyp
1. To hurt.
Example:
I turned my ankle in the game and it's still giving
me gyp. ("London Evening Standard",
August 2003)
2. To trash , punish.
Etymology:
The sense of pain seems to be connected with a
Northern English dialect word, variously spelled
"gip" or "jip",
that only ever appeared in the form "to
give somebody or something jip". It could
mean to give a person or an object a sound thrashing
(one example is of a man giving a carpet a beating),
or generally to treat roughly or to cause pain.
We're not certain where it comes from, but the
English Dialect Dictionary gives one sense
of the word as "to arouse to greater exertions
by means of some sudden, unexpected action".
That fits with the suggestion in the Oxford
English Dictionary that it's a contracted
form of "gee-up", a conventionalised
version of the cry one utters to get a horse to
move. Presumably the pain sense evolved through
the excessive use of that unexpected action in
persuading a person or animal to do one's bidding.
give smb. the shirt off
your back
- give the shirt off your back
- give the shirt off your back to smb.
- give smb. the shirt off one's back
- give the shirt off one's back
- give the shirt off one's back to smb.
- give off
- back
- shirt
- give smb.
- give to
- give
To be extremely generous.
Example:
Mr. Perez would give you the shirt off of his
back if you needed it.
Etymology:
First used in the 1770s, this idiom is almost
self-explanatory. If you saw a needy person in
the street who was cold because he had no shirt,
and you actually took your own shirt off
and gave it to him, it would be an act
of great kindness. Today, if you perform any act
of self-sacrifice, we say it's like "giving
the shirt off your back to someone."
give the devil his due
- give
devil his due
- give
- devil
- due
This proverb means that even if you don't like
someone, you can still give that person
credit for his or her good points.
Example:
Everyone agrees that the new math teacher assigns
a lot of homework. But you have to give the devil
his due - all of us have learned a lot of math!
give up the ghost
1. To die.
Synonyms:
kick the bucket, cash in one's chips, buy the
farm, conk, drop dead, pop off, choke, croak,
snuff it
2. To stop running.
3. To stop hoping after a long time.
Examples:
1) On the way to the theater, Ernesto's
old car just gave up the ghost.
2) When will she give up the ghost?
Her son has been gone for years.
3) The old man finally kicked the
bucket. Etymology:
This saying started in the Bible (Job 14:10).
"Ghost" in this idiom doesn't
mean a dead person. It means the soul, which is
thought to leave the body when a person dies.
So if somebody "give up the ghost",
he or she stops living; if something "gives
up the ghost," it stops working.
glabrous
[GLAY-bruhs]
Smooth; having a surface without hairs, projections,
or any unevenness.
Examples:
1) How much more powerful then will
be the effect - next week? next month? soon enough
- when Gore, resplendent, clean-shaven, glabrous
in his glory, returns from the dead! Radiant!
Reborn! (Lance Morrow, "Al Gore, and Other
Famous Bearded Men", Time, August 16, 2001)
2) We offered to the rebarbative
Senator Patrick Leahy's demands on us amused resistance
and the promise to buy the glabrous old boy a
proper hairpiece. (R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.,
"Jumpin' Jim Jehoshaphat!", The American
Spectator, July 1, 2001)
3) The nectarine is a glabrous variety
of peach, and not, as is often thought, a hybrid
of peach and plum.
Etymology, more examples:
"Glabrous" is from Latin
"glaber" - "smooth, bald".
"Before them an old man / wearing a fringe
of long white hair, bareheaded, / his glabrous
skull reflecting the sun's / light...."
No question about it - the bald crown of an old
man's head (as described here in William Carlos
Williams's poem "Sunday in the Park")
is "a surface without hairs." William's
use isn't typical, though. More often "glabrous"
appears in scientific contexts, such as the following
description of wheat: "The white glumes
are glabrous, with narrow accuminate beaks."
And although Latin "glaber,"
our word's source, can mean simply "bald,"
when "glabrous" refers
to skin with no hair in scientific English, it
usually means skin that never had hair (such as
our palms).
glitch
1. a usually minor malfunction, defect,
fault, flaw, or imperfection
2. a minor problem that causes a temporary
setback
3. a false or spurious electronic signal
Example:
A glitch in the program yielded some very odd
results.
History:
There's a glitch in the etymology of "glitch"
- the origins of the word are not known for sure,
though it may derive from the Yiddish "glitsh,"
meaning "slippery place." The first
documented use of "glitch"
in print in English is found in astronaut John
Glenn's 1962 book "Into Orbit".
In it he wrote, "Literally, a glitch is
a spike or change in voltage in an electrical
circuit which takes place when the circuit suddenly
has a new load put on it." The word "glitch"
began as a technical term, and then quickly acquired
a more general sense of "minor malfunction."
Later, it came to be used technically once again
to describe the misbehavior of computer programs.
gloaming
[GLOH-ming]
Twilight, dusk.
Example:
1) In the gloaming we could just
barely make out the outlines of my father and
brother returning home from their evening walk.
2) The children squealed and waved
and smiled, their teeth flashing white in the
gloaming. (Evan Thomas, "Robert Kennedy:
His Life")
3) It was the gloaming, when a man
cannot make out if the nebulous figure he glimpses
in the shadows is angel or demon, when the face
of evening is stained by red clouds and wounded
by lights. (Homero Aridjis, "1492: The
Life and Times of Juan Cabezon of Castile",
translated by Betty Ferber)
4) Arrived at the village station
on a wintry evening, when the gloaming is punctuated
by the cheery household lamps, shining here and
there like golden stars, through the leafless
trees. (Margaret Sangster)
History, related words:
The word was used in the Scots dialects of English
back in the Middle Ages, but its roots trace to
the Old English word for twilight, "glom,"
which is related to "glowan,"
an Old English verb meaning "to glow"
(perhaps in reference to the soft glow of the
sky at twilight). In the early 1820s, the Scots
English verb "gloam" ("to
become twilight") became the source of a
noun "gloam," meaning
"twilight," but this word no longer
sees the light of day.
global dimming
Over the past fifty years the average amount of
sunlight reaching the ground (the name for which
is "insolation") has gone
down by about 3% a decade. It doesn't mean the
sun is sending out less radiation, but that less
of it is reaching the Earth's surface because
of pollution in the atmosphere. This effect seems
to have been named "global dimming"
in an article in "Agricultural and Forest
Meteorology" in 2001. There's really
no conflict with observed global warming.
The sun's heat is still being absorbed, but at
a higher level in the atmosphere, probably on
particles of soot and the like.
glogg
[GLUG]
A hot spiced wine and liquor punch served
in Scandinavian countries as a Christmas drink.
Example:
[The] Gallery will host a Christmas Cheer Weekend....
Johnson's latest barn print will be available,
framed or unframed, as well as Swedish cookies
and glogg. (Dubuque, "Telegraph Herald",
December 9, 2004)
History:
"Glogg" is a holiday favorite
in many Scandinavian cultures, where it is commonly
served on St. Lucia's Day (December 13) and all
around Christmas time. Not surprisingly, the word
"glogg" itself is of Scandinavian
origin; it comes from Swedish and derives from
the verb "glodga," meaning "to
burn" or "to mull." But although
"glogg" may look like
it should rhyme with that other notable holiday
beverage - "eggnog" - the two
aren't quite a perfect match. The "o"
in "glogg" is pronounced
like either the "u" in
"nut," the "oo"
in "foot," or the more foreign-sounding
"oe" in "boeuf,"
the French word for "beef." "Nog,"
on the other hand, is generally pronounced with
the "o" as in "mop"
- and thus it rhymes with "grog".
glower
[GLOW-er] ("OW" as in "cow")
To look or stare with sullen annoyance
or anger.
Example:
Mariah crossed her arms and glowered at Jeff,
making it perfectly clear that she'd had enough
of his teasing.
History:
In Scotland, "glower"
(or "glowren," to use the older
Scottish form of the word) has been used since
the late Middle Ages. Originally, the word meant
simply "to look intently" or "to
stare in amazement," but by the late 1700s,
glowering stares were being associated with anger
instead of astonishment. Beyond that, however,
the history of the word is murky. The most we
can say is that "glower"
is a distant relative of Middle Low German "gluren,"
which means "to be overcast," and of
Middle Dutch "gloeren," meaning
"to leer."
glutinous
[GLOOT-nuhs]
Of the nature of glue; resembling glue.
Synonym: sticky
Examples:
1) "What do you mean?"
I said, my mouth glutinous with melted marshmallow
and caramel. (T. Coraghessan Boyle, "T.
C. Boyle Stories")
2) At this point Leonardo wakes,
decides the sensation is extraordinary but not
death, and gazing up through the glutinous film
of boiled carrot drippings, says: No, Salai will
be riding a horse. (R. M. Berry, "Leonardo's
Horse")
3) Besides, the sensation of glutinous
raw egg-yolk sliding down my throat like a plump
mollusc would not necessarily be helpful in my
current state. (Victoria Moore, "Dog daze
- young alcoholics' way of life," New Statesman,
January 1, 1999)
Etymology:
"Glutinous" derives from
Latin "glutinosus", from "gluten,
glutin-" ("glue").
go Dutch
Two or more people each pay for themselves.
Example: We always go Dutch when we go
on a date.
go against the grain
- go
against
- against
the grain
- grain
- go
- against
- rub
you the wrong way
- rub
smb. the wrong way
- rub
smth. the wrong way
- rub
the wrong way
- rub
- wrong
way
- wrong
- way
To oppose a person's wishes or feelings;
to cause anger; to oppose the natural way, to
do it the hard way.
Examples:
1) Moe has always been perverse
- always going against the grain.
2) It really goes against the grain
when Nikolai says that a woman wouldn't make a
good class president.
Etymology, synonym:
The grain of a piece of wood is the direction
of growth of the tree from which the wood came.
If you were to saw that wood "against
the grain" (across, rather than in
the direction of, the wood fibers), it would be
hard work. In the same way, anything that someone
does or says that goes against the grain would
definitely annoy or trouble you. To use another
popular expression (a synonym), it would
"rub you the wrong way".
go along for the ride
- go
along for
- ride
- go
along
- go
- along
To watch but not take part in an activity; to
keep someone company.
Example:
Harriet swore that she didn't trash any lawns.
She just went along for the ride.
Etymology:
This idiom was born in the late 1890s, at the
beginning of the automobile age. Originally, it
meant exactly what it said. If you had nothing
better to do, you might go along
with people for a ride in their
car. The driver was doing something (driving the
car) for a purpose (to get somewhere). You weren't
doing anything, just sitting there in the car,
looking out the window. Today we say that you're
"going along for the ride"
if you're joining an activity just to have something
to do or just to be with other people.
go ballistic
- go
- ballistic
- go
ape
- ape
- freak
out
- freak
- go
bananas
- bananas
- banana
To get very angry; to become enraged.
Example:
Don't tell Tom that you scratched his car - he'll
go ballistic!
Etymology: 'Ballistics' is the science
of missiles and bullets, so if you 'go ballistic'
you become like a bullet - powerful and deadly.
Synonyms: go ape, freak out
go bananas
- go
- banana
- bananas
- freak
out
- freak
- go
ape
- ape
- go
ballistic
- ballistic
To be or go crazy; to lose one's mind;
to get excited.
Example:
Come quick! Your brother has gone bananas.
Etymology:
This saying comes from 20th century America. Bananas
are the food most associated with monkeys.
When people think of monkeys ("monke business",
"more fun than a barrelful of monkeys,"
etc.) they think of silly, uncontrolled behavior.
If a person is in a weird mood because he or she
feels frustrated or bored with a situation, he
or she might "go bananas"
and start acting like a monkey.
Synonyms: freak out, go ape, go ballistic
go broke
To run out of money; to go out of business.
Examples:
1) If we don't get some new customers soon, we'll
go broke. 2) I went broke after losing my job.
Etymology: A bank holds money, and if it
'breaks' it no long works properly -- the money
is no longer stored or protected. When you 'go
broke', you arrive at the state of having nothing
in your bank.
go figure
1. Here is the answer; you find the answer.
2. So, the answer is no.
Example:
He said he quit smoking, then he asks for a cigarette.
Go figure.
go fly a kite
- go
- fly
a kite
- fly
- kite
- Go
fry an egg
- fry
an egg
- fry
- egg
- Go
jump in the lake
- jump
in the lake
- jump
- lake
- Go
climb a tree
- climb
a tree
- climb
- tree
An expression used as an agressive dismissal;
stop being a bother or disturbance: go
away; leave; stop bothering me.
Example:
When he asked for her help, she told him to go
fly a kite.
Etymology, synonyms:
Imagine you're trying to do homework, and someone
is really annoying you. There are a lot of expressions
that you could shout at him that are similar
to "Go fly a kite!": "Go
jump in the lake!" "Go
climb a tree!" "Go fry
an egg!" You're telling the kid that
he is a pest, and you're commanding him to go
away and do something else. Flying a kite
is an activity that should keep him busy so that
you can get your work done.
go for broke
To risk everything on one big effort; to try as
hard as possible.
Examples:
1) After going for broke at the
meeting last night we finally reached an agreement.
2) Instead of applying to several
colleges, he went for broke and applied only to
his first choice.
Etymology:
Since the 17th century "broke"
has meant "without money". Two hundred
years later, this idiom was created at the gambling
tables. When a gambler "went for broke,"
he risked all his money at once in a wager. If
he won, he was rich. If he lost, he was broke.
Today, people "going for broke"
try as hard as possible to achieve a single goal.
go for the brass ring
- the
brass ring
- Grabbing
the brass ring
- Grab
the brass ring
- going
for the brass ring
- reaching
for the brass ring
- reach
for the brass ring
- reach
for
- reach
- grab
- go
for
- brass
ring
- go
- brass
- ring
try to obtain a rich opportunity or a prize
Example:
If you're like the millions of women who are on
the go - grabbing for the brass ring, focusing
on the family or trying to shatter that glass
ceiling - it's past time for you to take a step
back and concentrate on finding the real you.
("Ebony", 1 April 2004)
History:
We are in the fairground, specifically on a carousel
or merry-go-round. At one time, the riders on
the outside row of horses were often given a little
challenge. Once the ride started moving, a metal
arm was swung out - on some rides this held a
single brass ring, which riders
could try to grab as they passed. Anyone who managed
to retrieve it could redeem it for a free ride.
Another system had a dispenser of rings,
most of which were steel and had no value, but
one per ride was the brass one that won
the prize. "Brass ring"
came to have the figurative sense of a prize,
in particular one that was hard to gain. "Grabbing
the brass ring", "going
for the brass ring" or "reaching
for the brass ring" were all used
to refer to the opportunity to compete for a grand
prize. Quite when it started to be used in this
way isn't clear. One of the earliest example,
that already an elliptical one that shows the
writer expected everybody to know what was meant,
appeared in the "Daily Northwestern of
Oshkosh", Wisconsin, on 3 August 1931:
"The current anonymous volume 'The Merry-Go-Round'
... pokes fun - not nice gentle fun - at our supposed
mad round of reaching-for-the-brass-ring-existence".
But references to a literal brass ring go back
into the 1890s, as in this from the "Brooklyn
Daily Eagle" of 24 September 1899 about
the famous Coney Island amusement park: "This
big place has been the rendezvous for thousands
of children who have spent their nickels and have
enjoyed a ride on the ponies, besides trying their
best to capture the brass ring, which the boy
drops in the big iron arm that is swung out at
the side of the merry-go-round." Several
fairground history sites online suggest that the
game fell out of favour in this more careful and
litigious age because of the number of young people
who hurt themselves reaching for the rings.
go off one's head
To lose one's mind; to go crazy
go off one's legs
(South Yorkshire dialect) An expression
for somebody not feeling well.
go off the deep end
- lose
one's mind
- go
off
- deep
end
- go
- deep
- end
- lose
- mind
1. To be extremely angry.
Example:
When the bank told me that they lost my paycheck,
I went off the deep end.
2. To go too far with something; to do
something crazy.
Example:
My mom has always collected dolls, but I'm afraid
she's gone off the deep end - she buys 10 dolls
a day on eBay!
Etymology:
The deep water, which is at the 'deep end' of
a pool, is dangerous. You can get lost in the
deep end. This phrase refers to that danger, but
in an emotional rather than physical sense. Synonym:
lose one's mind
go over like a lead balloon
- go over
- like a lead balloon
- go
- like
- lead balloon
- lead
- balloon
To fail miserably; to fail to generate a positive
response.
Examples:
1) The sales manager's latest proposal
went over like a lead balloon at the meeting.
2) I asked to go to Antarctica for
vacation, but my idea went over like a lead balloon.
Etymology:
This is a fairly recent expression. The writer
who first used it imagined what would happen if
you tried to float a balloon filled with
lead. It would never get off the ground.
In the same way, any project or attempt that fails
miserably is like a lead balloon that doesn't
go over a blade of grass, let alone a treetop.
This expression is often applied to a joke that
gets no laughs.
go over with a fine-tooth
comb
- go over smth. with a fine-tooth comb
- go over smth.
- fine-tooth comb
- go over
- fine-tooth
- comb
- go
- leave no stone unturned
- leave
- no stone unturned
- stone
- unturned
- unturn
To search with great care or attention.
Example:
She went over the lawn with a fine-tooth comb,
but she couldn't find her contact lens.
Etymology:
A fine-tooth comb has teeth spaced very
closely together. It is often used to help find
and comb lice, which are very tiny, out or people's
hair. Figuratively speaking, if you search an
area with a fine-tooth comb, you're examining
and inspecting it with great care so you won't
miss a thing, no matter how small.
Synonym: leave no stone unturned
go to pot
- gone
to pot
- go
to the dogs
- go
to wrack and ruin
- wrack
and ruin
- wrack
- ruin
- dog
- dogs
- gone
to
- go
to
- gone
- go
- pot
(Slang) To become worse or ruined,
deteriorate, run down; to be in poor condition,
neglected.
Examples:
1) If you don't tend a garden regularly,
weeds grow and the garden goes to pot.
2) The farmyard had gone to pot.
There was junk everywhere.
3) His business went to pot when
economy soured.
Synonyms: go to the dogs; go to wrack and
ruin
Etymology:
This idiom from the 1500s originally referred
to old or weak animals that couldn't breed, lay
eggs, give milk, or pull wagons. They were more
useful on the dinner plate than in the barnyard,
so they slaughtered and cooked in a pot. Now we
describe anyone or anything as having "gone
to pot" if the person or thing has
worn out, is in bad shape, or can't do its job
properly.
go to the dogs
- go
to
- dogs
- go
- dog
- go
to pot
- go
to wrack and ruin
- pot
- wrack
and ruin
- wrack
- ruin
To get worse, deteriorate, decrease in quality,
become ruined; to decline (in looks or health).
Examples:
1) He used to be a handsome movie
star, but now he's gone to the dogs.
2) His business went to pot when
economy soured" Synonyms: go to pot,
go to wrack and ruin
Etymology:
As far back as the 1500s, food that was not thought
suitable for human consumption was thrown to
the dogs. The expression caught on and expanded
to include any person or thing that came to a
bad end, was ruined, or looked terrible.
go to wrack and ruin
- go
to wrack and ruin
- go
to pot
- go
to the dogs
- go
to
- wrack
and ruin
- go
- wrack
and ruin
- wrack
- ruin
To fall apart and be ruined; to become useless.
Examples:
1) The barn went to wrack and ruin
after the farmer moved.
2) The car will soon go to wrack
and ruin standing out in all kinds of weather.
Synonyms: go to pot, go to the dogs
go with the flow
to take things as they come
Example:
There's no need to worry. Everything will be OK
if you just go with the flow.
going gooding
- goin'
a-gooding
- a-Thomasing
- a-corning
- going
a-Thomasing
- going
- gooding
- a-gooding
- Thomasing
- corning
Soliciting alms.
Example:
"St. Thomas's day was marked by the custom,
called at Beechcroft 'gooding.' Each mother of
a family came to all the principal houses in the
parish to receive sixpence, towards providing
a Christmas dinner, and it was Lily's business
to dispense this dole at the New Court."
(Charlotte M. Yonge, "Scenes and Characters",
1847.)
Etymology:
On the morning of the feast of St. Thomas the
Apostle, 21 December, it was once the custom in
parts of England for women to go from house to
house for ask for money to cheer their Christmas.
This was called "going gooding"
or "goin' a-gooding",
because it was the custom for grateful recipients
to wish all that is good to their benefactors
for the festive season. As a result the day was
in some places called "Gooding Day".
Synonyms:
going a-Thomasing, going a-corning.
This last phrase came from another tradition of
the day, that the women would carry two-handled
vessels called "gossiping pots" or "pads"
in which to get donations of wheat (which is what
"corn" often means in England, it being
the usual term for the principal cereal crop of
the area). From this they would make furmenty
or frumenty (a drink of hulled wheat boiled in
milk and seasoned with cinnamon and sugar; its
name comes from "frumentum", the Latin
for corn). In 1854 Anne Elizabeth Baker remarked
in her Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and
Phrases that "My good old grandfather always,
on this day, gave a bowl of wheat to any of the
poor in the village who chose to come for it."
She said sadly that the custom was "going
fast into disuetude".
goldbrick
[GOLD-brik]
1. A worthless brick that appears to be
of gold; something that appears to be valuable
but is actually worthless.
2. A person who shirks assigned work.
Example:
While the goldbricks in the office were goofing
off, Leslie was rushing to finish the project
on time.
History:
"The gold brick swindle is an old one
but it crops up constantly," states an
1881 "National Police Gazette"
article referring to the con artist's practice
of passing off bricks made of base metal
as gold. By the time World War I was under
way, the word "goldbrick"
was associated with another sort of trickery.
The sense of the word meaning "shirker"
originated in the slang of the United States Army,
where it referred to a soldier who feigned illness
or injury in order to get out of work or service.
That sense has since expanded in usage to refer
to any person who avoids or tries to get out of
his or her assignment.
golf
1. Type of ball game in which clubs are used to
hit a small ball into a series of holes; a game
played on a large open course with 9 or 18 holes;
the object is use as few strokes as possible in
playing all the holes; he who drives the ball
into each of a series of small holes in the ground
and brings it into the last hole with the fewest
strokes is the winner.
2. Play golf.
Example:
The last mystery of all, he learned to golf.
Etymology:
1457, Scot. "gouf", usually taken
as an alteration of Dutch "kolf"
- "club", from M.Du. "colf,
colve" - "stick, club, bat,"
from P.Gmc. *kulth- (cf. O.N. "kolfr"
- "clapper of a bell," Ger. "Kolben"
- "mace, club"). The game is from 14c.,
the word is first mentioned (along with "fut-bol")
in a 1457 Scot. statute on forbidden games. On
the other hand, there is a version that the origin
of the word "golf" is
an acronym for "Gentlemen Only, Ladies
Forbidden". Though widely circulated,
this absurd story is redolent of heavy Victorian
or Edwardian humour and was probably never intended
to be taken seriously except by the gullible.
goober
- groundnut
- earthnut
- pinder
[GOO-ber (the "OO" may
be pronounced either as in "food"
or as in "good")]
peanut
Example:
Gerald has been trying to cut down on salty snacks
this year, but he still can't help stealing a
few goobers from the candy dish.
History, synonyms:
The word "goober" is a
regional term, used mainly in the southern and
east-central part of the United States. But the
plant didn't originate in the U.S.; it's actually
native to South America. It was taken from there
to Africa, where the local people gave new names
to the high-protein legumes. Peanuts traveled
back to North America with slave traders, and
there English speakers adopted a term from the
Bantu languages of central and southern Africa
to form "goober." But
"goober" isn't the only
name for "peanut" that has stuck with
us. That snack staple is also known as the "groundnut,"
"earthnut," and, more
rarely, the "pinder,"
another term that originated in the Bantu languages.
good fences make good
neighbors
- good fences make good neighbours
- good
- fences
- fence
- make
- neighbors
- neighbor
- neighbours
- neighbour
This saying suggests that by clearly marking the
boundaries between yourself and other
people, you can stay on better terms with them.
It comes from a poem by Robert Frost.
Example:
"Marcus borrows so many books from me that
I can't find my own books when I need them,"
moaned Phillip.
"You know," said his father, "good
fences make good neighbors. Why don't you tell
Marcus
he can only borrow one book at a time? Then you'll
know what he has, and you won't feel so angry
with him."
goody two-shoes
- goody-two-shoes
- goodie
two-shoes
- goody-goody
- goodie-goodie
- goody
- goodie
- two-shoes
- two
- shoes
- shoe
Also: goody-two-shoes
Someone who is so good and so obedient that it
is annoying; a person who thinks he or she is
perfect and tries to be; affectedly self-righteous
person.
Synonym: goody-goody
Examples:
1) Anne is such a goody two-shoes
- she told our teacher that we forgot to hand
in our homework!
2) Tamika is such a goody-two-shoes
that everyone hates her.
Etymology:
In the middle 1700s there was a nursery
tale called "The History of Little Good
Two-Shoes". In it, a little girl who
owned only one shoe was given another one.
She went all over, showing off her pair of
shoes, saying "Two shoes."
Today, a person who thinks he or she is perfect
is sarcastically described as a "goody-two-shoes,"
after the title character of that book.
gorgonize
[GOR-guh-nyze]
To have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on.
Synonyms: stupefy, petrify
Example:
The bus driver could gorgonize any unruly child
with a single glance.
Etymology:
The Gorgons (from the Greek adjective "gorgos,"
meaning "terrifying") were three winged
female monsters in Greek mythology who had snakes
for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looked
at them into stone. The most notorious of the
three, and their chief, was Medusa; when
she was slain by the hero Perseus, her severed
head retained the power of turning anyone who
looked on it to stone. In modern parlance, to
gorgonize someone is to make him or her
feel (metaphorically) petrified, usually through
an intimidating glance or gaze.
gourmand
[goor-MAHND; GOOR-mahnd; GOOR-mund]
1. One who eats to excess.
2. A lover of good food.
Examples:
1) A gourmand who zealously avoids
all exercise as "seriously damaging to one's
health," he had caviar for breakfast and
was now having oysters for lunch, whetted with
wine, as he fueled himself for a [1]postprandial
reading at the Montauk Club in Brooklyn. ("The
Man Who Put Horace Rumpole on the Case,"
[2]New York Times, April 12, 1995)
2) Her husband was stigmatised as
a 'gourmand' who excessively enjoyed 'the pleasures
of the table'. (Andrew Motion, "Keats")
3) Fifine was a frank gourmand;
anybody could win her heart through her palate.
(Charlotte Bronte, "Villette")
4) Jos, that fat gourmand, drank
up the whole contents of the bowl. (William
Thackeray, "Vanity Fair")
Etymology, related words:
"Gourmand" is from French
"gourmand" ("greedy").
A gourmet is one who has discriminating
taste in food and wine. A gourmand
is one who enjoys food of fine quality, and also
one who enjoys food in great quantities. Glutton
signifies one who simply eats to excess, without
reference to the quality of the fare consumed.
governator
the new governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Synonyms:
gropenator, gropenfuhrer
Etymology:
Refers to Schwarzenegger's part in the "Terminator"
films, his origins, and the allegations of sexual
harassment made against him. (Arnold Schwarzenegger
is a bodybuilder and a movie star. His birthplace
is Thal, Austria. He is best known as the star
of the "Terminator" movies and
the governor of California.)
grafedia
Hyperlinked text written by hand onto physical
surfaces in public places and linked to online
text, images, video, or sound files.
Example: Graffiti, though illegal and considered
a nuisance by cities, nonetheless remains a feature
of urban life ... Grafedia - hyperlinked text
on real surfaces - follows the same urban grass-roots
traditions, though it may yet be co-opted by commercial
interests as an advertising vehicle. (Christian
Science Monitor, 7th July 2005) History:
Grafedia is the brainchild of John
Geraci, a graduate in Interactive Telecommunications
at New York University. The grafedia
server first went online in December 2004,
and subsequent interest has far exceeded expectations,
with more than 2000 images uploaded in the first
six months. The term "grafedia"
is formed from a blend of the words "graffiti"and
"multimedia", taking the
first and last four letters in the two words.
"Graffiti", meaning 'words
or pictures drawn in public places', originates
from late 19th century Italian word "graffio",
meaning 'a scratch'. "Graffiti"
is in fact the Italian plural form of "graffito",
though this singular form has largely fallen
into disuse. "Graffiti" is
used as a mass noun in English, taking a singular
verb, and "grafedia" follows
this grammatical model.
Imagine if the Internet were all around you, extending
beyond computers and wireless connections and
expanding down city streets onto lampposts and
the sides of buildings? This is the vision behind
the new interactive concept of grafedia
<http://www.grafedia.com>. Similar
to graffiti, grafedia consists
of pieces of text which are chalked or spray-painted
in public places. Unlike graffiti however,
grafedia can be 'clicked on', using
a mobile phone or other wireless device rather
than a computer mouse. Grafedia usually
consists of blue, underlined writing. Those wanting
to interact send a text or e-mail to an electronic
address which consists of the word they see written
plus the extension @grafedia.net. They can then
retrieve the rich media content, text, image or
sound files, linked to that word. Grafedia
is an interesting concept not least because
its promoters see it as a way to unite the Internet
with the 'real' world, encouraging the idea that
the boundaries of the web are in fact arbitrary,
with any physical surface potentially becoming
a web page. Grafedia can pop up
wherever people feel like putting it, from walls,
letters and postcards, through to bottles, beer
mats and even tattoos! Though grafedia
has massive potential as a promotional or
advertising tool, its creators like to view it
as a new take on the idea of 'a message in a bottle',
an act of anonymous, artistic sharing of information.
grandee
- grandeur
- grandiose
- aggrandize
[gran-DEE]
1. A man of elevated rank or station.
2. In Spain or Portugal, a nobleman of
the first rank.
Examples:
1) When he returned home from the
fund-raiser, Stephen couldn't help bragging a
little about all the political grandees he'd met.
2) Jack Byron still harbored delusions
of being a local grandee, attempting to influence
district politics; as the final humiliation, in
the parliamentary election of 1786 his vote was
disallowed. (Benita Eisler, "Byron: Child
of Passion, Fool of Fame Like")
3) Bellow, he is at once a snob and
a democrat, a voracious brain and a churning gut,
a seminar-room grandee and a barroom brawler.
(A. O. Scott, "Trans-Atlantic Flights,"
New York Times, January 31, 1999)
4) Seduced by his need to live like
a grandee, Coppola can't afford not to work within
the system. (Joseph McBride, "Offers He
Should've Refused," New York Times, December
12, 1999)
History, related words:
"Grandee" comes from Spanish
"grande", from Latin "grandis"
("great, large, hence "important,
grand"). Related words include "grandeur"
("the state or quality of being grand");
"grandiose" ("characterized
by affectation of grandeur"); "aggrandize"
("to make great or greater"); and, of
course, grand.
In Medieval Spain and Portugal the "grandes"
("great ones") were at the pinnacle
of the ranks of nobles, rich and powerful. A grandee
(as it came to be spelled in English) could wear
a hat in the presence of the king and queen -
the height of privilege - and he alone could address
a letter directly to royalty. (Even Christopher
Columbus had to direct his reports of the New
World to an important noble at court, who read
them to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.) Today,
although the term is still applied to grandees
of the blue-blooded sort, they are few and far
between, and the title can be used for anyone
of importance and influence anywhere (such as
the "pin-striped grandees of London's
financial district").
grandiloquent
Lofty in style; pompous; bombastic.
Examples:
1) He became more than usually grandiloquent
as if to make up for the years of silence with
words of gold. (Peter Ackroyd, "Supreme
man of letters", Times (London), November
22, 2000)
2) The more grandiloquent and picturesque
the language the greater the distance at which
he keeps you. (Richard Eder, "Irish Memories,
Irish Poetry", New York Times, September
19, 1976)
3) A voracious reader with a passion
for history and great men, he was a droll raconteur
with a grandiloquent style. (Richard Siklos,
"Shades of Black")
Etymology:
"Grandiloquent" comes
from Latin "grandiloquus", from
"grandis" ("grand")
+ "loqui" ("to speak").
The noun form is grandiloquence.
granny leave
The plan that allows carers to opt for working
fewer hours so that they can look after aged relatives.
Example:
The Minister moots 'granny leave' plan.
History:
The plan was put forward by Patricia Hewitt, the
British Government's Trade and Industry Secretary.
grasp at straws
- grasp
at
- straws
- grasp
- straw
- clutch
at straws
- clutch
at
- clutch
To try something with little hope of succeeding;
to depend on something useless in a time of trouble;
to make a hopeless effort to save oneself.
Examples:
1) He is grasping at straws. He
will never find enough money to pay next month`s
rent.
2) I guessed at half the answers
on the biology test. I was just grasping at straws.
Synonym: clutch at straws
Etymology:
Ancient people made up this expression. They thought
of a drowning person. He clutched frantically
at reeds (hollow, strawlike grass) that grew on
the banks of the river in a desperate, futile
attempt to save himself. By the 1600s "clutching
(or grasping) at straws"
had become a popular proverb to express the idea
of depending on something useless to help when
there is trouble or danger.
grass roots
- grass
root
- grass
- root
- roots
1. Rural area of a country.
2. (A nickname for) average citizens, regular
people (as opposed to elite or
powerful ones).
3. Sources, origins (of an idea, plan or
political movement); the essential foundation.
Examples:
1) This project needs some grass
roots involvement if it is to succeed.
2) The problem was attacked at the
grass roots.
3) From the Roosevelt standpoint,
especially, it was a campaign from the 'grass
roots up'. The voter was the thing. ("McClure's
Magazine", July 1912)
Etymology, more examples:
The initial sightings of the phrase all refer
to the unsuccessful 1912 presidential campaign
by former president Teddy Roosevelt against Woodrow
Wilson: "The Roosevelt Sentiment, as cropping
out at Coalgate, was but the forerunner, as it
was plain to him, he said, that the grass roots
were for the ex-president." ("Evening
News of Ada", Oklahoma, 26 January, 2005).
It looks as though it was coined by Roosevelt
or somebody on his campaign team. In its literal
meaning the expression had by then been around
for two centuries at least. It had also begun
to appear at the start of the 20th c. in a related
sense of the source or origin of something or
of its fundamentals. Rudyard Kipling is
the first writer recorded as using it, in his
novel "Kim" of 1901: "Not
till I came to Shamlegh could I meditate upon
the Course of Things, or trace the running grass-roots
of Evil." It's interesting that the US political
examples in the papers of the time were paralleled
by others referring to gold mining. A proverbial
saying to describe an especially rich strike had
it that the site was "gold from the grass
roots down". As well as examples in newspapers,
it turns up also in Jack London's book
"Burning Daylight" of 1910: "She's
a-coming, fellows, gold from the grass roots down,
a hundred dollars to the pan, and a stampede in
from the Outside fifty thousand strong".
It's impossible to say to what extent this influenced
the creation of the political sense. Some writers
of the period talked about the need to go "down
to the grass roots" to gain support for
policies, which suggests that the "fundamentals"
sense might also have been in the minds of its
coiners.
grasstops
- grasstop
- grass-tops
- grass-top
- grass
- tops
- top
- grassroots
- grassroot
- grass-roots
- grass-root
1. The leadership in a community or organization.
Also: grass-tops.
2. Grasstop, grass-top
- adjective.
Examples:
1) Depending on the circumstances,
the roundtable is looking to help its favored
candidates in as many as two dozen districts through
issue ads and "grasstops" efforts that
involve reaching out to political, business, and
civic leaders in the community. (Peter H. Stone,
"Business Readies Its Battle Plans",
The National Journal, February 7, 2004)
2) The companies specialize in a
cutting-edge form of influence peddling called
"grass tops," which attempts to get
prominent local citizens and organizations to
lobby on behalf of interest groups. Unlike conventional
lobbying, the technique does not require the firms'
principals to meet with or even talk to lawmakers.
The advocacy is indirect. (Jeffrey H. Birnbaum,
"Lobbyists Try to Parlay a Presidential Campaign",
The Washington Post, April 12, 2004)
3) A better way to influence legislation
is what we call the "grassTOPS" approach--mobilizing
influential leaders in each community who can
reach lawmakers at the federal, state and local
levels, with facts tailored to their district's
interests. (Edward M. Gabriel, "The changing
face of public affairs in Washington", Public
Relations Quarterly, December 22, 1992)
History:
This term is a play on "grassroots",
the ordinary people of a community or organization.
Since at least 1912 the word "grassroots"
has been used mostly in a political context, where
it refers to the rank-and-file of the electorate,
a political party, or some other political organization.
If the grassroots form the base of the political
pyramid, the "grasstops"
form the apex, the small group that consists of
the elite and powerful members of the body politic.
gratuitous
[gruh-TOO-uh-tuss]
1. Done or provided without recompense;
free.
2. Not called for by the circumstances;
unwarranted.
Example:
The critics decried the gratuitous violence of
the new film, declaring that the movie would have
been better with more plot and less savagery.
Etymology, related words:
Like "gratitude," "grace,"
and "congratulate," "gratuitous"
is a descendant of the Latin word "gratus,"
which means "pleasing" or "grateful."
When "gratuitous" was
first used in the middle of the 17th century,
it meant "free" or "given without
return benefit or compensation." The extended
meaning "done without good reason" or
"unwarranted" came about just a few
decades later, perhaps from the belief held by
some people that one should not give something
without getting something in return. Today, that
extended meaning is the more common sense, often
used in such phrases as "a gratuitous
insult," or to describe elements of a
story that are not relevant to the plot.
gravid
Being with child; heavy with young or eggs;
pregnant.
Examples:
1) For the moment the Cap'n Toby
lies at rest outside the harbor, and the twelve-inch
mackerels that Brian and I are cutting up for
lobster bait are ripe, their bellies gravid with
either blood-red roe or milt the color of sailors'
bones. (Richard Adams Carey, "Against
the Tide")
2) In North America, in contrast, the
British conquered an empire; New France disappeared
from history. But - Anderson's profound theme
- Britain's triumph was gravid with defeat.
(Jack Beatty, "Defeat in Victory", The
Atlantic, December 2000)
3) She is a bored society matron
who seduces him before a carload gravid with already
weary, now grossed-out morning commuters. (Rita
Kempley, review of "The Adjuster (MGM/UA
Studios movie)", Washington Post, June 29,
1992)
Etymology:
"Gravid" derives from
Latin "gravidus", from "gravis"
("heavy").
gravitas
[GRAV-uh-tahs]
High seriousness (as in a person's
bearing or in the treatment of a subject).
Examples:
1) At first sight the tall, stooped
figure with the hawk-like features and bloodless
cheeks, the look of extreme gravitas, seems forbidding
and austere, the abbot of an ascetic order, scion
of an imperial family who has foresworn the world.
(John Lehmann, "T.S. Eliot Talks About
Himself and the Drive to Create," New York
Times, November 9, 1953)
2) And we want to tell our readers
about sharp, clever books, utterly lacking in
gravitas, that we know will delight them on the
beach or the bus. (Benjamin Schwarz, "(Some
of) the best books of 2001," The Atlantic,
December 2001) Etymology:
"Gravitas" is from the
Latin "gravitas" ("heaviness,
seriousness"), from "gravis"
("heavy, serious").
gravy train
- gravy
- train
- gravid
rain
- gravid
- rain
- ride
on the gravy boat
- ride
on
- gravy
boat
- ride
- boat
A job or work that pays more than it is
worth; income obtained with a minimum of effort;
a form of transport by which a person can make
a lot of money for no more effort than riding
on it.
Examples:
1) For many years his job was a
real gravy train but now the company has become
very strict and will not pay overtime.
2) Long- running attempts to clean
up the European parliament's notorious 'gravy
train' image were scuppered yesterday when EU
governments blocked a new pay and perks package
for MEPs. ("Guardian", January 2004)
3) The kid was already asleep when
he went to baby-sit. What a gravy train.
Etymology, synonyms, more examples:
The phrase was heaven-sent as an expression to
be borrowed when writing in recent years about
the excessive pay and bonuses of those fat cats
who run the British railways. And it comes from
across the big pond. Perhaps that's why some British
writers have expressed confusion, muddle, and
doubt about its origins. Might, one pondered,
have "gravy train" have
been a mishearing for "gravid rain"?
"Since", he wrote, "gravid
means laden with eggs, a gravid rain
would seem to imply a fall of eggs (possibly laid
by golden geese?) from the sky." But
mind that another form of the phrase is
known, "to ride on the gravy boat";
you might think it started life as a joke on the
name of the container for gravy placed on the
table during meals, so called because it is often
roughly boat shaped. Yet, alas for a promising
theory, "gravy boat" in
this sense isn't recorded until the 1940s and
is clearly a joke on the older "gravy
train". American etymologists have
puzzled over it as much as anyone: Charles
Earle Funk thought it might have arisen in
"railroad lingo, in which a gravy run
or a gravy train meant an easy run with good pay
for the train crew." Unfortunately, there's
no evidence to support it - none of the known
appearances of "gravy train"
refers to a literal train. The experts do generally
agree that the phrase has its source in the slang
use of "gravy" for something
easy or cushy, simple to do, or an unexpected
benefit, especially for easy money often gotten
by illegal means. "Gravy"
is recorded in the major references books as appearing
slightly earlier than "gravy train"
(1914). For example, look at this advice
to potential advertisers appeared in "The
Daily Independent" of Monessen, Pennsylvania,
in October 1906: "If you buy right and
then tell an exacting public in a clear, concise
way, just as you would over your counter, you
are then getting in line for good gravy."
There is some slight evidence that "gravy"
goes back rather further than that. If it is the
source of "gravy train",
it would have to, because one can find the latter
in the "Courier of Connellsville"
(also in Pennsylvania) in November 1895: "Johnston
claims that Reuben Nelson and another tall negro
were in New Haven the night of the escape and
that they broke into the lockup. Johnson further
states that the next day Kelson laughingly told
him that the New Haven lockup was 'a gravy train.'"
But why and how do trains come
into the picture? Maybe, people who worked on
railroad trains made up the phrase
"gravy train" referring
to a good-paying job that was easy.
green roof
- green
rooftop
- living
roof
- eco-roof
- rooftop
- green
- roof
- living
- eco
- tecticolous
A roof that is covered with plants, particularly
one in which special membranes and other layers
serve to protect the rooftop and hold the plants
and soil in place.
Also: green rooftop.
Examples:
1) Green roofs serve three major
benefits to the city, said David Reynolds, first
deputy commissioner for Chicago's Department of
Environment. They help manage storm water by soaking
up rain that would otherwise go into the sewer
system. They absorb carbon from the air, and they
reduce the urban heat island effect. (Pamela
Dittmer McKuen, "Installing green roofs can
benefit the environment - and budgets", Chicago
Tribune, May 21, 2004)
2) Green-roof technology refers to
a complex system of root-repellant and waterproof
membranes, lightweight growing media, drainage
layers and plants which rest directly on the rooftops.
It does not include potted plants. The benefits
include savings on energy for heating and cooling,
decreased roof maintenance, sound insulation and
aesthetic appeal. These benefits are greatest
in the summer and most cost-effective in buildings
with high air-conditioning costs. Although considered
a new concept in Canada, green roofs have been
used extensively in Europe for more than a decade.
More than 10 percent of flat roofs in Germany
contain green-roof infrastructure. ("Green
Roofs Qualify for Government of Canada Energy
Efficiency Funding", Canada Newswire, May
12, 2004)
Explanation:
The roof is a wild garden of grasses and herbs
planted on a suitable surface, usually on an urban
house. It traps rainfall and releases it slowly,
so it helps to prevent the flooding that can happen
after a storm in a built-up area. It also acts
as extra insulation for the building. But its
main virtue is that it's a haven for wildlife,
especially beetles and spiders. In turn these
provide food for birds - the black redstart has
been encouraged to nest in one part of London
as a result of green-roof construction. A recent
survey for English Nature found over a hundred
species of bugs, some of them rare, in a mixture
not found in nature. This has led to the creation
of "tecticolous" as a
term to describe this characteristic group (from
Latin "tectum", a roof).
Synonyms:
"living roof" (1993);
"eco-roof" (1993).
green thumb
- green
- thumb
- green
fingers
- green
finger
- finger
- fingers
An ability to grow plants successfully; skill
in making plants grow; having a special talent
for making flowers and green plants grow well.
Synonym: green fingers
Example:
My uncle has a green thumb. You should see his
roses.
Etymology:
If you rubbed green plant leaves or parts
between your fingers, you'd probably get
chlorophyll, the green pigment of plants, on them.
If a person loves gardening and has great ability
to make plants grow, it's easy to see why people
would say that he or she has a "green
thumb."
green with envy
- be
green with envy
- green
- envy
Eextremely jealous; wishing to have someone else's
property.
Examples:
1) How I wish I owned your Acura.
I'm green with envy.
2) When Sun Lee sees my new roller
blades, he'll be green with envy.
Synonyms: envious, covetous, desirous,
dissatisfied, resentful
Etymology:
Colors often take on descriptive meanings. Red
sometimes means angry. Blue describes sad
and lonely feelings. And since about 1600, thanks
to William Shakespeare, green
has been associated with jealousy and desire.
He referred to jealousy as "the green
sickness" in his play "Antony
and Cleopatra."
greenshifters
- greenshifter
- greenshifting
- green-shifter
Also: green-shifter
A middle-aged, financially secure couple who leave
the cities to live in the countryside because
of its supposed better quality of life. Consequently,
the trend is called "greenshifting".
Examples:
1) Urban appeal on wane as "greenshifters"
and "downshifters" increase.
2) One in ten people in cities count
themselves are potential "greenshifters"
with above average incomes and are typically aged
40+.
3) The greenshifters have reached
the stage in life where they no longer want the
stress of city living.
4) The couple's home sold for just
over £500,000 and, like many greenshifters
leaving the South-east, they thought it would
buy them a palace elsewhere.
grief tourist
- grief
bandwagon
- grief
- tourist
- dark
tourism
- dark
- tourism
- dark
tourist
- grief
tourism
- grief-lite
- recreational
grief
- mourning
sickness
- mourning
- sickness
- recreational
- lite
- bandwagon
A person who travels to the scene of a recent
tragedy to mourn the victim or victims.
Examples:
1) The commentator, Francis Wheen,
has labelled the frenzied pilgrims that trekked
to Soham the "grief tourists". Grieving
over two girls they didn't know and a tragedy
they couldn't possibly understand. Trampling on
a tiny village's space and memories, full of Tennyson's
idle tears, to gratify some need in themselves.
(Gwen Halley, "Grief tourists lap up other
people's pain", The Sunday Independent (Ireland),
March 14, 2004)
2) He courted the attention of the
Press, proffered unsolicited information, sought
to listen in on police conversations and behaved
with the same bottomless vacuity as the busloads
of gawpers who descended upon Soham last year,
the so-called 'grief tourists', whose attitude
transforms murder into a shameful entertainment.
(Brian Masters, "A study in evil", Daily
Mail (London, England), December 20, 2003)
3) Of course what happened to those
two children was horrific beyond belief. But we
are kidding ourselves if we think that what we
feel is anything at all compared with what the
families of Jessica and Holly are going through.
The senseless slaughter of these two children
was a very private tragedy. The rest of us can
sympathise, it would be strange if we did not,
but we should go a little easy on the public weeping
and wailing. It is good that we have become more
demonstrative of our emotions over the past 10
years. But let's not become a nation of grief
tourists. (Tony Parsons, "Comment on footballers
observing minute's silence", The Mirror,
August 26, 2002)
Synonyms, history:
Traveling to the scene of a tragedy is also called
"dark tourism" (1997)
and the people who do it are said to be jumping
on the "grief bandwagon"
(1998). They're indulging in "grief-lite"
(1997), "recreational grief"
(1998), or "mourning sickness"
(1998). All of these terms were coined in the
months after Princess Diana's death in
August, 1997, and they provide lexical evidence
of a cynical backlash against the massive outpouring
of grief that followed her death.
grift
- grifter
- be
on the grift
- on
the grift
[GRIFT]
To obtain (money) illicitly (as in a confidence
game).
Example:
One Caribbean-based gambling Web site grifted
$10,000 in a phony deposit scam." (Robert
J. Hawkins, "The San Diego Union Tribune",
February 1998)
History, related words and expressions, more
examples:
"Grift" was born in the
argot of the underworld, a realm in which a "grifter"
might be a pickpocket, a crooked gambler, or a
confidence man - any criminal who relied on skill
and wits rather than physical violence - and to
be "on the grift" was
to make a living by stings and clever thefts.
"Grift" may have evolved
from "graft," a slightly older
word meaning "to acquire dishonestly,"
but its exact origins are uncertain. We do know
that the verb "grift"
first finagled its way into print in 1915 in George
Bronson-Howard's "God's Man": "Grifting
ain't what it used to be. Fourteenth Street's
got protection down to a system - a regular underworld
tariff on larceny."
grimalkin
[grih-MAWL-kin]
a domestic cat; (especially) an old female
cat
Example:
The family grimalkin, dreaming, perhaps, of mousing
days long past, twitched her tail as she dozed
contentedly on the windowsill.
Etymology:
In the opening scene of "Macbeth",
one of the three witches planning to meet with
Macbeth suddenly announces, "I come, Graymalkin".
The witch is responding to the summons of her
familiar, or guardian spirit, which is embodied
in the form of a cat. Shakespeare's "graymalkin"
literally means "gray cat". The "gray"
is of course the color; the "malkin"
was a nickname for Matilda or Maud that came to
be used in dialect as a general name for a cat
(and sometimes a hare), and for an untidy woman
as well. By the 1630s, "graymalkin"
had been altered to the modern spelling "grimalkin".
grime
1. Foul matter; dirt, rubbed in; sullying
blackness, deeply ingrained; the state of being
covered with unclean things.
Example:
Remove any dust and grime so that your plants
benefit from all the available light. ("Gardeners'
World". - London: Redwood Publishing Company,
1991) Synonyms:
dirt, filth, soil, stain, grease, grunge
2. To sully or soil deeply; to dirt; make
soiled, filthy, or dirty.
Example:
Don't grime your clothes when you play outside!
Synonyms:
dirty, soil, begrime, colly, bemire
3. A black British dance genre which is
emerging from the London club scene and raves
via pirate radio and bootleg vinyl discs. Its
better-known performers include the Nasty Crew,
Dizzee Rascal and Shystie.
Examples:
1) Also called sublow or 8-bar,
grime mashes dancehall, rap, and jungle into a
menacing mix of stuttering drums, woofer-blowing
bass, PlayStation blips, and MCs spitting stories
of life in London's rougher hoods. ("Entertainment
Weekly", US)
2) Combining the ear-crashing instrumentation
of garage with the crime-riddled rhymes of rap,
the sound creeping cautiously from the bowels
of the underground is refreshingly and uniquely
British. (The "Guardian", July 2004)
3) Following the achievements of
artists as diverse as Dizzee Rascal and Ms Dynamite,
the 21- year-old Shystie (aka Chanelle Scott)
is the first star of grime, the new underground
dance genre descended from UK garage, to sign
directly to a major label; she is also the first
female British MC to have success. (The "Independent",
2 July 2004)
4) Dizzee Rascal's Mercury Music
Prize-winning breakthrough last year has led record
companies to check out a scene labelled "grime"
- a tougher, dirtier strand of garage that rejects
the pseudo-American, designer-label stance of
Craig David. (The "Evening Standard",
25 June 2004)
Etymology:
1590, probably alteration of M.E. "grim"
("dirt, filth"), from M.L.G. "greme"
- "dirt" (cf. Flem. "grijm",
M.Du. "grime"). The verb was
earliest (as M.E. "grymen", c.1470),
but was replaced early 16c. by "begrime".
grin like a Cheshire cat
- grinning
like a Cheshire cat
- grinning
- like
- Cheshire
cat
- grin
- Cheshire
- cat
Displaying a silly grin.
Etymology: From the Lewis Carroll novel
(written in 1865), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
grit one's teeth
- grit
your teeth
- bite
the bullet
- face
the music
- grit
teeth
- grit
- tooth
- teeth
- bite
- bullet
- face
- music
1. To press one's upper and lower teeth
tightly together, usually because someone is angry
about something.
2. To carry on even if the situation is
very difficult; not to show one's feelings; to
put up with a difficulty; to bear pain courageously.
Examples:
1) Gritting my teeth, I did my best
to stifle one or two remarks...
2) 'It is clear that my client has
been less than frank with me,' said his lawyer,
through gritted teeth.
3) There is going to be hardship,
but we have to grit our teeth and get on with
it.
4) I have to remove this splinter
from your finger, so just grit your teeth.
Etymology:
In 18th-century America this expression was becoming
popular. The ancient Greeks had used a similar
expression that translated as "set your
teeth." One of the definitions of the
verb "grit" is to clamp your
teeth together tightly. When people are faced
with a tough or painful job that demands a lot
of physical or emotional strength, they may grit
their teeth in determination.
Synonyms: bite the bullet; face the music.
gritty
[GRIT-ee]
1. containing or resembling grit
2. courageously persistent
Synonym: plucky
3. having strong qualities of tough uncompromising
realism
Example:
Dan is writing a gritty novel about the perils
of missionary work.
History:
"Gritty" comes from "grit"
("small hard granules"), which in turn
derives (via Middle English) from the Old English
word for "sand" or "gravel".
"Grit" has been around since
before the 12th century, but the first appearance
of "gritty" in print in
English was near the end of the 16th century,
when it was used in the sense of "resembling
or containing small hard granules". "Grit"
entered American slang in the early 19th century
with the meaning "courage or persistence,"
and, within about 20 years, "gritty"
followed suit with a corresponding "plucky"
sense. By the 19th century's end, "gritty"
was also being used to describe a literary style
that was rough and coarse.
grub
1. Food, with the implication that the
food is basic and simple.
Example: The grub they serve in the cafeteria
is pretty good!
Etymology: 'Grub' is simple, 'earthy' food,
like carrots and potatoes. Synonyms: eats,
chow
2. To borrow or find.
Example: I grubbed a cigarette from the
girl at the bar.
Etymology:
The Indo-European root of 'grub' means 'to dig'.
When you look for something (like a cigarette)
you 'dig around' for it, scratching through the
dirt and debris to find the thing you need. Synonym:
bum
grubstake
[GRUB-stayk]
To provide with material assistance (as
a loan) for launching an enterprise or for
a person in difficult circumstances.
Example:
Hoping to turn the situation around in California,
the state now grubstakes entrepreneurs to try
their hand at salvaging urban woods. (John
Balzar, "Los Angeles Times", March 8,
2004)
History, related words, more functions:
"Grubstake" is a linguistic
nugget that was dug up during the famous California
Gold Rush, which began in 1848. Sometime between
the first stampede and the early 1860s, when the
gold-seekers headed off to Montana, prospectors
combined "grub" ("food")
and "stake," meaning "an
interest or share in an undertaking."
At first "grubstake" was
a noun, referring to any kind of loan or
provisions that could be finagled to make an undertaking
possible (with the agreement that the "grubstaker"
would get a cut of any profits). By 1879, "grubstake"
was also showing up as a verb meaning "to
give someone a grubstake," and, since at
least 1937, it has been applied to other situations
in which a generous benefactor comes through with
the funds.
gruntle
[GRUN-tul]
To put in a good humor.
Example:
He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice,
and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled,
he was far from being gruntled. (P.G. Wodehouse,
"The Code of the Woosters")
Etymology, relative words, antonym:
1682, from "dis-" ("entirely,
very") + obs. "gruntle"
("to grumble"), frequentative of "grunt"
(q.v.).
"Gruntle" is the result
of a mistaken assumption about the verb "disgruntle,"
which means "to make ill-humored or discontented."
The prefix "dis-" often means
"to do the opposite of," so people naturally
assumed that in order to have a "disgruntle"
there must be a "gruntle"
with exactly the opposite meaning. But actually,
"dis-" doesn't always work that
way - in some rare cases it functions instead
as an intensifier. "Gruntle"
began to mean "to make happy" only in
the 1920s, when it was assumed to be the antonym
of "disgruntle." By contrast,
"disgruntle" has been
around since 1682, and the original grumbling
"gruntle" dates back to
1589.
gruntsand
(army slang) US Army personnel
guerrilla gig
- guerrilla
- gig
- guerrilla
gardening
- gardening
- guerrilla
architecture
- architecture
- guerrilla
marketing
- marketing
A gig in which pop musicians (most often punk
rockers) descend on a public place to give an
impromptu performance.
Examples:
1) The strength of this movement
is in its community," said Imran Ahmed of
New Musical Express. "Gigs can be organized
in a matter of hours. The venue, time and any
fee will be communicated via message board, text
or blog; the community then congregates at a place
beforehand and then all head down to the guerrilla
gig together." ("Wired News",
4 Aug. 2004)
2) If you believe all you read,
the streets of London are currently paved with
amps and speakers awaiting the latest guerrilla
gig by some band of charity-store- clothed individuals
who always claim to have just played with The
Libertines/Babyshambles (delete as appropriate)
and are going to shake up rock just like the Sex
Pistols did with punk. ("Independent",
11 Sep. 2004)
Explanation, history, related expressions:
Pop musicians tell their fans about their descending
by text messages and other electronic media. The
phenomenon hit the news when a group called "The
Others" staged a 30-minute gig
in a London Underground train and then in the
lobby of pop-music station BBC Radio 1. The technique
is clearly borrowed from the flash mobs
of 2003 (see); the name reflects
a variety of other anti-authoritarian techniques,
of which the best known are "guerrilla
gardening" (cultivating public ground
in an urban location where one isn't authorised,
as a political statement), "guerrilla
architecture" (in which designs are
created to challenge conventional ideas about
the form and function of buildings), and "guerrilla
marketing" (gaining public notice
through unconventional methods). Guerrilla
gigs certainly fit this last model, since
one aim is to get publicity for indie bands that
aren't signed to a record company.
guidance counselor
- guidance
counsellor
- students'
advisor
- guidance
- counselor
- counsellor
- students
advisor
- students
- advisor
- student
This is a position at school. A guidance counselor
advises school students: in a high school,
this person gives students personal, academic,
and career counseling.
Synonym: students' advisor
Example:
At Nemo College we understand that as a guidance
counselor you want to help your students make
informed decisions in their college searches.
gum camphor
- gum
- camphor
- Laurel
Camphor
- Laurel
Camphor.
Synonym: Laurel Camphor
Example:
The gum camphor is a stimulant to the sensory
organism, especially to the mucus coats of all
the nasal and eye and ear and throat cavities.
gum resin
A product consisting essentially of a mixture
of gum and resin usually obtained by making an
incision in a plant and allowing the juice which
exudes to solidify; the dry exudate from a number
of plants, consisting of a mixture of a gum and
a resin, the former soluble in water but not alcohol,
the latter soluble in alcohol but not water.
Synonym: mastic
Example:
The precise identity of the gum resin used in
the compounding of the incense is not known but
is likely from Pistacia lentiscus known as mastic
and readily available in many large Arab markets.
gum up the works
To cause a machine or a system to break
down; make something go wrong or throw
it into confusion.
Example:
I had set the VCR when my little cousin shot his
water pistol at it and gummed up the works.
Etymology:
This expression was first used in the 1800s, when
a lot of new machines were being invented. Most
machinery had to be oiled well to work properly.
Sometimes the oil got so thick and gummy that,
instead of helping the machine run smoothly, it
actually interfered with - or even stopped - the
working of the machine. Today, anyone or anything
that "gums up the works"
ruins someone's plans or spoils any kind of undertaking.
gummy
1. Consisting of gum; viscous; adhesive;
producing or containing gum; covered with gum
or a substance resembling gum.
2. (rude, slang) the act of receiving
a blowjob from a toothless woman or man.
Example: That old bitch next door just
offered him a gummy!
gumshoe
A detective or private investigator.
Examples:
1) Captain Harris assigned two gumshoes
to the case. 2) Gumshoes come in
all kinds, ranging from the experienced sleuth
to the novice bungler.
Etymology:
Refers to the rubber sole on the
shoes of many police officers.
The phrase is frequently heard in the movies,
especially in older film noir detective films
from the 1940s.
gyp
1. To cheat, swindle, trick, defraud; to
deprive of by deceit.
Examples:
1) He swindled me out of my inheritance.
2) She defrauded the customers who
trusted her.
3) The cashier gypped me when he
gave me too little change. Synonyms: victimize,
swindle, rook, goldbrick, nobble, diddle, bunco,
defraud, scam, mulct, con
2. Cheating, trickery, fraud.
3. A a swindle in which you cheat at gambling
or persuade a person to buy worthless property.
Synonyms: bunco, bunco game, bunko, bunko
game, con, confidence trick, confidence game,
con game, hustle, sting, flimflam
4. (Cambridge, England) A college
servant.
Example:
We placed bets on three horses, then decided to
allow the gyp or college servant who placed the
bets for us to make his own choice for the same
amount as each of our three bets. ("Unfinished:
George Appleton remembers and reflects".
- Appleton, George. UK: Collins, 1990)
Etymology:
1889, Amer.Eng., probably short for Gypsy.
gyppy tummy
- gippy
tummy
- gyppy
- gippy
- tummy
Also: gippy tummy
(Colloq.) A severe stomach upset with diarrhoea,
especially as suffered by visitors
to hot countries.
Example:
'Gyppy tummy' infections really are the curse
of many foreign holidays!
Etymology:
20th c.; from gippy, earlier form of "gyppo",
the same origin as "gypsy" -
a mangled form of "Egyptian".
"Gyppy tummy" is noted
by Eric Partridge as World War Two services
slang for the ailment suffered by British forces
in the North African desert campaign, and it was
a phrase that was common in Britain after the
War. It seems certain that "gyppy"
was influenced in its creation by the pain sense
of "gyp", but also built on "gyppy"
or "gippy", a slang term for
an Egyptian that can be traced back to
Lord Kitchener's army in Egypt in the 1880s and
1890s.