habeas corpus

• habeas
• corpus
• habeas corpus ad subjiciendum
• ad subjiciendum
• subjiciendum
• Great Writ
• Great
• Writ
• writ of habeas corpus

[HAY-bee-us-KOR-pus]
1. Any of several common-law writs issued to bring a party before a court or judge; especially: a writ for inquiring into the lawfulness of the restraint of a person who is imprisoned or detained in another's custody; a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge. Synonym: writ of habeas corpus
Example:
Sam's lawyers have filed a writ of habeas corpus to prove that his conviction was based on illegally obtained evidence.
2. The right of a citizen to obtain a writ of habeas corpus as a protection against illegal imprisonment.
Etymology:
"You should have the body." That's the literal meaning of the Latin "habeas corpus," but to anyone wrongfully imprisoned, it can mean a chance to correct a violation of personal liberty. In simplest terms, a writ of habeas corpus is an order commanding one who holds a person in custody to bring that individual before the court for some specific reason. The most common is "habeas corpus ad subjiciendum," also known as the Great Writ, by which an imprisoned person can challenge the legality of his or her custody before the court. Such orders were part of British legal systems at least as long ago as the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509), and the right to habeas corpus was considered so fundamental that it was written into Article I of the United States Constitution.


habiliment

• habiliments

[huh-BILL-uh-munt]
1. (Plural) Characteristic apparatus.
Synonym: trappings.
2. a) the dress characteristic of an occupation or occasion (usually used in plural); b) clothes (usually used in plural).
Example:
His own figure, in spite of his mean habiliments, assumed an air of state and grandeur. (Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Blithedale Romance")
Etymology, more examples:
"Habiliment," from Middle French "abillement," is a bit old-fashioned and is best used to describe complex, multi-pieced outfits like those of medieval times. For instance, a full suit of armor - which might include a helmet, gorget, pallette, brassard, skirt of tasses, tuille, gauntlet, cuisse, jambeau, and solleret, along with other pieces and plates - can be considered the habiliments of a knight. Nowadays, "habiliment," which is usually used in its plural form, is most fitting for the dress of an occupation, such as the different vestments of a priest, or for clothes, such as elegant formal wear, worn on special occasions. When "habiliment" is used for plain old "clothes," it is more than likely for jocular or poetic effect.


hacker

• hack

Someone who breaks into computer systems or networks.
Example: Over the weekend, some hackers attacked MicroSofties's computer network.
Etymology, a related word, example:
'Hacker' comes from the word 'hack', which among computer programmers refers to a clever trick. So a 'hacker' is someone who can use tricks to get into secure computers. But the word 'hack' has another meaning, referring to someone who isn't very good at something. For example, a comedian who isn't very funny can be called a 'hack'.


hackneyed

• hackney
• trite

[HAK-need]
lacking in freshness or originality
Example:
Frank's early attempts at poetry were filled with singsong rhymes and hackneyed expressions.
Etymology, synonym:
"Hackney" entered the English language in the 14th century as a noun. Some think perhaps it came from "Hakeneye" (now "Hackney"), the name of a town (now a borough) in England. Others dispute this explanation, pointing to similar forms in other European languages. The noun "hackney", in any case, refers to a horse suitable for ordinary riding or driving - as opposed to one used as a draft animal or a war charger. When "hackney" was first used as a verb in the late 16th century, it often meant "to make common or frequent use of". Later, it meant "to make trite, vulgar, or commonplace". The adjective "hackneyed" began to be used in the 18th century and now is a common synonym for "trite".


haggard
[HAG-urd]
1. Of a hawk; not tamed.
2. Wild in appearance.
3. Having a worn or emaciated appearance.
Synonym: gaunt
Example:
When Stacey saw Ed's haggard face and disheveled appearance, she knew something must be terribly wrong.
Etymology:
"Haggard" comes from falconry, the sport of hunting with a trained bird of prey. The birds used in falconry were not bred in captivity until very recently. Traditionally, falconers trained wild birds that were either taken from the nest when quite young or trapped as adults. A bird trapped as an adult is termed a "haggard," from the Middle French "hagard." Such a bird is notoriously wild and difficult to train, and it wasn't long before the falconry sense of "haggard" was being applied in an extended way to a "wild" and intractable person. Next, the word came to express the way the human face looks when a person is exhausted, anxious, or terrified. Today, the most common meaning of "haggard" is "gaunt" or "worn."


hagiography
1. Biography of saints or venerated persons.
2. Idealizing or idolizing biography.
Examples:
1) In Elvis hagiography, Presley's 'C' in music is like Einstein's flunking math. (Scott Spencer, "The Nation", December 5, 1994)
2) She fit a type easily recognized in the annals of hagiography, and it was on that basis that claims for sainthood were made. (Lawrence S. Cunningham, "The Voices of Gemma Galgani," Commonweal, June 6, 2003)
3) Pearce seems to believe he needs to show us that the man was something like a saint. This turns his book into something like hagiography. (Francis Beckett, "G K and A K," New Statesman, February 28, 1997)
4) It is by no means a hagiography - he is alert to, and unsparing of, Bellow's many failings as a man, a friend, a husband and a father. (Robert Winder, "The slave of unknown masters," New Statesman, October 23, 2000)
Etymology:
Like "biography" and "autograph", the word "hagiography" has to do with the written word. The combining form "-graphy" comes from Greek "-graphia", from "graphein", meaning "to write". "Hagio-" comes from a Greek word "hagios" that means "saintly" or "holy". This origin is seen in "Hagiographa", the Greek designation of the "Ketuvim", the third division of the Hebrew Bible. The English word "hagiography", though it can refer to biography of actual saints, is these days more often applied to biography that treats ordinary human subjects as if they were saints.


hak
(SMS) hugs and kisses


halcyon
[HAL-see-uhn]
noun:
1. A kingfisher.
2. A mythical bird, identified with the kingfisher, that was fabled to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice and to calm the waves during incubation.
adjective:
3. Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy; as, "deep, halcyon repose."
4. Marked by peace and prosperity; as, "halcyon years."
Examples:
1) It seems to be that my boyhood days in the Edwardian era were halcyon days. (Mel Gussow, "At Home With John Gielgud: His Own Brideshead, His Fifth 'Lear,'" New York Times, October 28, 1993)
2) It is a common lament that children today grow up too fast, that society is conspiring to deprive them of the halcyon childhood they deserve. (Keith Bradsher, "Fear of Crime Trumps the Fear of Lost Youth," New York Times, November 21, 1999)
3) It was a halcyon life, cocktails and bridge at sunset, white jackets and long gowns at dinner, good gin and Gershwin under the stars. (Elizabeth M. Norman, "We Band of Angels")
Etymology:
"Halcyon" derives from Latin "(h)alcyon", from Greek "halkuon" ("a mythical bird, kingfisher").


hale

• hale and hearty
• hearty
• fit
• healthy
• robust
• sound
• well

[HAYL]
Free from disease and weakening conditions.
Synonyms: fit, healthy, robust, sound, well.
Examples:
1) Uncle Charles was a hale old man with a well tanned skin, rugged features and white side whiskers. (James Joyce, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man")
2) The person whom the traveller had so abruptly encountered was of this kind: bluff, hale, hearty, and in a green old age: at peace with himself, and evidently disposed to be so with all the world. (Charles Dickens, "Barnaby Rudge")
3) Joseph was an elderly, nay, an old man: very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy. (Emily Bront?, "Wuthering Heights")
4) With his florid cheek, his compact figure smartly arrayed in a bright-buttoned blue coat, his brisk and vigorous step, and his hale and hearty aspect, altogether he seemed - not young, indeed - but a kind of new contrivance of Mother Nature in the shape of man, whom age and infirmity had no business to touch. (Nathanial Hawthorne, "The Scarlet Letter")
5) Does not everyone, including the hale and hearty, have the right to choose the timing and manner of their own death? ("Let death be my dominion," The Economist, October 14, 1999)
Etymology, related phrase:
"Hale" comes from Middle English "hal", related to whole. The alliterative phrase "hale and hearty" is often applied to older persons who retain the health and vigor of youth.


hallmark
[HAWL-mark]
1. a mark or device placed or stamped on an article of trade to indicate origin, purity, or genuineness
2. a distinguishing characteristic, trait, or feature
Example:
Even when he was in Little League, it was clear that Dave had all the hallmarks of a great baseball player.
History:
Centuries ago, King Edward I of England decreed that gold and silver had to be tested and approved by master craftsmen before being sold. Later, London artisans were required to bring finished metal goods to Goldsmith's Hall to be checked, and if those items met the quality standards of the craft-masters there, they would be marked with a special stamp of approval. (The process is much the same today.) At first, people used "hallmark" to name that mark of excellence from Goldsmith's Hall, but over the years the word came to refer to any mark guaranteeing purity or genuineness, and eventually to name any sign of outstanding talent, creativity, or excellence.


hand-me-down

• hand down
• hand
• hand-me-up
• hand up

1. (Noun) Something that an older person gives to a younger person because they no longer use it or they have something better to replace it; clothing or any other article passed down from sibling to sibling; something given away after another person doesn`t need it (especially clothing).
2. (Adjective) Being given by an older person to a younger person because they no longer use it or they have something better to replace it; being passed down from sibling to sibling; being given away after another person doesn`t need it. 3. (Verb) To give to a younger person a thing that they no longer use it or they have something better to replace it; to give away after another person doesn`t need it.
Examples:
1) She was very poor when she was a child and always wore hand-me-down clothing.
2) The beggar said he was not too proud to wear hand-me-down shoes.
Antonym: hand-me-up

hand-me-up

• hand up
• hand
• hand-me-down
• hand down

1. (Noun) Something that a younger person gives to an older person because they no longer use it or they have something better to replace it.
2. (Adjective) Being given by a younger person to an older person because they no longer use it or they have something better to replace it. 3. (Verb) To give to an older person a thing that they no longer use it or they have something better to replace it.
Examples: 1) And more and more older users are joining the throng as PC prices fall and adult children give "hand-me-up" computers to mom and dad & (BusinessWeek <http://www.businessweek.com/1998/29/b3587018.htm>, 9th July 1998) 2) My driver is a hand-me-up from my son but it"s still young, maybe 5 years old. (Golfweb.com <http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/0,1977,3572001,00.html>, 26th February 2001)
3) The belt was hand-me-upped to my very petite sister Rachel, who is six years older. History, antonyms, more examples: There is evidence for use of the term "hand-me-up" as far back as the 1980s, where it was originally associated with the idea of passing on articles of clothing from children to their parents or older members of their family. Just as younger children conventionally suffer the sometimes humiliating experience of wearing the hand-me-down (an antonym to "hand-me-up") clothes of their older siblings, often as an economy, in the same way parents have been incorporating their children"s clothes into their wardrobe to compensate for the wasteful habits of fashion-conscious teenagers. A father who is not so selective about fit or fashion wears the hand-me-up T-shirt of his son, declaring that it is "like new". A mother talks about her most fashionable outfit consisting of hand-me-ups from her oldest daughter. Current use of the term hand-me-up is not restricted to items of clothing however. In the context of the transient technological development of the last decade, where devices are continuously being re-cast with enhanced capacity and design, the idea of a hand-me-up has gained considerable ground. The mobile phone boom has been a major contributor to the hand-me-up phenomenon  parents are often the recipients of their children"s cast-off phones, and are being educated in how to use them by their children. Similarly, a common context is the acquisition of newer, sleeker and faster computing technology, e.g., "They got the Dell as a hand-me-up from my uncle when he upgraded his machine a couple of years ago".

hand-to-mouth existence

• hand-to-mouth
• existence
• hand
• mouth
• from-hand-to-mouth existence
• from-hand-to-mouth
• live from hand to mouth
• live
• live hand to mouth

To spend one's salary as fast as it's earned without saving any for the future.
Example:
He lives a hand-to-mouth existence doing odd jobs around town.
Synonyms:
from-hand-to-mouth existence; live from hand to mouth; live hand to mouth
Etymology:
Writers were using this saying in the 16th century. Imagine a starving person who is given food. If he could, he'd save some for later, but because he's so hungry, he gobbles it all down. Every morsel goes directly from his hands into his mouth. Today we say that a person lives a "hand-to-mouth" existence when he or she lives from day to day, spending every dollar earned without being able to put aside any savings for the future.

handle with kid gloves

• handle with
• kid gloves
• handle
• kid
• gloves
• glove

To be very careful handling someone or something; to treat very carefully and gently; to handle with great care and sensitivity.
Examples:
1) He is very sensitive so you have to handle him with kid gloves when you speak to him.
2) You have to handle the students with kid gloves.
3) When you're speaking to Courtney, handle the subject of summer vacation with kid gloves.
Etymology:
Kid gloves are made from the smooth hide of a young goat and are gentle to the touch. If you handle anything (like a fragile sculpture) or anybody (like your grumpy uncle) "with kid gloves", you're being careful and gentle. The last thing you want to do is break the sculpture or anger your uncle. You're making every attempt to avoid all possible problems.

handsel
1. a gift made as a token of good wishes or luck especially at the beginning of a new year
Example:
Aunt Mary gave New Year's handsels to all the children in the family.
2. something received first (as in a day of trading) and taken to be a token of good luck
3. a first installment
Synonym: earnest money
4. earnest, foretaste
Etymology:
According to an old custom in the British Isles, the first Monday of the new year is Handsel Monday, a day to give a small gift or good luck charm to children or to those who have served you well. As long ago as the year 1200, English speakers were using the ancestor of "handsel" for any good luck charm, especially one given at the start of some new situation or condition. By the 1500s, traders were using "handsel" for the first cash they earned in the morning - to them, an omen of good things to follow. Nowadays, it's likely to be used for the first use or experience of something, especially when such a use gives a taste of things to come.


handwavium
The word refers to a way of circumventing a problem by breaking the laws of physics, as if one might banish an insuperable objection by waving a hand at it. Bad science-fiction stories often employ handwavium to solve knotty problems.
Example:
Any writer who creates a faster-than-light space drive is employing handwavium.
NB: Be careful to distinguish between unobtanium and handwavium!


handwriting on the wall

• handwriting
• wall

1. A clear sign, omen, something that is an obvious symbol.
2. A sign that something bad will happen; a warning of danger or trouble.
Examples:
1) The handwriting is on the wall. Business conditions are bad so probably nobody will get a pay raise this year.
2) When the police questioned him, Phil saw the handwriting on the wall and confessed.
Etymology:
This idiom originated in the Old Testament of the Bible. The King of Babylonia had a vision in which he saw a mysterious message written on the palace wall, "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." Daniel was sent for to explain the meaning of the strange words. When he arrived, he told the king that it was a warning that his kingdom would be conquered. In time the prophecy came true.

hang by a thread

• hanging by a thread
• hang by
• thread
• hanging by
• hang
• hanging
• hang by a hair

1. To be precarious, insecure, loosely or barely held together, lacking basis;
2. To be in a precarious situation; to be in doubt; to depend on a very small thing to save smb.; to be at risk; to be in a dangerous or unsafe position.
Examples:
1) You are not quite failing, but you are hanging by a thread.
2) His life now hangs by a thread.
3) The outcome of the election hung by a thread until the last two or three hours.
Synonym: hang by a hair
Etymology:
There's a myth that tells of a king in the 5th century B.C. who grew tired of being told how wonderful he was by a flatterer named Damocles. The king threw a magnificent banquet of Damocles, who was having a grand time until he looked at the ceiling. He was shocked to see a large, sharp sword hanging by a single, thin hair, and pointing straight down at his head! He quickly learned his lesson: power and happiness are not secure, and usually depend on the will or favor of someone else. Today, when people are in risky situations, we say they're "hanging by a thread."



hang in there

• hang in
• hang
• there

To continue (without giving up), persevere, be patient, keep on; not to lose faith or courage.
Examples:
1) Hang in there until the doctor comes. He'll relieve your pain.
2) My brother kept calling, "Hang in there, you can do it!" And I did!
Etymology:
This American slang expression probably came from boxing. A fighter who's exhausted but doesn't want to give up might hang on the arms of his opponent or on the ropes around the ring. That way he'll stop getting punched and be able to rest for a few seconds so he can get himself back up and continue to fight. By using this expression, you don't actually have to be hanging on to something physically in order to make it through a tough situation or a difficult project.


hang out one's shingle

• hang out your shingle
• hang out
• hang
• shingle

To give public notice of the opening of an office etc.; to open a private office, especially a doctor's or lawyer's office, by putting up a sign over the door.
Examples:
1) After many years of training, she hung out her shingle "Nilda Sanchez, Animal Doctor.
2) The doctor decided to hang up his shingle as soon as he finished medical school.
Etymology:
In 19th-century America, when professional people opened private offices, they hung out signs that were often painted on a shingle, a thin piece of wood used to cover the roof or sides of a building. Today we use the phrase "hang out your shingle" to refer to the whole process of opening up your own office: renting the space, filling it with furniture, hiring help, and hanging up the sign that announces you're in business.

hangout

• hang out
• hang

A place where friends can pass the time; a place to relax.
Example:
Our new hangout is the treehouse behind Eric's house.
Etymology, related verb:
'Hang' literally means 'to be suspended in the air' or 'to swing freely'. As slang, the term refers to being free and doing nothing, just being with friends and relaxing. A 'hangout' is the place where you 'hang out', spending time with friends. (The noun is one word, and the verb is two).


haptic
[HAP-tik]
1. Relating to or based on the sense of touch.
2. Characterized by a predilection for the sense of touch.
Example:
Mark could tell the different kinds of yarn apart purely by haptic clues.
History:
"Haptic" (from the Greek "haptesthai," meaning "to touch") entered English in the late 19th century as a medical synonym for "tactile." By the 1950s it had developed a psychological sense, describing individuals whose perception supposedly depended primarily on touch rather than sight. Although no one today divides humans into "haptic" and "visual" personalities, English retains the broadened psychological sense of "haptic" as well as the older "tactile" sense.


harangue
[huh-RANG]
1. A speech addressed to a large public assembly.
2. A noisy or pompous speech; a ranting speech or writing; a rant.
3. A lecture.
4. To deliver a harangue to; to address by a harangue.
5. To make a harangue; to declaim.
Examples:
1) His emissaries, had attended the Priest's convocation of the people, and, without delaying to hear more than the main point of the harangue, hurried back with their intelligence to the rebel camp. (Wilkie Collins, "Iolani: Or, Tahiti as It Was")
2) Wont to harangue the citizenry in public speeches with such lines as "Remember! My father gave you freedom!" Mrs. Gandhi did not take lightly to government officers with an independent turn of mind. (Gita Mehta, "Snakes and Ladders")
3) Mostly, though, he functions as Exhibit A in the playwright's harangue against capitalist exploitation of the workingman. (Matthew Gurewitsch, "A Country of Lesser Giants," New York Times, April 4, 1999)
4) And Alexander Lebed, a Siberian governor and presidential hopeful, seemed to typify the punchy, touchy national mood when he lost control recently in front of television cameras and harangued a local businessman with bleeped-out expletives. (Michael R. Gordon, "On Russia's Far-East Fringe, Unrealpolitik," New York Times, February 14, 1999)
5) She was hardly anyone's idea of a good time, but at least she kept her hands to herself and showed him considerable amounts of affection, enough warmth of heart to counterbalance the periods when she nagged him and harangued him and got on his nerves. (Paul Auster, "Timbuktu")
Etymology:
"Harangue" derives from Medieval French "arenge", from Old Italian "aringa", from "aringare" - "to speak in public," from "aringo" ("a public place for horse racing and popular assemblies"), ultimately of Germanic origin.
The noun "harangue" firstly appeared in English in the 16th century. Perhaps due to the bombastic or exasperated nature of some public speeches, the term quickly developed an added sense referring to a speech or writing in the style of a rant (though the word "rant" is not etymologically related).

harbinger
[HAR-bin-juhr]
1. (Archaic) One who provides lodgings; especially, the officer of the English royal household who formerly preceded the court when traveling, to provide and prepare lodgings.
2. A forerunner; a precursor.
3. One that presages or foreshadows what is to come.
4. To signal the approach of; to presage; to be a harbinger of.
Examples:
1) Comets have been mistakenly interpreted by humans in times past as harbingers of doom, foretelling famine, plague, and destruction. (Walter Alvarez, "T. Rex and the Crater of Doom")
2) More than the steamboat, more than anything else, the railroads were the harbinger of the future, and the future was the Industrial Revolution. (Stephen E. Ambrose, "Nothing Like It In the World")
3) The airy draughts felt to him like the undoing of everything, the unfastening of ties, a harbinger of chaos. (Pauline Melville, "The Ventriloquist's Tale")
4) More often than not, robins are year-round residents... Let hummingbirds and orioles be your harbingers of spring. (Scott Shalaway, "Charleston Gazette", January 30, 2005)
Etymology:
As long ago as the 12th century, "harbinger" was used to mean "one who provides lodging" or "a host", but that meaning is now obsolete. The word derives from Middle English "herbergeour" ("one who supplies lodgings"), from Old French "herbergeor", from "herbergier" ("to provide lodging for"), from "herberge" ("a lodging, an inn"; compare with modern French "auberge"), ultimately of Germanic origin.
When medieval travelers needed lodging for the night, they went looking for a harbinger. By the late 1300s, "harbinger" was also being used for a person sent ahead of a main party to seek lodgings, often for royalty or a campaigning army, but that old sense has largely been left in the past too. The most common sense of the word nowadays, the "forerunner" one, was actually something of a Johnny-come- lately in English; its earliest documented use doesn't appear until the mid-1500s.


hard nut to crack

• hard nut
• crack
• hard
• nut

Something or someone difficult to understand or do; a problem that's very difficult to understand or solve or a difficult person; unyielding, unbending, obdurate, stubborn
Examples:
1) He is a very serious person and is a very hard nut to crack.
2) That last algebra problem was a hard nut to crack.
History:
Benjamin Franklin used this expression, which had been popular since the early 1700s. In those days people didn't buy nuts that had already been cracked out of their shells. They had to do the cracking by hand, and some nuts were tough to crack. Later, the meaning came to include any kind of complicated jam or even a person who was hard to persuade.


hardscrabble
1. Yielding a bare or meager living with great labor or difficulty.
2. Marked by poverty.
Examples:
1) I remember it being green and humid, nothing like this hardscrabble land. (Elmore Leonard, "Cuba Libre")
2) Most inhabitants scratched out a living from hardscrabble farming, yet these newcomers were hopeful and enterprising. (Ron Chernow, "Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.")
3) A scenic town fed by rich snowbirds who reside a few months a year in gated communities, High Balsam also is home to the hardscrabble residents who frequent Margaret's food-pantry giveaways. (Deirdre Donahue, "A sweet 'Evensong' ", USA Today, December 2, 1999)
Etymology:
"Hardscrabble" is formed from "hard" (from Old English "heard") + "scrabble" (from Dutch "schrabbelen" - "to scratch").


hark back

• hark
• back
• hearken back
• hearken
• harken back
• harken

[HARK-BACK]
1. To turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance.
2. To go back to something as an origin or source.
Example:
The restaurant's art deco interior harks back to Paris in the 1920s.
History, more meanings, synonyms:
"Hark," a very old word meaning "listen," was used as a cry in hunting. The master of the hunt might cry "Hark! Forward!" or "Hark! Back!" The cries became set phrases, both as nouns and verbs. Thus, "a hark back" was a retracing of a route by dogs and hunters, and "to hark back" was to turn back along the path. From its use in hunting, the verb soon acquired its current figurative meanings. In the early 20th century, English speakers began using "hearken back" and its variant "harken back" synonymously with the verb "hark back." (Like "hark," "hearken" and "harken" can mean "listen.") And since the 1980s, there's been another development: "harken" can now be used alone to mean "hark back."


harridan
[HAIR-uh-din] A worn-out strumpet; a vixenish woman; a hag.
Examples:
1) With the insight of hindsight, I'd have liked to have been able to protect my mother from the domineering old harridan, with her rough tongue and primitive sense of justice, but I did not see it like that, then. (Angela Carter, "Shaking a Leg")
2) Whatever compassion we may feel towards Seraphie, charged with managing the Beyle household and provided with little in the way of emotional or material recompense, evidence scarcely softens Stendhal's portrait of an ignorant, vindictive, mean-spirited harridan. (Jonathan Keates, "Stendhal")
3) Even before that, for the first year and a half, as reports and rumors seeped out that she was a harridan, yelling and throwing things at subordinates as well as at her husband and his aides, she would often think to herself, "What's going on here? Why are some of these people slandering me or my husband on a daily basis? Why is all this stuff happening?" (David Maraniss, "First Lady of Paradox", Washington Post, January 15, 1995)
4) As the vulgar, scornful, desperate Martha, Miss Hagen makes a tormented harridan horrifyingly believable. (Howard Taubman, "The Theater: Albee's 'Who's Afraid'", New York Times, October 15, 1962)
Etymology:
"Harridan" probably comes from French "haridelle" ("a worn-out horse, a gaunt woman").



haruspex

• aruspex
• haruspices
• haruspice
• aruspices
• aruspice
• haruspicy
• extispicy

[hE-ruh-spihks, hae-rE-spehks, hae-rUspeks, hArae-speks]
Also: aruspex
Plural: haruspices [hae-rUs'pae-sez], also: aruspices
A religious official in ancient Rome who interpreted omens by inspecting the entrails of sacrificial animals.
History, example:
The practice of haruspicy, the name for this kind of divination, was said to have originated among the ancient Etruscans. A bronze sculpture of a liver, complete with the name of regions marked on it assigned to various gods, has been found at Piacenza, and has been connected to the practice of haruspicy.
The art of haruspicy was taught in the "Libri Tagetici", a collection of texts attributed to Tages, a childlike being who figures in Etruscan mythology, and who was discovered in an open field by Tarchon.
The haruspices in ancient Rome were part of a group of seers or auguries whose official function was not so much to foretell the future as to work out whether the gods approved of some proposed course of political or military action. Nothing of importance was undertaken until the auguries had been consulted. Many omens were actively watched for, such as the flight of birds, the pecking behaviour of sacred chickens, or the sound of thunder. Edward Gibbon, in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", was disdainful of what he saw as the barbarous rites of the period: "Amidst the sacred but licentious crowd of priests, of inferior ministers, and of female dancers, who were dedicated to the service of the temple, it was the business of the emperor to bring the wood, to blow the fire, to handle the knife, to slaughter the victim, and, thrusting his bloody hands into the bowels of the expiring animal, to draw forth the heart or liver, and to read, with the consummate skill of an haruspex, imaginary signs of future events. The wisest of the Pagans censured this extravagant superstition, which affected to despise the restraints of prudence and decency".
Haruspicy continued to be practiced throughout the history of the Roman empire; the emperor Claudius was a student of Etruscan and opened a college to preserve and improve their art, which lasted until the reign of Theodosius I. In 408, the haruspices offered their services when the Goths under Alaric threatened Rome; Pope Innocent I reluctantly agreed to allow them to help so long as the rituals were kept secret.
Synonym: extispicy.
Etymology:
- "haruspex" - 15th century, from Latin, of uncertain origin; perhaps literally "somebody who looks at entrails": from Latin "haru-" (akin to "chordE" - "gut, cord") or Sanskrit "hir" ("an artery") + Latin "-spex", from "specere" ("to look");
- "extispicy" - from Latin "exta" ("entrails") + "-spex", from "specere" ("to look").


hasid

• Hasidim
• Hassid
• Chasid
• Chassid
• Hassidim
• Chasidim
• Chassidim
• Hasidism
• Hassidism
• Chasidism
• Hasidic
• Hassidic
• Chasidic
• Chassidism
• Chassidic

1. A member of a mystical Jewish sect that observes a form of strict Orthodox Judaism, founded in 18th-century Poland by Baal Shem-Tov.
Example:
Her lips move constantly, as if she were remembering a text, like a Hasid at prayer.
Synonyms: Hassid, Chasid, Chassid.
2. Hasidim - the sect of Orthodox Jews who follow the Mosaic Law strictly.
Example:
The Hasidim, or "pious ones" in Hebrew, belong to a special movement within Orthodox Judaism, a movement that, at its height in the first half of the nineteenth century, claimed the allegiance of millions in Eastern and Central Europe--perhaps a majority of East European Jews. Synonyms: Hassidim, Chasidim, Chassidim.
3. Hasidism - beliefs and practices of a sect of Orthodox Jews.
Example:
Soon after its founding in the mid-eighteenth century by Jewish mystics, Hasidism rapidly gained popularity in all strata of society, especially among the less educated common people, who were drawn to its charismatic leaders and the emotional and spiritual appeal of their message, which stressed joy, faith, and ecstatic prayer, accompanied by song and dance. Like other religious revitalization movements, Hasidism was at once a call to spiritual renewal and a protest against the prevailing religious establishment and culture. Synonyms: Hassidism, Chasidism, Chassidism. Etymology:
The sect-name Hasidim derives from the Hebrew "hasidhim" - "the pious ones".
History:
The terms "Hasidim, Hasidism" may refer to Jews in various periods: (a) a group that resisted the policies of Antiochus Epiphanes in the 2nd century B.C.E. at the start of the Maccabean revolt; (2) pietists in the 13th century; (3) followers of the movement of Hasidism founded in the first half of the 18th century by Israel Baal Shem Tov.
Hasidic Judaism carries forward the mystical aspects of Traditional Judaism into the Modern Period. They are essentially Orthodox and usually quite observant. Their mystical beliefs - deriving from the Kabbalah - give them much stronger belief in supernatural intervention in this world and in the divine guidance of God. The best known hasidic movement in the US is the Lubavitch or Chabad movement, whose leader was Rebbe Menachem Schneerson (1902-1904).

hat in hand

• hat
• hand
• pass the hat
• pass
• hat

While surrendering; humble; almost begging; to behave in a humble and sorry way; to beg or plead for a favor or a pardon.
Example:
If he doesn't find a job in town, he'll return to us, hat in hand.
Etymology:
For centuries people have begged for money in public by holding out a container to passersby. Often it was a hat. Taking off your hat in the presence of others is an act of respect. So a person, even one without a hat, who is begging for favors or forgiveness is a person with his or her "hat in hand".
Synonym: pass the hat


hateration
Intense, ongoing hatred.
Example:
Why anyone would participate in the hateration of Michael Jordan - Mary J. Blige's word, not mine - is one of life's weird mysteries. You don't have to respect him as a family man, a cardboard-cutout husband. You don't have to like his gambling escapades. You can regret, as I do, that he resumed his career and put an unnecessary dent in the rear end of his legacy. (Jay Mariotti, "It's MJ appreciation day", Chicago Sun-Times, February 9, 2003)
Etymology:
This word also originated in the lyrics of a popular song. The coiner this time is hip-hop soul diva Mary J. Blige, who used the word for the first time in her 2001 single, "Family Affair":
"Don't need no hateration, holleration
In this dance for me
Let's get it percolatin', while you're waiting
So just dance for me"


hauteur
[haw-TUR; (h)oh-]
Haughty manner, spirit, or bearing; haughtiness; arrogance.
Examples:
1) [M]y silence, I hoped, would be taken as expressive of the hauteur of a man who was above it all - a man with a mission, in fact, a mission authorized from somewhere on high. (Jeffrey Tayler, "Facing the Congo")
2) Sheikhs and presidents have often heard little about the royal family's follies, and don't object to the hauteur and self-importance that remain its inextinguishable traits. (Hugo Young, "Blair and the Queen," The Guardian, April 10, 2001)
3) That self-deprecation and lack of hauteur are typical of the earthy style that enables Powell to get close to his troops in a way that many top brass never do. ("Colin Powell: The master planner of Desert Shield is ready for its ultimate test," People, December 31, 1990)
Etymology:
"Hauteur" is from the French, from "haut" ("high"), from Latin "altus" ("high"). It is thus related to altitude.


have a bash

• have a bash at
• bash

(Brit.) to make an attempt (at)
Example: I've never played tennis before, but I don't mind having a bash (at it).

have a bee in one's bonnet

• have a bee in your bonnet
• have
• bee
• bonnet

People say that someone has a bee in his bonnet if he is annoyed by or obsessed with something.
Example:
"The school nurse really has a bee in his bonnet about healthy food. But I'll be glad if
he gets the cafeteria to offer a salad bar at last."
Etymology:
If a bee flew into your hat, wouldn't you be intent on getting it out?

have a bone to pick with

• have a bone to pick with smb.
• have a bone to pick
• bone to pick with smb.
• bone to pick with
• bone to pick
• bone
• pick

To have a dispute with, to have a point of contention with; to have a big problem; to have an argument or unpleasant matter to settle with someone.
Examples:
1) He has to discuss with the source of the problem.
2) My new boss said she had a bone to pick with me and called me into her office.
Etymology:
This saying goes back to the early 16th century, and is based on the image of people arguing over fine points like dogs picking over bones to get every last bit of meat. Others think it may have originated in the 19th century from the idea that two people can argue the way two dogs can fight over a bone. In either case, if someone has "a bone to pick" with you, it means he or she has a complaint about something you said or did.


have a field day

• field day
• field
• day

1. To have a day for outdoor sports; a day for military exercises and display; a time of unusual pleasure and success.
2. To have a day devoted to an outdoor social gathering.
Synonims: outing, picnic.
3. To have unlimited opportunities; to have it all your own way.
4. To go all out and experience success at something.
Example:
Andrew has a field day playing with all the new toys in his uncle's store.
History:
In the 1800s people from schools, fire companies, business, and other organizations would participate in wholesome outdoor sports on a big playing field. They would play to their heart's content. Soon, to have a field day meant to indulge yourself in any way you wanted. Even today, some schools have a "field day."

have a prayer

• have
• prayer
• not have a prayer
• not to have a ptayer

To have a realistic chance of something happening; to be able to do something. (Frequently used in the negative - "not have a prayer".)
Examples:
1) Eric doesn't have a prayer of passing the math exam today. 2) Do the Red Sox have a prayer of winning the World Series?
Etymology:
When something is very difficult, you might 'pray' for assistance. If something 'has a prayer', it might succeed if it gets a little bit of assistance from above. But if it 'doesn't have a prayer', not even divine intervention will help.


have a screw loose

• be off the wall
• off the wall
• screw
• loose
• off
• wall

To be a little bit crazy, not totally normal, or foolish; to act not normally; to act in a strange way.
Examples:
1) Paul has had a screw loose ever since his girlfriend left him.
2) I think that he has a screw loose somewhere.
3) That substitute teacher must have had a screw loose.
Synonym: (be) off the wall
Etymology:
During the machine age beginning around 1860, many contraptions were held together by nuts, bolts, and screws. A screw keeps things together; when a screw is loose, things fall apart or the machine would not operate as it was supposed to: it might start to do all sorts of bizarre things. People aren't held together with screws, of course, but if they start acting weirdly, this expression might fit them perfectly.So a person who has a screw loose is falling apart mentally.



have an ear to the ground

• keep an ear to the ground
• have one's ear to the ground
• keep one's ear to the ground
• an ear to the ground
• ear to the ground
• have an ear
• ground
• keep an ear
• have an ear to
• keep an ear to
• have
• keep
• ear

be on the watch for new trends or information
Examples:
1) You have to have your ear to the ground, because you've got to hear even in offhand remarks and bits and pieces of those conversations.
2) We have much to learn together. Help us keep an ear to the ground.


have egg on one's face

• have
• egg on one's face
• egg on your face

1. be be caught out or embarrassed; look extremely embarrassed or foolish;
2. make a serious mistake.
Example:
He ended up with egg on his face, when she found out he had been lying.
Etymology:
It is an American expression from the middle of last century (its first known appearance was in an American television series about 1951). It is possible, though, that it is somewhat older; probably the date of its birth was in the 1920s.
There are two possibilities for where it came from. Firstly, it was a comment on a minor social gaffe at a meal, when poor manners or sloppy eating left egg around your mouth. The late John Ciardi, however, suggested an origin in the lower and more rowdy kind of theatrical performance, in which an incompetent actor would have been pelted with eggs and forced off the stage.


have eyes for

• have eyes
• eyes for
• eyes
• eye

To desire; to find someone physically attractive.
Example:
I think my boyfriend has eyes for another woman.
Etymology:
You see with your 'eyes', and when you 'have eyes for' somebody, you really like what you see.


have one's hands full with

• have one's hands full with smth.
• have one's hands full
• hands
• full with
• full

To be extremely busy with smth.; to have a lot of work.
Example: I'd like to help you, but I have my hands full with the fashion show at the moment.

have one's palm up

• palm up
• palm
• up

To look for a tip or a bribe.
Example: The hotel bellboy had his palm up all the time.

have smb. over a barrel

• have smb. over
• barrel
• over a barrel
• be over a barrel
• be over
• over

to have the person at one's mercy; in a helpless or trapped position; at a disadvantage
Example:
I think that we have them over a barrel and should be able to win the contract easily.
Etymology:
ME "barel", from 12th c. Old French "baril".
Before better methods for resuscitation were developed, drowning victims were laid over a barrel, which was then rolled back and forth to dislodge the water in their lungs. On the other hand, there are instances recorded from this period and earlier of a person being placed on or rolled over a barrel as a humiliating punishment . One case was that of a student hazing at a college in Ohio, reported in the "Frederick Daily News" in Maryland in 1886: "Once inside he was at the mercy of his captors, and the treatment he received was cruel. Bound hand and foot, he was rolled over a barrel". This is the more likely origin, since a person held over a barrel is helpless, whether face down or face up.
One of the first recorded examples of the figurative expression is this from the "Woodland Daily Democrat of California", dated January 1896: "To use a vulgar expression, a Republican congress gleefully assembled in Washington for the express purpose of getting President Cleveland 'over a barrel'. The humiliating predicament in which the aforesaid congress now finds itself is ample evidence that Mr. Cleveland has beaten it at its own game." As for literature, the phrase had appeared in the U.S. by the 1930s, and its first usage was actually a pun. In "The Big Sleep" (1939), Raymond Chandler wrote, "We keep a file on unidentified bullets nowadays. Some day you might use that gun again. Then you'd be over a barrel." (The use of "barrel" to mean the cylindrical part of a gun through which the bullet travels dates back to 1648.)


have smth. coming out of one's ears

• have smth. coming out of ears
• coming out of one's ears
• come out of one's ears
• come out of ears
• coming out of ears
• coming out of
• come out of
• coming
• come
• out of
• out
• ears
• ear

(informal) have a substantial or excessive amount of something; have more than adequate amounts; overabundant
Example:
That man's got money coming out of his ears.


have to do with

• have to do
• have
• do with
• do

To have a connection with&
Examples:
I have nothing to do with him.
His job has to do with computers.

have your cake and eat it, too

• have your cake and eat it too
• have one's cake and eat it, too
• have one's cake and eat it too
• cake
• eat
• too
• you can't eat your cake and have it too
• you can't eat your cake and have it, too
• one can't eat his cake and have it too
• one can't eat his cake and have it, too

To have something after you have eaten or spent it, to have it both ways; to spend or use something up but still have it; to have two things when you must choose one.
Examples:
1) You can either go to a movie or get pizza, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
2) She wants to spend her money and still have it. But she can't have her cake and eat it, too!
Etymology:
This saying started sometime in the 1540s. Once you've eaten a piece of cake, you don't have it anymore. So you have to make a decision to eat it or save it. In the same way, money that you've spent is money that you no longer have in your pocket. You have to choose what to do with what you have. The original version of this expression is "you can't eat your cake and have it too."

haywire

• haywire outfit
• outfit

[HAY-wyre]
1. Being out of order or having gone wrong.
Example:
The TV goes haywire every time we use the blender.
2. Emotionally or mentally upset or out of control.
History:
The wire used in bailing hay - haywire - is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective "haywire." When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily in the phrase "haywire outfit," which denoted originally a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of "haywire" may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used.


he who laughs last laughs best

• to have the last laug
• who laughs last laughs besth
• have the last laugh
• have
• the last laugh
• last laugh
• the last
• last
• laugh
• best

People often ridicule new projects or ideas. But in the end, when something works, the
person who took it seriously gets the best laugh of all - one that proves him right.
Example:
"My neighbors think I'm silly for practicing my climbing on the garden wall," Kyle said. "But the day I reach the summit of Mount Everest, I'll have the last laugh."

head
1. Intellect.
Example: Head rules the heart.
(slang):
2. Someone who earned respect;
3. sexual satisfaction; fellatio.
Example: He was given good head at that cathouse.
4. a person who uses drugs (especially hard) regularly;
5. tops of the marijuana plant, having a higher concentration of drug-containing resin.
Example: Got any good head?
6. a person who uses drugs, junkie.
Example:
That school has no heads. Not one student is using drugs.
7. client; 8. toilet; 9. chief, boss; 10. fan, enthusiast

head above water

• head
• above
• water

Out of difficulty or trouble.
Example:
After a disastrous last quarter, I think the company is finally above water.

head and shoulder above

• head and shoulder above smb.
• head
• shoulder

Far superior; much better than...
Example:
When it comes to aerobics, Lou is head and shoulder above everyone else.
Etymology:
When it was first used in the 1800s, this saying referred to height: a very tall person towers over a very short one. But over the years the meaning has been stretched to include any skill one has that is better than someone else's. So a five-foot person may be head and shoulder above a six-foot person in math, tap dancing, and writing stories.

head doctor

• head
• doctor
• shrink

A psychiatrist; a doctor who helps people with mental problems.
Examples:
1) I've been seeing a head doctor for several years. 2) You seem emotionally disturbed. Maybe you ought to see a head doctor?
Etymology:
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who treat the mind, which is related to the brain, which is in the head. Synonym: shrink


head honcho

• head
• honcho
• big shot
• big gun
• big wheel
• big cheese
• big deal
• big enchilada
• big fish
• big
• shot
• gun
• wheel
• cheese
• deal
• enchilada
• fish

The person in charge; the chief, boss, leader, foreman, manager; an important influential person.
Synonyms:
big shot, big gun, big wheel, big cheese, big deal, big enchilada, big fish Examples:
1) Who's the head honcho here? I have a package for him - or her.
2) He thinks he's a head honcho.
3) She's a head honcho in local politics.
4) Do what the head honcho tells you if you want to keep your job.
Etymology:
The Japanese word "hanchu" means "squad leader" ("han" - squad, "chu" - chief). During the Korean War (1950-53), American soldiers changed the spelling to honcho, and added "head", probably because "head honcho" made a catchy phrase.


head is in the clouds

• one's head is in the clouds
• head
• clouds
• cloud

Absent-minded; daydreaming; lost in thought.
Example:
My report card said that I should pay more attention in class - that my head was usually in the clouds.
Etymology:
In the mid-1600s the idea was first written that if you weren't aware of what was going on, if your mind was in a dreamy state, then your head was in the air. Later "air" was changed to "clouds" because air goes all the way down to the ground but clouds are usually high up. When your "head is in the clouds," it means your mind is definitely somewhere else.

head over heels

• be head over heels
• heels over head
• be heels over head
• topsy-turvy
• topsy-turvily
• in great confusion
• great confusion
• confusion
• Head
• over
• heel
• heels

1. Entirely, completely, fully.
2. In disorderly haste.
Example:
Children ran head over heels out of the classroom.
3. Upside down, head first
Example:
The little boy isn't afraid of being head over heels while turning a somersault or cartwheel.
Synonyms:
(be) heels over head, topsy-turvy, topsy-turvily, in great confusion.
4. (Be) in love with, crazy about.
Example:
Lan's head over heals for Chan. She's crazy about him.
History, more examples:
The expression looks so odd because during its history it got turned upside down, just like the idea it represents. When it first appeared, in the 14th century, it was written as "heels over head'' - to turn a somersault. It became inverted around the end of the 18th century, possibly as the result of a series of mistakes by authors who didn't stop to think about the conventional phrase they were writing, or who found the stress pattern of "head over heels'' more persuasive than the older form.
The two forms lived alongside each other for most of the next century  Davy Crockett was an early user of the modern form in 1834: "I soon found myself head over heels in love with this girl.'' As late as the early 20th century L Frank Baum consistently used the older form in his Oz books: "But suddenly he came flying from the nearest mountain and tumbled heels over head beside them.'' And Lucy Maud Montgomery stayed with it in her "Anne of Windy Poplars", published in 1936: "Gerald's pole, which he had stuck rather deep in the mud, came away with unexpected ease at the third tug and Gerald promptly shot heels over head backward into the water.''


head over heels in love

• head over heels
• in love
• head
• heel
• heels
• love

Completely and helplessly in love.
Example:
He fell head over heels in love with his piano teacher.
Etymology:
This expression goes back to the ancient Romans and means that being in love with someone makes one's emotions topsy-turvy, upside-down. For nearly 500 years, it was "heels over head." Then, the saying grew to suggest that being in love is like somersaulting.

heads

• head

1. (coat of) arms; armorial bearings; emblem; 2. ore; 3. concentrate of best quality;
4. foreshots.
Example:
At the beginning of the distillation are obtained the "foreshots" (or "heads"), and the "feints" (or "tails") at the end, both are re-distilled. "Cut" (or "middle cut", or "heart of the run"), is the middle portion, between
foreshots and feints, and the best part of the distillation.

heads or tails

• heads or tails?
• heads
• tails
• head
• tail

To choose one or the other; which side of the coin?
Example: 'Heads or tails?' the gambler asked as he flipped the coin.

heads up

• heads-up
• heads
• head
• up
• look alive
• look out
• look
• alive
• out

1. heads-up: Showing an alert, competent style.
Example: They play heads-up basketball!
2. heads up: Keep your head up and be careful or ready. - Used as a
warning to prepare for something or clear the way.
Examples:
1) "'Heads up!' said the waiter carrying the hot food"; 2) Heads up, boys! A train is coming; 3) Heads up, now! You can do better than that.
Synonyms: look alive, look out.

heart

• hearts

1. one of a series of playing cards, distinguished by the figure or figures of a heart.
Example: Hearts are trumps.
2. (AmE slang) dexedrine pill;
3.(Shakespeare) good fellow

heart is in the right place

• heart's in the right place
• heart
• in the right place
• right place
• right
• place

To be well-meaning, sympathetic, kindhearted; to have good intentions even though mistakes occur.
Examples:
1) Although she makes a lot of mistakes her heart is in the right place.
2) Kevin messes up sometimes, but his heart's in the right place.
Etymology:
Everyone's heart is right in the middle of the chest. Since the heart is often considered the center of one's emotions and feelings, this expression means that even if what you try to do comes out wrong, your intentions are right.


heavy set

• heavyset
• heavy
• set
• stocky

Stocky of build, tending toward stockiness. Occasionally used as a polite way of saying
someone is fat.
Example:
How does he look like? - Dark hair and eyes, heavy set, pretty.
Synonym: stocky

hebetude

• hebetudinous
• hebetudinous

[HEB-uh-tood] ("oo" as in "food")
lethargy, dullness
Example:
As the professor droned on and on in the overheated lecture hall, Kim was overcome with such hebetude that she had to fight to keep her eyes open.
History, more examples, related words:
The dullness of "hebetude" tends to lean toward mental dullness, often marked by laziness or torpor. As such, it was a good word for one "Queenslander" correspondent, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the "Weekend Australian" of "an epidemic of hebetude among young people who . . . are placing too great a reliance on electronic devices to do their thinking and remembering." "Hebetude" comes from Late Latin "hebetudo," which means pretty much the same thing as our word. It is also closely related to the Latin word for "dull" - "hebes," which has extended meanings such as "obtuse," "doltish," and "stupid." Other "hebe-" words in English include "hebetudinous" ("marked by hebetude") and "hebetate" ("to make dull").


hegira

• exodus

[hih-JYE-ruh]
A journey especially when undertaken to escape from a dangerous or undesirable situation.
Synonym: exodus
Example:
To escape the lowering clouds of impending war, Grandmother's family embarked on a hegira that would carry them far from their native soil.
History:
"A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country." By the year A.D. 622, the prophet Muhammad had learned that painful lesson. In that year, he was forced to flee his native city, Mecca, to escape persecution from those who rejected his message. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, with a number of his followers migrated to Medina, where they were guaranteed protection by local clans. This event, which traditionally marks the beginning of the Islamic era, is known in Arabic as the "Hijra" - literally, "departure." That Arabic term passed into Medieval Latin (where it was modified to "Hegira") and from there it eventually made its way into English. By the mid 18th century, English speakers were using "hegira" for other journeys, too - especially arduous ones.


heinous

• abominable

[HAY-nuss]
Hatefully or shockingly evil.
Synonym: abominable
Example:
The hottest video game this holiday season once again features a brawny hero who battles heinous beasts with his highly advanced arsenal of weapons.
History:
The etymology and development of "heinous" reflects the association of hate with that which is evil or horrible. During the 14th century, English borrowed "heinous" from the Anglo-French adjective "hainus" (same meaning as our English word), which in turn derives from the Anglo-French noun "haine," meaning "hate." English speakers have long used "heinous" to reflect the sense of horror evoked by intense hatred typically toward flagrantly criminal or wicked offenses and sins.


held in abeyance

• be held in abeyance
• held
• hold
• in abeyance
• abeyance

Temporarily suspended; temporarily freezed (e.g., activity).
Example:
A particular manager will hold more than one metaphor, but in negotiation the truce metaphor is brought to the fore with the others held in abeyance.
Etymology:
"Abeyance" literally means "hold your mouth open." The word comes from the French "bayer" ("to gape") and the allusion is to those who while waiting for something to happen stand with their mouths open.


hell-for-leather

• hell
• leather

(informal) at full speed, at breakneck speed; extremely quickly and often recklessly; characterized by reckless determination or breakneck speed
Examples:
1) He rode hell-for-leather down the trail.
2) The sheriff led the posse in a hell-for-leather chase.
Etymology:
"To ride hell for leather" is from 1889, originally with reference to riding on horseback.
"Hell": O.E. "hel, helle" - "nether world, abode of the dead, infernal regions," from P.Gmc. *khaljo (cf. O.Fris. "helle", O.N. "hel", Ger. "Hölle", Goth. "halja" - "hell") - "the underworld," lit. "concealed place," from PIE *kel- ("to cover, conceal, save"). The Eng. word may be in part from O.N. "Hel" (from P.Gmc. *khalija - "one who covers up or hides something"), in Norse mythology Loki's daughter, who rules over the evil dead in Niflheim, the lowest of all worlds (nifl "mist"), a death aspect of the three-fold goddess. Transfer of a pagan concept and word to a Christian idiom, used in the K.J.V. for O.T. Heb. Sheol, N.T. Gk. Hades, Gehenna. Used figuratively for "any bad experience" since at least 1374. As an expression of disgust, etc., first recorded 1678.
"Leather": O.E. "leðer" (in compounds only) - "hide, skin, leather," from P.Gmc. *lethran (cf. O.N. "leðr", O.Fris. "lether", M.Du. "leder", O.H.G. "ledar", Ger. "leder"), from PIE *letrom (cf. O.Ir. "lethar", Welsh "lledr", Breton "lezr").




hellcat

• hell-cat
• hell
• cat

A bad-tempered woman.
Etymology: Refers to the hissing and spitting of an angry feline.

hep cat

• hep
• cat
• hepcat
• hip-cat
• hipcat
• hip
• hipster

Someone who keeps up with the latest trends.
Etymology: The terms came about in the Roaring 20's, and their meaning hasn't changed.
Synonyms: hip-cat, hipster

hermetic

• hermetical

1. (often capitalized) a) of or relating to the Gnostic writings or teachings arising in the first three centuries A.D. and attributed to Hermes Trismegistus; b) relating to or characterized by occultism or abstruseness
Synonym: recondite
2 a) airtight; b) impervious to external influence; c) recluse, solitary
Example:
The container has a hermetic seal, which helps keep its contents fresh.
Etymology:
When "hermetic" first entered English in the early 17th century, it was associated with writings attributed to Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. Thoth, whom the Greeks called "Hermes Trismegistus" ("thrice-great Hermes"), was believed to be the author of a number of mystical, philosophical, and alchemistic works. The obscure subject matter of these works may have made them difficult to wade through, for soon English speakers were also applying "hermetic" to things that were beyond ordinary human comprehension. Additionally, Hermes Trismegistus was said to have invented a magic seal that could keep vessels airtight. "Hermetic" thus came to mean "airtight", both literally and figuratively ("as hermetic as a convent"). "Hermetic" derives from the Greek via the Medieval Latin "hermeticus." The variant "hermetical" also appears occasionally.


hermitage
[HUHR-muh-tij]
1. The habitation of a hermit or group of hermits.
2. A monastery or abbey.
3. A secluded residence; a retreat; a hideaway.
4. [Capitalized] A palace in St. Petersburg, now an art museum.
Examples:
1) She had left her father's surviving subjects to manage as best they could and climbed even higher in search of the lonely sanctity she had always craved. Now Rose requested her to keep an eye open for the twins who would pass within a few miles of her abandoned hermitage. (Alice Thomas Ellis, "The Sin Eater")
2) When it grows cold, we return to the hermitage where I am ending my days. (Christophe Bataille, "Hourmaster", translated by Richard Howard)
3) Your oath I will not trust, but go with speed / To some forlorn and naked hermitage, / Remote from all the pleasures of the world. (Shakespeare, "Love's Labour's Lost)
4) Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take That for an hermitage. (Richard Lovelace, "To Althea, from Prison")
Etymology:
"Hermitage" is from Old French "hermitage", from "heremite" ("hermit"), ultimately from Greek "eremites" ("dwelling in the desert"), from "eremia" ("desert"), from "eremos" ("solitary; desolate").


heterodox
[HET-uh-ruh-doks]
1. Contrary to or differing from some acknowledged standard, especially in church doctrine or dogma; unorthodox.
2. Holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines.
Examples:
1) They fight with members of other faiths, who seem to challenge their claim to a monopoly of absolute truth; they also persecute their co-religionists for interpreting a tradition differently or for holding heterodox beliefs. (Karen Armstrong, "Islam: A Short History")
2) Most of the Kurds were Sunni Muslims, but perhaps a quarter or a third adhered to heterodox varieties of Islam that preserved traces of earlier religions. (Susan Meisalis, "Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History")
3) Moreover, heterodox behaviour - in the form of eccentric chess moves - was even encouraged, if it led to good results. (Jon Speelman, "Chess", Independent, October 24, 1998)
4) Mr. Buckley is an American exotic of the far right, who wins some sympathy for his frankness and boldness since, in this sorry world, the heterodox are always laughed at whether right or left. (Richard L. Strout, "All That Is Out of Joint and Needs Setting Right", New York Times, April 28, 1963)
Etymology:
"Heterodox" comes from Greek "heterodoxos" ("of another opinion"), from "hetero-" ("other") + "doxa" ("opinion"), from "dokein" ("to believe").


heterogeneous

• homogeneous

[het-uh-ruh-JEE-nee-uhs; -JEE-nyuhs]
Consisting of dissimilar elements, parts, or ingredients - opposed to homogeneous.
Examples:
1) According to the historian Albert Fein, New York embodied "the challenge of a democratic nation's capacity to plan for and maintain an urban environment to meet the needs of a uniquely heterogeneous population." (Robert A. M. Stern, et al., "New York 1880")
2) He worked texture and color into the mortar and cement with heterogeneous bits of found junk, from seashells and stones to busted chunks of Phillips' Milk of Magnesia bottles. (Gene Santoro, "Myself When I Am Real")
3) Fragmentation was inevitable within such a heterogeneous group, whose members had little in common. (Lilia Shevtsova, et al., "Yeltsin's Russia")
Etymology:
"Heterogeneous" derives from Greek "heterogenes", from "heter-" ("other, different") + "genos" ("kind").


heyday

• hay day
• Hay
• day
• flower
• prime
• peak
• bloom
• blossom
• efflorescence
• flush

1. The high point or high period in someones life; time of greatest success or popularity, period of greatest power or influence; the period of greatest prosperity or productivity; the time of triumph and exultation; hence, joy, high spirits, frolicsomeness.
Examples:
1) In his heyday Brahms wrote several great works.
2) Sergei Rachmaninov wrote the "Isle of the Dead" in his heyday.
Synonyms: hay day, flower, prime, peak, bloom, blossom, efflorescence, flush
Etymology:
Probably from "high day", or the term is based on the old adage "to make hay while the sun shines" meaning to take advantage of every opportunity; first recorded in 1751.
2. An expression of frolic and exultation, and sometimes of wonder.
Etymology:
C.1590, alteration of "heyda" (1526), something like Mod.Eng. "hurrah", apparently an extended form of M.E. interjection "hey, hei". Modern sense of "stage of greatest vigor" altered the spelling on model of "day", with which this word apparently has no etymological connection.



hhoj
(SMS) ha, ha, only joking


hibernaculum

• hibernacula
• Hibernate

[hy-ber-NACK-yuh-lum]
Pl.: hibernacula
A shelter occupied during the winter by a dormant animal.
Example:
It is late November and the snake hunter is in search of a hibernaculum in which hundreds of venomous adders may be bedded down for the winter.
Etymology, related words:
If you're afraid of snakes or bats, you probably won't enjoy thinking about a hibernaculum where hundreds, even thousands, of these creatures might be passing the wintry months. Less frightening creatures also use hibernacula, though many of these tend to be a bit inconspicuous. The burrow of a woodchuck is a hibernaculum, for instance, as is a cozy caterpillar cocoon attached to a wintry twig, or the spot in which a frog has buried itself under a log. Hibernacula are all around us and have been around for a long, long, long time, but we have only called them such since 1789. "Hibernate" - "to spend the winter in a dormant condition (of certain animals); to spend the winter in a place with a milder climate (of people); to retreat, be in seclusion, be inactive" - didn't come into being until the beginning of the 19th century. Both words come from Latin "hibernare," meaning "to pass the winter."


hie

• hasten

[HYE]
1. To go quickly.
Synonym: hasten
Example:
In the summer, Nick, his wife, Arabella, and their three-year-old daughter, Lily, hie off to the country - yes, to a little stone cottage in Wales. (Charles Gandee, "Vogue", February 1996)
2. To cause (oneself) to go quickly.
Etymology:
"Hie" has been part of English since the 12th century, and it stems from the even hoarier "higian," Old English for "to strive" or "to hasten." "Hie" enjoyed a high popularity period from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and you're sure to encounter it in the literature of those times - writers from Shakespeare to Twain penned it into their prose. But don't get the idea that "hie" is just a word of the past. It is regularly tapped out on the keyboards of 21st-century writers, and it pops up in print somewhere in just about any given week.


hieroglyphic

• hieroglyphics

1. written in, constituting, or belonging to a system of writing mainly in pictorial characters
2. inscribed with hieroglyphic
3. resembling hieroglyphic in difficulty of decipherment
Example:
Although they're notorious for hieroglyphic handwriting, physicians probably don't write any worse than other professionals.
Etymology:
If Egyptian hieroglyphic writing is "all Greek to you", you know more about the etymology of "hieroglyphic" than you might think. That word comes from the Greek "hieroglyphikos", which means "sacred carving" (from "hieros", meaning "sacred," and "glyphein", meaning "to carve"). The ancient Greeks who named hieroglyphic writing reserved that term for the picture writing they found carved in temple walls or on public monuments in Egypt; it was distinguished from writings done in ink on papyrus or other smooth surfaces. But since making their first appearances in English in the 1580s, both the noun "hieroglyphics" and the adjective "hieroglyphic" have been extended to apply to the picture writing of various cultures, whether or not those writings were carved or sacred.


higgler

• haggler
• mort-skin
• mort
• skin

An itinerant dealer or peddler.
History:
"Higgler" has survived in the West Indies, especially Jamaica, in the sense of a market trader, but has disappeared everywhere else. But only a century ago, most English market towns had higglers. They were middlemen - they went round the farms of the local area, buying up produce such as poultry, rabbits, eggs and cheese to sell in the market. In return they supplied goods the household needed. Some of the trade was done by barter rather than by money changing hands, but all of it involved haggling - which is where the name came from, as it's just a variant spelling of "haggler". In "The Surgeon's Daughter" (1827), Sir Walter Scott spoke of: "The labours of a higgler, who travels scores of miles to barter pins, ribbons, snuff and tobacco, against the housewife's private stock of eggs, mort-skins, and tallow" ["mort-skin": the skin of a sheep or lamb that has died a natural death]. In some places, higglers had a bad reputation, because they were thought to manipulate prices to their own benefit. Some small-scale consumer revolts against them were fixed in newspapers.
Example:
A Meeting was held at Poole, on Friday last, to take into consideration the propriety of the Inhabitants in general refraining from the use of Butter, till the price is reduced to One Shilling a pound; when it was unanimously resolved by all present, not to purchase any till the price shall be so reduced, and even then, to use it in their families with great economy and moderation ... and proper people are appointed to keep a constant watch on the Higglers on Market-day, who are the principal cause of the great prices of many of the necessaries of life. (The "Times", London, 10 June 1800)


high five

• high
• five

A way to say 'Good job!' or 'Bravo!' by slapping someone's hand in the air; to congratulate someone.
Examples:
1) Nice shot! High five, dude! 2) High fives all around on the excellent presentation at the meeting!
Etymology: There are five fingers on your hand, and you lift your hand high into the air to give a 'high five'. This is a common gesture first used by African-American basketball players and now used by many people in a variety of contexts. You can also give a 'low five' or go 'down low' after giving someone a high five.

high horse

• high
• horse

An attitude of arrogant superiority; acting superior and arrogant as if you were better than other people.
Examples:
1) Get off your high horse and admit you are wrong. 2) I wish that new girl in drama class would get down off her high horse.
Etymology:
This saying goes back at least to the early 1700s. In the 14th century, during ceremonial marches and royal exhibitions, well-known people of high rank and superior position I society often rode on large horses that were taller than the average horse. From that custom grew the idea that a person who acts haughty, proud, or snobby is on a "high horse."

high roller

• high
• roller

Someone who earns and spends a lot of money; a person who makes very large bets while gambling.
Examples:
1) I like hanging out with the high rollers in Vegas. 2) The $500 blackjack table in Monte Carlo is for high rollers only.
Etymology:
Many gambling games involve rolling dice, and 'high roller' refers to winning numbers and large sums of money.

highway robbery

• highway
• robbery

1. An exorbitant price, an extremely high price or charge for something. 2. Robbery of travellers on or near a public road. Examples:
1) The price that we had to pay for the theater tickets was highway robbery.
2) What they are asking for gas these days is highway robbery.
3) Two hundred dollars for one night in a hotel? That's highway robbery!
Etymology:
During the time of William Shakespeare and the early 16th century, it was common for travelers on the open road to be held up and robbed by armed highwaymen. With time, the phrase "highway robbery" came to be associated with charges for goods and services that were so expensive that the buyer felt that he or she was being robbed by the seller.

hillbilly

• hick

A person from the country, typically with crude manners, speech and dress; one who comes from a remote rural area (especially the mountainous region of the southern United States).
Synonym: hick
Examples:
1) When I stepped onto his property, the hillbilly came out of his shack, grabbed his shotgun, and yelled "Yeehaw!" 2) Man, I love that hillbilly music!
Etymology:
This somewhat offensive term is used to describe poor people living in the hills of rural America - a 'hill' is a small mountain, and 'Billy' is a man's name.


hinterland
1. A region situated inland from a coast.
2. A region remote from urban areas; backcountry.
3. A region situated beyond the major metropolitan or cultural centers.
Examples:
1) "After the plains, I could see in my mind's eye the mountains of Bosnia emerging abruptly, shrouded by mist or haze. Clouds on rocks. Birds circling. The smell of pine and plum brandy. Beyond that the oleander and the heady, Dalmatian coast opening out like some lush dream from the backdrop of a stony hinterland." (Roger Cohen, "Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo")
2) "It is hard to imagine from within our cultural envelope, but try: You live in a country ruled by an elusive, all-powerful leader, where through no fault of your own you find yourself in an even more faraway corner, one bordering on sprawling prairie and desert hinterland." (David M. Bethea, "Swallowed Again and Again," 'New York Times', November 17, 1996)
3) "Cities did nothing for me. It was the hinterlands that made me." (Paul Theroux, "Fresh Air Fiend")
Etymology:
"Hinterland" comes from German "Hinterland" - "the land behind (the coast)", from "hinter" - "behind" (from Middle High German, from Old High German "hintar") + "land" (from Middle High German "lant", from Old High German).


hired gun

• hired
• hire
• gun

A temporary employee hired to do a difficult task.
Examples:
1) Greedie Corp. is using some hired guns to handle the latest round of layoffs. 2) The defense attorneys brought in a hired gun to help question the key witness.
Etymology:
In the 1800s, a 'hired gun' was an armed man paid to protect a town from thieves and bandits in the American West. In the 1920s, 'hired gun' came to mean 'hit man' or 'assassin' among American gangsters. Now the term is used in corporations to describe specialists who are typically very aggressive or responsible for unpleasant, high-level tasks.


hirsute

• hirsutal
• hirsutulous
• hirsutism
• hirsuties

[HUR-soot; HIR-soot; hur-SOOT; hir-SOOT, HER-soot]
Covered with hair or bristles; shaggy; hairy.
Examples:
1) The Bear... makes the rounds of the clubs "disguised" in trench coat and broad-brimmed hat, hoping (successfully, it seems) to be mistaken for a rather hirsute human. (Richard M. Sudhalter, "'The Bear Comes Home': Composing the Words That Might Capture Jazz," New York Times, August 29, 1999)
2) "First of all, your nose is nearly covered with your bloody moustache and your beard," Mr Gogarty replied. Mr Allen apologised for his "hirsute" appearance. (Paul Cullen, "No ambush sprung on returning Gogarty," Irish Times, March 23, 1999)
3) He was incredibly hirsute: there was even a thick pelt of hair on the back of his hands. (Tama Janowitz, "By the Shores of Gitchee Gumee")
4) Todd is hirsute, and gets a five-o'clock shadow, whereas his best friend Ryan can get away without shaving every day.
Etymology, related words, more examples:
"Hirsute" has nearly the same spelling and exactly the same meaning as its Latin parent, "hirsutus" ("covered with hair, rough, shaggy, prickly"). The word isn't quite one of a kind, though; it has four close relatives: "hirsutism" and "hirsuties," synonymous nouns naming a medical condition involving excessive hair growth; "hirsutal," an adjective meaning "of or relating to hair"; and "hirsutulous," a mostly botanical term meaning "slightly hairy" (as in "hirsutulous stems"). The last three are not especially common, but are entered in "Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged".


histrionic
[his-tree-ON-ik]
1. Of or relating to actors, acting, or the theater; befitting a theater; theatrical.
2. Overly dramatic; deliberately affected.
Examples:
1) As late as 1895, when George Bernard Shaw was reviewing new London productions of scripts by Henry James and Oscar Wilde, he was dealing with the interpretations imposed by an actor-manager, who would often select a play mainly because it had a role that promised to showcase his particular histrionic talents. (Wendy Lesser, "A Director Calls")
2) And the same is true for the other judgments we make about tears, as when we deem them to be normal or excessive, sincere or manipulative, expressive or histrionic. (Tom Lutz, "Crying: The Natural and Cultural History of Tears")
3) Rose does have too many repetitive, histrionic fits. (Frank Rich, "Miller's 'American Clock,'" New York Times, November 21, 1980)
Etymology:
"Histrionic" comes from Latin "histrionicus", from "histrio, histrion-" ("an actor").


hit

• hits the big time
• hits
• the big time
• big time

Anything that is successful or popular; a popular song or movie.
Examples:
1) Tom's presentation was a hit with the sales team. 2) The latest Tom Cruise film is a real hit.
Etymology:
This use of the word 'hit' comes from the idea that a successful play 'hits the big time', which means that it arrives at the place where success is guaranteed.

hit below the belt

• hit
• below the belt
• belt
• below

To do or say something in an unfair or indecent manner; to use unfair tactics or be unsportsmanlike.
Example:
Saying I shouldn't be president of the Health Club because I'm a little overweight is really hitting below the belt.
Etymology:
In 1865 in England, the Marquis of Queensberry laid down strict rules for boxing. One of the strictest was that you were not permitted to hit anyone below the belt line. Today that rule still holds in boxing, but the saying also means to act unfairly in any kind of contest, relationship, or activity.

hit man

• hit
• man
• hitman
• gunman
• gunslinger
• hired gun
• gun
• triggerman
• torpedo
• shooter
• gun for hire
• hire
• hired

Also: hitman
1. Professional assassin, person who kills others for pay.
Example:
One of the most successful was the operation to which the hit man, Guy Fawkes, gave his name in 1605. (Lindsay, Kennedy. "British intelligence services in action". - Dundalk, Ireland: Dunrod Press, 1980)
2. Professional killer who uses a gun.
Synonyms:
gunman, gunslinger, hired gun, gun, triggerman, torpedo, shooter, gun for hire


hit the books

• hit the book
• hit
• books
• book
• study
• learn

To study school assignments carefully; prepare for classes by reading and doing homework; learn by reading books.
Synonyms: study, learn
Examples:
1) I wish I could go to the movies, but I've got a major test tomorrow, so I better hit the books.
2) He stayed home all weekend and hit the books.
3) He is studying geology in his room.
Etymology, more examples:
This idiom says that when you really study hard, you "hit" the books. "Hit" has many meanings. Among them are "to come into contact with something forcefully" ("The bomb hit its target") and "to achieve something you desire" ("He hit upon the right formula").

hit the hay

• hit
• hay
• go to bed
• go to
• bed
• go
• turn in
• turn
• crawl in
• crawl
• kip down
• kip
• hit the sack
• sack
• get into bed
• get
• sack out
• sack
• go to sleep
• sleep
• retire
• get up

To go to bed, to go to sleep; to crash.
1) It's been a long day, and now it's time to hit the hay.
2) After supper he hit the hay. He was exhausted.
Synonyms:
go to bed, turn in, crawl in, kip down, hit the sack, get into bed, sack out, go to sleep, retire Antonym: get up
Etymology:
This slang expression was first used by homeless people who traveled from place to place on foot in the United States in the 1930s. In those days wanderers asked for odd jobs, often begged for money, and were always looking for a place to spend the night. Sometimes they slept on a pile of hay in a field or barn. When their heads "hit the hay," they were probably so tired that they fell asleep quickly. Today, wherever you sleep or whatever you sleep on, when you go to bed, you're hitting the hay.

hit the jackpot

• hit
• jackpot

To hit the mark, hit the bullseye, to won the lottery; to achieve amazing success; to be very lucky or successful.
Examples:
1) She hit the jackpot when she went to Las Vegas last weekend.
2) Today I hit the jackpot: I got the highest grade on the spelling test.
Etymology:
In 19th century America, when this phrase was first used, if you "hit the jackpot" in a card game, you won all the money. Today the saying refers to any kind of lucky success in any area of life.


hit the nail on the head

• hit the nail right on the head
• hit the nail
• head
• hit
• nail
• right
• hit a bullseye
• hit the mark
• hit it right on the button
• bullseye
• mark
• hit it
• button

To make a correct guess or analysis; to be exactly correct about a description or come to the right conclusion.
Synonyms:
hit a bullseye, hit the mark, hit it right on the button
Examples:
1) He really hit the nail on the head when he wrote the report about the bank`s problems.
2) When she said that Kirk had the face of a movie star and the brain of a flea, she hit the nail right on the head.
Etymology:
The ancient Romans had a similar saying in Latin, and the expression first appeared in English in a book printed in 1508. When hammering, if you hit the nail right on the head, and the nail goes straight in, you've done the job. So if you speak the most accurate words or come to the most sensible conclusion, you "hit the nail on the head."

hit the road

• hit
• road
• skedaddle

1. To leave; to begin a journey; to go home.
2. Go away!; Leave me alone!
Synonym: skedaddle
Examples:
1) It's getting kind of late, so I think I'm going to hit the road. 2) Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.
3) Campers, it's time to hit the road on our fifteen-mile hike.
Etymology:
One definition of "hit" is "to make contact with." Unless you can fly, something must be in physical contact with the road when moving on it - the rubber on the tires, the soles of shoes, the hooves of the horse. So, when you start on a journey overland, you're "hitting the road."


hit the roof

• fly off the handle
• flip one's lid
• blow up
• blow one's top
• top
• throw a fit
• hit the ceiling
• have kittens
• have a fit
• combust
• blow one's stack
• flip one's wig
• lose one's temper
• blow a fuse
• go ballistic
• fly off
• fly
• handle
• flip
• lid
• blow
• hit
• roof
• throw
• fit
• ceiling
• kitten
• kittens
• blow
• stack
• wig
• lose
• temper
• fuse
• go
• ballistic

To get extremely furious or angry; to lose one's temper; to become very angry, to go or fly into a rage.
Synonyms:
fly off the handle, flip one's lid, blow up, throw a fit, hit the ceiling, have kittens, have a fit, combust, blow one's stack, blow one's top, flip one's wig, lose one's temper, blow a fuse, go ballistic.
Examples:
1) He hit the roof when he found out that his son had wrecked the family car.
2) When Chad's grandmother saw that he had used her fur coat in his science experiment, she hit the roof.
Etymology:
This frequently used expression comes from early 20th-century America. Imagine a person becoming so angry that he or she explodes and his/her body actually hits the roof. It creates a dramatic picture of anger.




hit the spot

• hit
• spot

To fully satisfy and refresh, especially with food or drink: "That was really good!"; "That was just what I needed."
Examples:
1) Mmmm - that cup of coffee really hit the spot! 2) I needed a good laugh, and that slang cartoon really hit the spot.
3) After that long hike through the desert, a cold soda hit the spot.
Etymology:
This bit of American slang from the mid-1900s reminds one of "hit the nail right on the head". Imagine that there's a spot inside of you that is the main source of hunger and thirst. Whatever you eat or drink that satisfies your appetite and dry throat "hits the spot". It refreshes your spirits and picks up your strength. The term is usually used for food and drink, but also for other kinds of pleasures, such as entertainment.


hitch one's wagon to a star

• hitch one's wagon to
• star
• hitch one's wagon
• hitch
• wagon

To aim high; to follow a great ambition or purpose; to try to reach the highest level.
Examples:
1) In trying to be a famous pianist, Mary had hitched her wagon to a star.
2) John hitched his wagon to a star and decided to try to become President.
3) He wants to hitch his wagon to a star and pursue his dreams of becoming an actor.
4) Even though Paul was small, he hitched his wagon to a star and made it to the top of the league.
Etymology:
Some word experts think that the famous American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson first used this expression in an essay he wrote in 1870. "Hitch" means "attach". "Wagon" stands for any vehicle that takes you places. "Star" symbolizes the highest place to which a person can aspire. So if you're ambitious and set high goals for yourself, you "hitch your wagon to a star".

hiving

• hive
• hiver
• hive home
• hive off

(pres. part. of "hive") making one's home the focus for social activities and work
Forms:
hive (v., n.), hive home (n), hive off (phr.v.)
- NOUN: 1. a) a structure for housing bees, especially honeybees; b) a colony of bees living in such a structure. 2. a place swarming with activity. - TRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To collect into a hive. 2. To store (honey) in a hive. 3. To store up; accumulate.
- INTRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To enter and occupy a beehive. 2. To live with many others in close association.
- PHRASAL VERB: To set apart from a group.
Examples:
1) Hiving is the response to this craving for comfort and connection. Hiving is the embrace of others in a safe setting abuzz with activity and engagement. Home is an integral part of hiving, yet hiving is not just about home. A hive is command central for a more fully engaged and more broadly connected lifestyle. (J. Walker Smith, Craig Wood, "The Buzz About Hiving", Direct, February 1, 2004)
2) Like a beehive, a hive home represents engagement, interaction and connection with the outside environment... Hive homes are also often on smaller lots, encouraging use of community centers and parks that are an integral part of a hiving community. 'A hive is a home designed to open out and facilitate connection', Smith said. 'Across all generations, family is more important than ever, and people see more value in community. Through hiving, home is the best place to reestablish relationships and connect with others'. In a recent Yankelovich survey, 64 percent of the participants identified themselves as 'hivers'". (Chryss Cada, "'Hiving' new community buzzword", The Denver Post, March 14, 2003)
3) It's beyond cocooning. When the cocoon - that 1980s style of living that provides for everything and shuts out the world -becomes a workplace, it changes into something else. Call it, instead, "hiving": the busy bee mentality. (J. Linn Allen, "Work ethic carried to a new height", Chicago Tribune, December 18, 1988)
4) He was hived off the department into another division.
Etymology:
Middle English, from Old English "hyf".


hoary
[HOR-ee]
1. White or gray with age; as, "hoary hairs."
2. Ancient; extremely old; remote in time past.
Examples:
1) Once upon a time, memoirs were written by hoary chaps casting rheumy glances back towards their golden youth: no more. (Erica Wagner, "Post-Post-Modern memoir," Times (London), July 19, 2000)
2) Had Mozart lived to the hoary old age of 73, he might indeed have fallen out of favor in an era besotted with Rossini, becoming a "largely forgotten, neglected, unperformed composer." (Marilyn Stasio, "Crime," New York Times, June 23, 1996)
3) Mr. Weicker spends most of his time serving up hoary war stories and settling old political scores. (Jeff Greenfield, "Politically Imprudent," New York Times, June 18, 1995)
4) Compare that with the elements of a musical in about 1920: the star in a cliche story that was merely a framing device for generic musical numbers, hoary joke-book gags, and the usual specialty performers in a staging more often than not by a hack. (Ethan Mordden, "Coming Up Roses")
Etymology:
"Hoary" derives from Middle English "hor", from Old English "har" - "gray; old (and gray-haired)."


hobbledehoy
[HOB-uhl-dee-hoy]
An awkward, gawky young fellow.
Examples:
1) For early on, girls become aware - as much from their fathers' anguished bellows of "You're not going out dressed like that, Miss" as from the buffoonish reactions of the spotty hobbledehoys at the end-of-term disco - of the power of clothes to seduce. (Jane Shilling, "Soft-centred punk", Times (London), October 27, 2000)
2) His memories, even only reveries, of incomparable women, made me feel like a hulking hobbledehoy. (Edith Anderson, "Love in Exile")
3) Unfortunately, they have to contend with ignorant hobbledehoys who, on seeing these rows of shingle heaps, feel compelled to jump on them. (Susan Campbell, "He grows seakale on the seashore", Daily Telegraph, March 27, 1999)
Etymology:
The origin of "hobbledehoy" is unknown, though it perhaps derives from "hobble", from the awkward movements of a clumsy adolescent.


hobnob

• hob nob
• hob
• nob
• habnab
• drink hob or nob
• drink
• hob or nob
• drink hobnob

[HAHB-nahb]
To associate familiarly.
Example:
Bill hoped his new job as a reporter would give him an opportunity to hobnob with politicians and other notables.
History, more examples, related words and phrases:
"Hob" and "nob" first came together in print in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", when Sir Toby Belch warned Viola (who was disguised as a man) that Sir Andrew wanted to duel. "Hob, nob is his word", said Sir Toby, using "hob nob" to mean something like "hit or miss." Sir Toby's term is probably an alteration of "habnab," a phrase that meant "to have or not have, however it may turn out." After Shakespeare's day, "hob" and "nob" became established in the phrases "to drink hob or nob" and "to drink hobnob," which were used to mean "to drink alternately to each other." Since "drinking hobnob" was generally done among friends, "hobnob" came to refer to congenial social interaction.


hog

• pig

1. To selfishly claim all of something; to eat or take everything.
Examples:
1) Peter was hogging the food like he hadn't eaten in days. 2) Nicolas, don't hog the computer! Other people want to use it too.
Etymology:
A 'hog' is literally a pig, and pigs are famous for selfishly consuming their food. As slang, the term can be used to describe any kind of selfish behavior. 2. One who is selfish.
Example:
Share with your brother - don't be such a hog!
Synonym: pig


hoi polloi

• hoi-polloi
• the hoi polloi
• hoi
• polloi

[hoi-puh-LOI]
1. The common people generally; (broad toiling) masses.
2. Hoity-toity members of the upper crust.
Examples:
1) Lizzie insisted that her children distinguish themselves from the hoi polloi by scrupulous honesty. (Kate Buford, "Burt Lancaster: An American Life")
2) The exchange of roles in "The Prince and the Pauper" suggests that a man of the people can be a benevolent ruler because of his humble roots, that a prince can become a better ruler through exposure to hoi polloi. (Michiko Kakutani "In Classic Children's Books, Is a Witch Ever Just a Witch?" New York Times, December 22, 1992)
3) America's cereal queen [Marjorie Merriweather Post, heir to the Post Cereal fortune] had the same problems that the hoi polloi have - philandering husbands, messy divorces, soggy Grape-Nuts. (Maureen Dowd, "Rich Little Rich Girl," New York Times, February 12, 1995)
Etymology:
"Hoi polloi" comes from Greek, where it means "the masses", "the common people", "the many." The phrase originated in English in the early 1800s, a time when it was considered necessary to know Greek and Latin in order to appear well educated. Knowledge of these languages would serve to set apart the speaker from the common people who did not have that education. "Hoi" is a definite article. But over the years, users of English who are unfamiliar with Greek have begun saying "the hoi-polloi". So, "the hoi polloi" has been used since the earliest recorded instances of the term in English and is considered correct by most authorities. Also, its meaning has changed. Since the 1950s the phrase has often been misused to refer to the upper class, which is the opposite of its actual meaning. It has been speculated that this usage has arisen due to similarity between the phrase "hoi polloi" and "high" or "hoity toity" (see). At least, the upper crust might actually be aware that the phrase is Greek, even if they don't know its meaning.


hoise

• hoist
• hoist with one's own petard
• hoist by one's own petard
• hoist by
• petard
• hoist with

[HOYZ]
Inflected Forms: hoised [-zd] or hoist [-ist]; hoised or hoist; hoising; hoises
To lift, to raise; especially: to raise into position by or as if by means of tackle.
Example:
Bethany was selected by her Girl Scout troop to hoise the American flag for Monday's Memorial Day ceremony on the town green.
Etymology, synomyms, related forms, words and expressions, more examples:
The word is the alteration of earlier "heise", probably from Middle Dutch "hischen" or (assumed) Middle Low German "hissen" (whence Low German "hissen"), of imitative origin.
The connection between "hoise" and "hoist" is a bit confusing. The two words are essentially synonymous variants, but "hoist" is far more common. You'll rarely encounter "hoise" in any of its regular forms: "hoise," "hoised," or "hoising." But a variant of its past participle shows up fairly frequently as part of a set expression. And now, here's the confusing part - that variant past participle is "hoist"! The expression is "hoist with one's own petard" or "hoist by one's own petard," which means "blown up by one's own bomb usually, victimized or hurt by one's own scheme". This oft-heard phrase owes its popularity to Shakespeare's "Hamlet": "For 'tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petar[d]." (A petard, by the way, is a medieval explosive device that had an unfortunate tendency to blow up the person setting it off.)


hold all the trumps

• hold
• all the trumps
• all the
• trump
• trumps

To have the best chance of winning, have all the advantages.
Example: The striker holds all the trumps and should easily be elected as captain of the football team.


hold the fort

• hold
• fort
• held

1. To manage affairs until the one in authority returns; to cope in an emergency, to act as a temporary substitute; to temporarily be responsible for watching over a place.
2. To protect oneself; to protect a place, to defend a location (home, military base, fortress, etc.); to fight off trouble or keep watch.
Examples:
1) He has been holding the fort at his company while his boss is on vacation.
2) Our teacher was late, so the teacher next door held the fort in our room until he showed up.
Etymology:
This expression comes from the military. It was widely used in books and early movies about the old West. Often when a fort was being attacked by enemies on the frontier or during the Civil War, the soldiers defending it were told, "Hold the fort. Don't give up. Help is on its way." Today you can "hold the fort" by watching the children in someone's house until a parent returns or by taking care of a store while the owner's away.


hole in the wall

• hole
• wall

1. A breach in the wall, a gap in the wall.
2. A small hidden or inferior place; an unpretentious out-of-the-way place, a small and relatively unknown location; a small place to live, stay in or work in; a small, simple place, particularly a shop or restaurant.
Examples:
1) His office was a hole-in-the-wall.
2) Let's go to the Italian restaurant on Smith Street. It's just a hole in the wall, but the food is excellent.
Etymology:
This phrase has been used since the early 1800s. A "hole" is an empty space, and a "wall" is part of a building. So a "hole in the wall" is a simple, undecorated space in a building.


homage
[AH-mij]
1. A feudal ceremony by which a man acknowledges himself the vassal of a lord; the relationship between a feudal lord and his vassal; an act done or payment made in meeting the obligations of vassalage.
2. Expression of high regard; respect.
3. Something that shows respect or attests to the worth or influence of another; tribute.
Example:
Elizabeth Catlett's 1968 sculpture of a woman with a defiantly raised fist is called "Homage to My Young Black Sisters," but it is a tribute to all womanhood.
History:
The root of "homage" is "homo-," the Latin root meaning "man." In medieval times, a king's male subject could officially become the king's "man" by publicly announcing allegiance to the monarch in a formal ceremony. In that ritual, known as "homage," the subject knelt and placed his hands between those of his lord, symbolically surrendering himself and putting himself at the lord's disposal and under his jurisdiction. A bond was thus forged between the two; the vassal's part was to revere and serve his lord, and the lord's role was to protect the vassal and his family. Over time, "homage" was extended from the ceremony to the acts of duty and respect done for the lord, and eventually to any respectful act or tribute.


home run

• homerun
• homer
• home
• run
• bell ringer
• bull's eye
• mark

1. (baseball) A hit in which a player is able to circle all four bases and score one point (usually the ball is hit out of the playing field); a base hit on which the batter scores a run; a hit that allows the batter to make a complete circuit of the diamond and score a run.
Example:
Do you remember the game when Rusty hit three home runs?
Synonyms: homerun, homer
2. Something that exactly succeeds in achieving its goal.
Example:
The president's speech was a home run. Synonyms: bell ringer, bull's eye, mark


homeshoring

• offshoring

Some companies are starting to consider the potential of the increasing proportion of people who have broadband Internet connections into their homes. This permits staff to work from home on a semi-casual basis while being able to supply a high standard of service, because they know local conditions. Companies find that costs are often no higher in real terms than employing a worker in an Indian call centre.
Examples:
1) IDC said companies are turning to homeshoring in response to call center challenges such as the need for superior agent quality, frequent turnover and the seasonal nature of the business. ("C-Net News", 21 Dec. 2004)
2) Domestic and international carriers are cutting costs by relocating these facilities to small U.S. communities, offshoring and nearshoring them outside the country's borders and even home-shoring them into employees' residences. ("Commercial Property News", 1 Nov. 2004)
Etymology, a related word:
Many companies, especially in the USA and the UK, have moved jobs to countries such as India in which costs are lower, a process that is called "offshoring". Not all such transfers have worked out, as a result of bad management decisions, poor service, and complaints from customers about difficulties in communication with overseas call centres.
So, the term "homeshoring" has been coined for this in the USA, a word - and a technique, per sample "offshoring", but quite the contrary, - which is at the moment hardly known in the UK but which seems likely to catch on.


homily

• homilist
• Homiletic

1. A sermon; a discourse on a religious theme.
2. A moralizing lecture or discourse.
3. An inspirational saying; also, a platitude.
Examples:
1) Trumpets sounded, wine ran from fountains, bishops delivered homilies, magistrates presented the keys to their cities, triumphal arches sprang up along the way. (Christine Pevitt, "Philippe, Duc D'Orleans: Regent of France")
2) He launched into a homily about marriage as a garden that requires care. (Janet Maslin, " 'Somehow Form a Family': Between the Hills and Gilligan's Island", New York Times, June 7, 2001)
3) Fathers Cyprien and Marie-Nizier were the first to nod off during the homily on bad thoughts. (R?my Rougeau, "Cello")
4) The book consisted of easy-to-remember rhyming homilies on the subjects of selling, winning, and making money ("If you want to earn your dough, get up in the morning and GO, GO, GO!"). (Brad Barkley, "Money, Love")
5) A Washington homily fit the situation: "That which must be done eventually is best done immediately." (Ward Just, "Echo House")
Etymology, relative words:
"Homily" ultimately derives from Greek "homilia" ("instruction"), from "homolein" ("to be together or in company with", hence "to have dealings with"), from "homilos" ("an assembled crowd"), from "homos" ("same"). One who delivers homilies is a homilist. Homiletic means "of or pertaining to a homily".


homologate
[hoh-MAH-luh-gayt]
1. A sanction, allow.
2. To approve or confirm officially.
Example:
On September 24, 1991, a judgment confirming and homologating the sale was issued.... ("C & G Constr., Inc. v. Valteau", Court of Appeal of La., 4th circuit)
History, synonyms, more examples:
Who needs "homologate"? We have any number of words that mean "to officially approve something", i.e.synonyms: "accredit," "affirm," "approbate," "authorize," "certify," "confirm," "endorse," "ratify," "sanction," "warrant," and "validate," for example. "Homologate," which has been around more than 400 years, has mostly been kept for special occasions; Scottish Law, for example, held that "a marriage contract, though defective in the legal solemnities, is held... to be homologated by the subsequent marriage of the parties." The beauty of "homologate" is that, etymologically speaking, it's an easy word, consisting as it does of the familiar Greek roots "homos," meaning "alike" or "same," and "logos," meaning "word" or "speech" - in other words, "saying the same thing," thus, "agreeing." So we need not agree with the Scottish bishop who in 1715 called it a "hard word."


homonym

• Homophone
• Homograph

[HAH-muh-nim]
1. Homophone.
2. Homograph.
3. One of two or more words spelled and pronounced alike but different in meaning (as the noun "quail" and the verb "quail").
Example:
Asked for an example of homonyms, Cal suggested "nail" - as in the one on his finger and the one hammered through wood.
Etymology, related words, explanations:
A lot of people are confused by homonyms, homophones, and homographs. Thinking about the endings of the words may help one keep them straight. "Homophones" are words that sound the same, but that have different meanings or spellings (like "to," "two," and "too"). "Homographs" are spelled alike, but differ in meaning or pronunciation (like the "bow" in your hair and the "bow" of a ship). "Homonym" can be a synonym of either "homophone" or "homograph," but some writers prefer to use it only for words that are both homophones and homographs (like the game of "pool" and a "pool" of water).


homonymous
[hoe-MAH-nuh-mus]
1. Ambiguous.
2. Having the same designation.
3. Of, relating to, or being homonyms.
Example:
How many states, besides New York, have a homonymous city or town?
History, explanation:
The "ambiguous" sense of "homonymous" refers mainly to words that have two or more meanings. In the 1600s, logicians and scientists who wanted to refer to (or complain about!) such equivocal words chose a name for them based on Latin and Greek, from Greek "hom-" ("same") and "onyma" ("name"). In time, English speakers came up with another sense of "homonymous," referring to two things having the same name (Hawaii, the state, and Hawaii, the island, for example). Next came the use of "homonymous" to refer to homonyms, such as "see" and "sea." There's also a zoological sense. Sheep and goats whose right horn spirals to the right and left horn spirals to the left are said to be "homonymous."



honeyfuggle

• honey-fuggle
• honeyfugle
• honeyfackle
• honeyfogle
• honey-fugle
• honey-fackle
• honey-fogle
• coneyfugle

Deceive by flattery or sweet-talk; swindle or cheat.
Etymology, examples:
U.S. colloq., from "honey" + "fugle" (also "-fugle", "-fackle", "-fogle")
The great tradition of expressive American terms of the nineteenth century brought forth this word, which has now vanished from daily life. It has been variously spelt down the decades, with "honey-fugle" or "honeyfugle" being common variants. The flattery was usually assumed to be with an ulterior purpose, as here in the "Atlantic Monthly" in 1861: "His habit of 'log-rolling,' or, as the extreme Westerners call it, 'honey-fugling' for votes and support, had so grown upon him, that his sincere friends feared lest he would sink too low, and in the end defeat himself." Among its last public appearances was one in the "Syracuse Herald" in 1934, in which President Roosevelt was described as "the prize honeyfugler of his time". One of the reasons why it dropped out of common usage may have been that a sense grew up of sexual activity with young girls (with "fuggle" being a modification of the F-word), as a semi-euphemistic version of another, unambiguous, term. The "honey" part is easy to link with sweet-talking, but the rest is puzzling. It's usually assumed to be a variation on an English dialect word "coneyfugle" ("to hoodwink or cajole by flattery"), where "coney" is the old word for an adult rabbit and "fugle" is an even more enigmatic term that means "to cheat". But how the two words came to be put together in order to have that meaning is unknown.


honky

• whitey
• honkey
• honkie

(Slang, derogatory) A white person, Caucasian.
Example:
Then this honky gave us a ride. Some whites are nice, eh.
Synonyms:
whitey, honkey, honkie
Etymology:
Many philologists claim that the word "honky" derives from the Wolof "honq" - "of light complexion". According to Jesse Sheidlower in his article "Crying Wolof" (<http://slate.msn.com/id/2110811/>), it actually derives from an African-American pronunciation of "hunky", a disparaging term for Hungarian laborers. The first recorded use of the word "honky" as an insulting term for a white person is found only in the 1950s.



hoodlum
A criminal or gangster.
Example:
The streets are a lot safer now that the police have cracked down on those hoodlums.
Etymology:
1871, Amer.Eng. (first in ref. to San Francisco) - "young street rowdy, loafer," later (1877) "young criminal, gangster," of unknown origin, though newspapers have printed myriad stories concocted to account for it. A guess perhaps better than average is that it is from Ger. dial. (Bavarian), "Huddellump" ("ragamuffin").


hoplophobia

• hoplophobe
• hoplophobic

The fear of guns.
Examples:
1) A Utah gun-rights group has an eye out for hoplophobes. Never heard of hoplophobia? Most people haven't. The made-up word to describe people who fear guns hasn't caught on. Not even longtime gun enthusiasts are familiar with the term. "We lead the state in sales, but we've never heard that," said Norman Van Wagenen, whose family has been in the firearms business in Provo since 1958. The Utah Shooting Sports Council is trying to get hoplophobia into the local vernacular as well as the often bitter gun rights debate. (Dennis Romboy, "Gun-rights group touts new 'word'", Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), December 29, 2003)
2) Alan Korwin, author of the Arizona Gun Owner's Guide and one of the media participants, chalks up the media's lack of attention to Second Amendment issues to "hoplophobia", which is an irrational fear of firearms. When asked what a rational fear of firearms would be, Korwin replies, "When someone is pointing a loaded gun at you". (Quetta Carpenter, "Gun Nut," Phoenix New Times (Phoenix, Arizona), October 3, 2002)
3) "These gun-control people suffer from hoplophobia", said John Snyder, spokesman for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The word is of Greek origin and means an unusual fear of weapons. (Carleton R. Bryant, "Bush sees no need for new gun laws", The Washington Times, January 3, 1991)
Etymology:
The term combines the Greek prefix "hoplo-", weapon, and the suffix "-phobia" ("fear"). Etymology aside, the word "hoplophobia" was created with an obvious agenda in mind, and no thoughtful reader of the citations will fail to miss the political baggage that this word carries.


hornswoggle

• be hornswoggled
• hornswoggled

Bamboozle or hoax; cheat or swindle.
Examples etymology, more meanings:
"We're hornswoggled. We're backed to a standstill. We're double-crossed to a fare-you-well" bitterly complains a character in Jack London's "The Valley of the Moon" of 1913. Seven years later the young P.G. Wodehouse used it in "Little Warrior": "Would she have the generosity to realize that a man ought not to be held accountable for what he says in the moment when he discovers that he has been cheated, deceived, robbed - in a word, hornswoggled?" By then, the word had been in the language with that meaning for more than half a century, and even then it had been around for some decades with an older sense of "embarrass, disconcert or confuse". People had long since turned it into an exclamation of surprise or amazement: "Well, I'll be hornswoggled!" Peter Watts argues in "A Dictionary of the Old West" that it comes from cowpunching. A steer that has been lassoed around the neck will "hornswoggle", wag and twist its head around frantically to try to slip free of the rope. A cowboy who lets the animal get away with this is said to have been "hornswoggled". A nice idea, but nobody seems to have heard of "hornswoggle" in the cattle sense, and it may be a guess based on "horn". Nobody else has much idea either, though it's often assumed to be one of those highfalutin words like "absquatulate" and "rambunctious" that frontier Americans were so fond of creating. It's sad to have to tag a word as "origin unknown" yet again, but that's the long and the short of it.
We don't know where "woggle" comes from, but it's a British term of the 1930s and "hornswoggle" has never been at all common in this country. So a connection with the woggles (neckerchief clips) worn by boy scouts seems improbable, though some early examples were made from bone or horn .

hortative

• advisory
• exhort

[HOR-tuh-tiv]
Giving exhortation.
Synonym: advisory.
Example:
Amy suspected that her hortative letter to her son about the values of hard work and education would be ignored in the swirl of freshman partying, but she sent it anyway. History, related words, examples:
"Hortative" and "exhort" (meaning "to urge earnestly") are two words that testify to our eagerness to counsel others. Both trace to the Latin "hortari," meaning "to urge." "Hortative" has been used as both a noun (meaning "an advisory comment") and as an adjective since the 17th century. The noun is now uncommon, but it makes an appearance now and then, as in a 1992 article in The New York Times : "Facing directly into the camera, Mr. [Ross] Perot chronicled what he called the decline and potential fall of the American economy, keeping up a steady stream of hortatives as he went along. 'Let's just raise the hood and go to work!' he said. 'Let's just link arms and go do it!'"


hortatory
[HOR-tuh-tor-ee]
Marked by strong urging; serving to encourage or incite, as, "a hortatory speech".
Examples:
1) Carl Van Doren, "The American Novel, 1789-1939", later gave up the ministry in the conviction that he could reach thousands with his beguiling pen and only hundreds with his hortatory voice. (Carl Van Doren, "The American Novel, 1789-1939")
2) Instead of "Home Run, Jack," the hortatory message that greets the batter at the plate is the subliminal one that surfaces: "Run Home, Jack." (Marjorie Garber, "Symptoms of Culture")
3) The former West German Chancellor's book . . . is a call to action, and, even in this good translation, the book relies heavily on the hortatory language of political appeals. (Tamar Jacoby, "Carrots and Sticks", New York Times, August 24, 1986)
Etymology:
"Hortatory" is from Latin "hortatorius", from "hortari" ("to exhort, to incite, to encourage").


hose oneself off

• hose off
• hose

To use a garden hose to rinse the slop off one's own body.
Example:
You should wash mud or hose yourselves off and then dry the area as thoroughly as possible.


hot under the collar

• hot
• collar

Upset, very angry.
Example:
Better say good night. My father is starting to get hot under the collar.
History:
Though this expression became popular in the 1800s, it has been observed for centuries that when people become angry, their faces and necks tend to turn red. And under their collars, their necks are getting hot. You'd better watch out! They might blow their stacks.


house of cards

• house
• cards
• card

A poorly thought out plan, something that is badly put together and easily knocked over.
Example: The large company was like a house of cards and when there were financial problems in one area the whole business was hurt.


houseblinging

• houseblinger
• blinger
• housebling
• bling-bling
• bling
• blingy
• blinger

Decorating the exterior of a house with a large amount of Christmas lights.
Examples:
1) Greetings houseblingers and their admirers! The new houseblinging season is now upon us and we know that many of you have already been preparing furiously for this winter"s display& (houseblinger.com <http://www.houseblinger.com/index.php>, 29th November 2005) 2) Some streets with a lot of houseblings can attract many visitors, causing traffic jams and annoyance to neighbours. (houseblinger.com <http://www.houseblinger.com/environment.php>, 29th November 2005) 3) As we drive down a quiet residential street in early December, we"re suddenly confronted with a dazzling display. What was yesterday a modest, respectable semi-detached house, has in a matter of hours turned into an explosion of electrical activity, a giant, flashing Christmas shrine, adorned with Santa, snowman and multitudes of reindeers. Whether you love these light extravaganzas or hate them, there"s now a term to describe this seasonal pastime: houseblinging.
History, related words: "Houseblinging" is becoming increasingly popular on both sides of the Atlantic, so much so that a dedicated website houseblinger.com <http://www.houseblinger.com/> was launched in December 2004 (with a more recent American counterpart usa.houseblinger.com <http://usa.houseblinger.com/>). The site is of course aimed at people who engage in houseblinging and admirers of their work. It promotes the term houseblinger to refer to those who decorate the exteriors of their homes (sometimes shortened to "blingers"), and a noun "housebling", which is used both uncountably and countably to refer to the decoration itself or an instance of it. The site gives guidance to houseblingers, promoting energy-saving measures and use of the displays for fundraising, and enables them to share tips and experiences. Spotters are given the opportunity to submit photos of recently identified houseblings which form a geographically organised gallery. The expression "houseblinging" made its first appearance in December 2004. Its original use is attributable to Peter Bridge of Aston, Hertfordshire, who, in a letter to "The Daily Telegraph" on the 9th December 2004, suggested the word "housebling" to describe houses extravagantly decorated with Christmas lights. The "bling" element of the word relates to the term "bling-bling", an expression referring to large pieces of expensive, eye-catching jewellery, thought to have originated from the Jamaican slang for the imaginary "sound" produced in animated cartoons when light reflects off a diamond. Often abbreviated to simply "bling", the term originated in hip-hop slang but quickly came into widespread use, so much so that in 2002 it entered the fifth edition of the Shorter Oxford Dictionary. Current usage of the word "bling" not only relates to expensive jewellery but an entire lifestyle centred around excess spending. "Houseblinging" is a more recent addition to a range of derivatives, including an adjective "blingy", a noun "blinger" and even a phrasal verb "bling it up".


how's your father

• A bit of how's your father
• how's
• father

[aa's yer farva]
1. (low slang) A euphemism for sex; a casual sexual encounter.
Examples:
1) Awright darlin', fancy a bit of how's yer father?
2) I think there upstairs having a bit of how's your farther!
2. A person whose name one cannot for the moment remember.
Synonyms:
whoosis, whatsis, what's his name, etc.
History:
It must be an outdated expression, even in Britain, where it was once most popular. All these derive ultimately from the fertile imagination of the music-hall comedian Harry Tate, born in 1872 and popular from before the First World War to his death as the result of an air raid in 1940. When he was supposedly stumped for an answer in one of his sketches, he would break off and ask "how's your father?" as a way to change the subject. This became a catch phrase and was picked up by servicemen in the First World War. John Brophy (who edited "Songs and Slang of the British Soldier: 1914-1918" with Eric Partridge) wrote that it was "turned to all sorts of ribald, ridiculous and heroic uses". Our modern meaning is a relic of those times.


howru
(SMS) how are you?


hubris
[HYOO-bris]
Overbearing or exaggerated pride or presumption, self-confidence.
Examples:
1) Many have fallen into the trap of Icarus, and soar, overcome with hubris, until their pride is thwarted and rude reality hurls them earthward again.
2) During his long tenure in the financial world, Friedman has watched dozens of his competitors' businesses killed by hubris born of success rather than by unsound business decisions or adverse market conditions. (Lisa Endlich, "Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success")
3) This is the actor's hubris, to imagine the world possessed of a single, avid eye fixed solely and always on him. (John Banville, "Eclipse")
4) With dizzying hubris, Shelley elevated the vocation of the poet above that of priest and statesman. (Peter Gay, "Pleasure Wars")
Etymology:
From Greek "hybris" - "excessive pride, wanton violence."
English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered hubris a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods. In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero. Typically, overconfidence led the hero to attempt to overstep the boundaries of human limitations and assume a godlike status, and the gods inevitably humbled the offender with a sharp reminder of his or her mortality.


hullabaloo
[HUL-uh-buh-loo]
A confused noise; uproar; tumult.
Examples:
1) True, he had diplomatic immunity as the assistant agricultural officer at the consulate, but the publicity and hullabaloo of an arrest and interrogation, not to mention expulsion from the country, would not be career-enhancing. (Stephen Coonts, "Hong Kong")
2) By jumping on and off goods trains and encountering a sympathetic manager who hid him down a mine until the hullabaloo over his escape had died down, he finally reached freedom. (David Stafford, "Churchill and Secret Service")
Etymology:
"Hullabaloo" is perhaps a corruption of "hurly-burly", or the interjection "halloo" with rhyming reduplication.


hum drum

• hum
• drum
• humdrum

Also: humdrum
1. Not challenging; dull and lacking excitement.
Example: "an unglamorous job greasing engines". Synonyms: commonplace, prosaic, unglamorous, unglamourous 2. Tediously repetitious; lacking in variety;
Examples:
1) "a humdrum existence";
2) "all work and no play";
3) Nothing is so monotonous as the sea. Synonym: monotonous
3. A dull fellow.
Synonym: a bore. 4. Monotonous and tedious routine.
Example:
They were dissatisfied with humdrum. 5. A low cart with three wheels, drawn by one horse.


hush-hush

• hush

Very secret.
Examples:
1) The operation was so hush-hush that even the commanding officer didn't know all of the details.
2) Let's keep that information hush-hush, OK?
Etymology:
'Hush' means 'quiet'. So something that is 'hush-hush' should not be discussed or exposed in public. This phrase dates back to Word War I, when it referred to military secrets.


hwk

• hmwrk

(SMS) homework
Also: hmwrk


hydromancy

• necromancy
• pyromancy
• rhabdomancy

[HY-druh-man-see]
Divination by the appearance or motion of liquids (as water).
Example:
The store has a large section of books about hydromancy and other forms of fortune-telling.
Etymology, related words:
If you've ever encountered a sorceress or a wizard peering into a "scrying bowl" as part of a movie or a book, you've witnessed a (fictionalized) version of "hydromancy". The word has been used since at least the 14th century to describe the use of water in divination - examples include predicting the future by the motion of the tides or contacting spirits using still water. "Hydromancy" is believed to derive ultimately from the Greek words for "water" ("hydor") and "divination" ("manteia"); it came to English via the Latin "hydromantia." The ancient Greeks who relied on hydromancy also gave us the names for related forms of divination, such as "necromancy" (using the dead), "pyromancy" (with fire), and even "rhabdomancy," a fancy and now rare word for "divination with wands or rods."


hype
Loud advertising and promotion.
Examples:
1) The new movie by Steven Spielberg is getting a lot of hype. 2) Don't believe the hype!
Etymology: In the early 1800s, a 'hype' was a scam or swindle. A scam is a false story or trick through which someone tries to get money from other people. Modern advertising has the same objective as old-time scams: to separate people from their money, while using as much 'hype' as possible.

hyper-parenting

• hyper
• parenting
• hyperparenting

A child-rearing style in which parents are intensely involved in managing, scheduling, and enriching all aspects of their children's lives.
Also: hyperparenting
hyper-parent - v., n.
hyper-parental - adj.
Examples:
1) We live in an age of hyper-parenting, where a child is the ultimate validation of an adult's ego and the little time they have to spend with them must be "quality time". There is little room for deviance, boredom or unplanned curiosity in the modern child's routine, especially when the parents return home from long hours at work. (Tanveer Ahmed, "When Drugs Mask Our Society's Failings", The Age (Melbourne, Australia), April 30, 2004)
2) This same scrupulously fed child turned out to be the one of four children who was constantly sick - eventually requiring daily antibiotics to stave off the many infections that plagued her. In time, her health problems were traced to a genetic immune deficiency, which she eventually outgrew - as her mother also outgrew that naive conviction that life could be controlled and shaped by her own intensive efforts. That sincere, well-intentioned belief is the essence of hyper-parenting. (Alvin Rosenfeld and Nicole Wise, "The Overscheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap", St. Martin's Griffin, April 7, 2001)
3) While older teens were making America miserable, the infants checking out of maternity wards were the "Millennial'' babies born in 1982 and after. These babies, the flip side to the 13th Generation, would experience hyper-parenting - academic preschools, school uniforms, strict curfews. (Richard Whitmire, "Social turnaround baffling", The Salt Lake Tribune, December 24, 1996)
Etymology:
"Hyper-" - from Gk. "hyper" (prep. and adv.): "over, beyond, overmuch, above measure". As a word by itself, meaning "overexcited", it is attested from 1942, short for "hyperactive". "Parent" - 1185, from O.Fr. "parent" (11c.), from L. "parentem" (nom. "parens"): "father or mother, ancestor", noun use of prp. of "parere" - "bring forth, give birth to, produce". The verb is attested from 1663. The verbal noun "parenting" is first recorded 1959 (earlier term had been "parentcraft", 1930).


hyperborean
[hye-per-BOR-ee-un]
1. Of or relating to an extreme northern region; frozen.
2. Of or relating to any of the arctic peoples.
Example:
Pauline's hyperborean relatives (she still has cousins in Canada) don't know what to make of her preference for the tropics.
History:
In ancient Greek mythology, the "Hyperboreoi" were a people who lived in a northern paradise of perpetual sunshine beyond the reaches of the god of the north wind. Their name combines the prefix "hyper-," meaning "above," and "Boreas," the Greek name for the north wind. When "hyperborean" first appeared in the English language in the 15th century, it was a noun naming those legendary folk. Later, the noun was extended to actual inhabitants of northern climates, and the adjective came into use for anything related to the far north or the people who live there.


hyperdating

• hyper-dating
• hyper
• dating

Dating many different people over a short period of time.
Examples:
1) In our rush-crazed society, where takeout and drive-throughs are commonplace, it's no wonder some of us have come to treat relationships as if they came in to-go bags. ... The people involved (some of my friends included) have different reasons for hyper-dating. But it winds up leaving lots of women, and many men, unfulfilled because deep down many of them hoped their latest fling would turn into something more meaningful. (Cindy Rodriguez, "Slow, steady wins the race to intimacy," The Denver Post, February 13, 2004)
2) Growth in the commodification of romance has been swift and unprecedented, rising exponentially alongside the increase in single people. One in five now use some kind of dating service. In particular, statistics suggest that in just three years' time more than 50 per cent of single people will meet a partner online (in New York, internet dating has taken off to such an extent it is now sometimes referred to as 'hyperdating'; people set up 10 online dates every week, sometimes several a night). (Rachel Cooke, "Couples: The Search", The Observer, April 20, 2003)
Etymology:
"Hyper-" - Gr. "hypér..." ("over", "above", "beyond").


hypermnesia
abnormally vivid or complete memory or recall of the past
Example:
Julie's hypermnesia enabled her to perfectly recall any page in her textbook for the test.
Etymology:
Perhaps the most famous individual to exhibit hypermnesia was a Russian man known as "S", whose amazing photographic memory was studied for 30 years by a psychologist in the early part of the 20th century. "Hypermnesia" sometimes refers to cases like that of "S", but it can also refer to specific instances of heightened memory (such as those brought on by trauma or hypnosis) experienced by people whose memory abilities are unremarkable under ordinary circumstances. The word "hypermnesia", which has been with us since at least 1882, was created in New Latin as the combination of "hyper-" (meaning "beyond" or "super") and "-mnesia" (patterned after "amnesia"). It ultimately derives from the Greek word "mnasthai", meaning "to remember".


hyperopia
farsightedness


hypnagogic

• hypnogogic

[hip-nuh-GOJ-ik; -GOH-jik]
Also: hypnogogic.
Of, pertaining to, relating to, or occurring in the period of drowsiness immediately preceding sleep
Example:
In her hypnagogic state, Edith wondered why the flight attendant was telling her to buckle her seat belt in church (or so she thought).
Etymology, more examples:
"Hypnagogic" ultimately derives from Greek "hupnos" ("sleep"). This root takes place in "hypnotize", too. The root "-agogic" is from the Greek "-agogos", meaning "inducing", from "agein" meaning "to lead". We borrowed "hypnagogic" (also spelled "hypnogogic") from French "hypnagogique" in the late 19th century.
"The hypnagogic state is that heady lull between wakefulness and sleep when thoughts and images flutter, melt, and transform into wild things," wrote "Boston Globe" correspondent Cate McQuaid (October 1, 1998). Scientists attribute many alien-abduction stories to this state, but for most people these "half-dreams" are entirely innocuous. Perhaps the most famous hypnagogic dream is that of the German chemist Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz, who was inspired with the concept of the benzene ring by a vision of a snake biting its own tail.


hypnosurgery

• hypnotherapy
• hypnoanaesthesia

A surgical treatment in which the patient is sedated using hypnosis rather than traditional anaesthetics.
Example: Hypnosurgery is being used all over the world and people say they have less post-operative pain and faster recovery. ("New Zealand Herald", 11th April 2006)
History, related words: Imagine lying fully conscious on the operating table, about to go under the surgical knife, and simply being told: "You will feel no pain..." This may sound bizarre, but this is exactly the principle behind the new concept of hypnosurgery, where hypnosis is used as an alternative to conventional anaesthesia. Under medical hypnosis, the patient is awake and the hypnosis allows them to control pain perception, a technique sometimes also referred to as hypnotherapy or hypnoanaesthesia. On 10th April 2006, the British television channel More4 broadcast a live hypnosurgery operation (<http://www.channel4.com/more4/event/H/ hypnosurgery/hypnosurgerylive.html>). Advocates of hypnosurgery believe that it has several benefits, including reducing blood loss and post-operative nausea and vomiting. There is some evidence to suggest that it can result in a faster recovery, less post-operative pain and a shorter hospital stay. Hypnosurgery can reduce the risk of unnecessary complications occurring after major operations, such as chest infections which may be related to the anaesthetic or pain relief medication. It can also offer an alternative to people who are allergic to conventional anaesthesia. Though hypnotism during surgery has not been fully embraced by the medical profession in the UK, it is used widely in other countries. Hypnotherapy for dental patients is also becoming increasingly popular. Hypnosurgery is in fact an old technique which is being revisited by doctors and surgeons in the 21st century. The use of hypnotism in surgery has a long history, and even accompanied the use of ether in the earliest medical operations. A 20th-century pioneer of the technique was the late Irish surgeon Jack Gibson, who in the fifties and sixties carried out hundreds of operations, including bone-setting, treatment for first-degree burns, plastic surgery and amputations, using just hypnosis to anaesthetise his patients. On the model of words such as hypnosis or hypnotherapy, hypnosurgery includes the prefix "hypno-" which actually means "relating to sleep". It is based on the Greek "hupnos" (meaning "sleep"). Though the term hypnosurgery is now in fairly wide use, there is as yet no substantial evidence for the related noun "hypnosurgeon" or adjective "hypnosurgical".