death's head
Bawds and procuresses used to wear a ring bearing the impression of a death's head in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Allusions are not uncommon in plays of the period.
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death's head upon a mop-stick
A poor miserable, emaciated fellow; one quite an otomy. See OTOMY.--He looked as pleasant as the pains of death.
Death's-head Moth
Acherontla atropos, is so called from the markings on the back of the thorax, which closely resemble a skull. It is also called the Hawk Moth.
death-hunter
A running patterer, who vends last dying speeches and confessions. More modernly the term is supposed to mean an undertaker, or any one engaged in or concerned with burials.
deathbed conversion
A change of heart or mind that occurs when it is almost too late
deb
Or DAB, a bed; "I’m off to the DEB," I’m going to bed.
Debatable Land
A tract of land between the Esk and Sark, claimed by both England and Scotland, and for a long time the subject of dispute. It was the haunt of thieves and vagabonds.
debris field
An area covered with scattered remains of something destroyed
debts of honour
Debts contracted by betting or gambling, so called because these debts cannot be enforced as such by law.
December bride
a woman who gets married in December
decide on something
Common English phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
decimal dozen
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
deck
A pack of cards. Used by Shakspeare, 3 K. Hen. VI., v. 1. Probably because of DECKING or arranging the table for a game at cards. General in the United States.
decker’s
(Thomas) The Bellman of London; bringing to light the most notorious villanies that are now practised in the Kingdom; 4to, black letter. London, 1608.
deckhead
dickhead.
Deckle Edge
The feathery edge occurring round the borders of a sheet of handmade or mould-made paper, due to the deckle or frame of the mould. It can be imitated in machine- made papers.
Declaration of Rights
An instrument sub- mitted to William and Mary and accepted by them (February 13th, 1689), setting forth the fundamental principles of the constitution.
decline in something
become less in amount or degree
Decoy Dock
A bait or lure; a duck taught to allure others into a net, and employed for this purpose.
decree nisi
A decree of divorce granted on. the condition that it does not take effect until made absolute, which is done in due course unless reasons why it should not have mean- time come to light. Every decree of divorce is, in the first instance, a decree nisi.
dedicated to something
Committed or devoted to a particular activity or cause
dee
A pocket-book; term used by tramps.—Gipsy. DEE (properly D), a detective policeman. "The DEES are about, so look out."
Deed Poll
A deed drawn by one party, and so called because such deeds were formerly written on parchment with a polled or straight edge, in distinction to the in- dentures, which had an indented or wavy edge. It is by deed poll that one changes one's name or executes any deed that does not concern another party.
deeds are fruits, words are but leaves
Actions are more important than words
deener
A shilling.
deep and wide
Extensive and profound in scope or impact
deep blue
The colour of mourning in Bokhara, also that of the Romans of the Republic.
Deep calls to deep. (Strauss 1994, p. 695)
One intense or profound thing evokes another
deep cut
a little-known or obscure piece of music
deep down
at one's core or inner self
deep six
to get rid of something or someone
Deep South
Usually consists of 12 bars, made up of three 4-bar phrases in 4/4 time. Both the words and accompaniment (which form an antiphonal) should be improvised, though many famous Blues have been written down; the subject matter is usually love, the troubles which have beset the singer, or a nostalgic longing for home. The best-known Blues singer was Bessie Smith (d. 1936).
deep thinker
Someone who thinks carefully and thoroughly about things
deep water
A challenging or difficult situation
deep-one
A thorough-paced rogue, a sly designing fellow: in opposition to a shallow or foolish one.
deer in the headlights
Completely shocked or stunned, unable to move or react.
deets
Details.
Defenestration of Prague
A phrase used to describe an incident during the religious struggles which rent Central Europe in the 17th century. In March, 1618, the two leading Catholic members of the Bohemian National Council were thrown out of a window of the castle of Prague by the Protestant members. They landed in the moat and sustained only minor injuries.
dego
San Diego.
degrade gracefully
To decrease in performance or quality in a controlled and acceptable manner
deity comes next
Three, being the trinity, represents a perfect unity, twice three is the nerfect dual; and thrice three is the perfect plural This explains why nine is a mystical number.
Dejeuner a la Fourchette
A fork lunch; a cold collation with meat and wine. The two gentlemen were consulting as to the best means of being useful to Mrs. Becky, while she was finishing her interrupted dejeuner a la fourchette — THACKERAY Vanity Fair, ch. Ixv.
delays are dangerous. (14th century)
Delaying action can lead to problems or disadvantages
Delectable Mountains
In Bunyan's Pilgrim' 's Progress^ a range of mountains from which the "Celestial City" may be seen. They are in ImmanueFs land, and are covered with sheep, for which Immanuel had died.
delectabubble
delectable
Deleuze and Guattari
French philosophers known for poststructuralist ideas
delhi belly
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
delicate
A false subscription-book carried by a LURKER.
delight in
Take great pleasure in something
delightful idleness
Pliny has "Jucundum tamen nihil agere" (Ep. viii, 9).
delish
Delicious.
deliver the goods
To fulfill a promise or provide what is expected
deliver the message to Garcia
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
deliver up to
Meet or fulfill expectations or standards
dells
Young buxom wenches, ripe and prone to venery, but who have not lost their virginity, which the UPRIGHT MAN claims by virtue of his prerogative; after which they become free for any of the fraternity. Also a common strumpet. CANT.
Delphin Classics
A set of Latin classics edited m France by thirty-nine scholars, under the superintendence of Montausier, Bossuet, and Huet, for the use of the Dauphin (Lat. m usum Delphim}, i.e. the son of Louis XIV, called the Grand Dauphin. They were first published in 1674, and their chief value consists in their verbal indexes or concordances.
demirep
(or DEMIRIP), a courtezan. Contraction of DEMI-REPUTATION, which is, in turn, a contraction for demi-monde reputation.
democratic wedding
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
demonstrative evidence
That which can be proved without leaving a doubt.
demure
As demure as an old whore at a christening.
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