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An optical illusion, first observed on the Brocken (the highest peak of the Hartz range in Saxony), in which shadows of the spectators, greatly magnified, are projected on the mists about the summit of the mountain opposite. In one of De Quincey's opium-dreams there is a powerful description of the Brocken spectre.
A tip or wrinkle on any subject. On the turf a man will wait before investing on a horse until he "gets the SPEECH," as to whether it is going to try, or whether it has a good chance. To "give the SPEECH," is to communicate any special information of a private nature.
It is often better to remain silent than to speak
A person who drives very fast
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Someone who moves or acts very quickly
To run away, make off; "SPEEL the drum," to go off with stolen property.—North.
A turn of work, an interval of time. "Take a SPELL at the capstern."—Sea. "He took a long SPELL at that tankard." "After a long SPELL."
Or SPEELKEN, a playhouse. German, SPIELEN. See KEN.—Don Juan.
Disciples of Thomas Spence (1750-1814) who, in 1775, devised a system of land nationalization. The inhabitants of each parish would form a corporation and appoint local officials to collect rents, deduct expenses, and divide what was left among the parishioners. No tax or toll would be required beyond the rent. A day of rest would be allowed every five days.
use a period of time doing something
Use a period of time for an activity
To be in someone's company and engage in activities together
The metre devised by Spenser (1592), founded on the Italian ottava nma, for his Faerie Queene. It is a stanza of nine iambic^ lines, all of ten syllables except the last, which is an Alexandrine. Only three different rhymes are admitted into a stanza, and these are disposed :ababbcbcc.
a man who donates sperm for artificial insemination
pregnant
special
Vomit.
to vomit
To rob. Spice the swell; rob the gentleman.
A privy. Stink-hole bay or dilberry creek. The fundament.
Completely clean and tidy
Quite and entirely new. A spic is a spike or nail, and a span is a chip. So ^that a spick and span new ship is one m which every nail and chip is new. According to Dr. Johnson, who, in recording the term says it is one which he "should not have expected to have found authorized by a polite writer," span new is from A.S.
A strong preference for spicy food
The name of an imaginary ship, sometimes mentioned by sailors. If a sailor be asked what ship he belongs to, and does not wish to tell, he will most probably reply—"The SPIDIREEN frigate, with nine decks, and ne’er a bottom." See MERRY DUN OF DOVER.
To have your hair cut and shampooed, from the shop of Spiers in High Street.—Oxford University.
A well-dressed man, a "swell."
to make something or someone look more attractive or impressive
Slightly intoxicated.—Scotch Slang.
To confound, silence, annihilate, or stifle. A corruption of the last word, or of "suffocate."
The per-centages allowed by drapers to their young men when they effect a sale of old-fashioned or undesirable stock.
Spruce, well-dressed, tout à la mode.
To throw from a horse or chaise. See PURL.
To write or speak at length about something
to gossip or reveal secrets
To share one's secrets or feelings openly and honestly
To ejaculate outside of the vagina during intercourse
A small reward or gift.
wasted effort or regret over something that cannot be changed
To reject from an examination.—Army.
to tell an entertaining and often untrue story
A person who presents information in a way that is favorable to their employer
To expel much effort for little or no gain.
to become or make something longer or more complicated
A street game consisting of a piece of brass, wood, or iron, balanced on a pin, and turned quickly round on a board, when the point, arrow-shaped, stops at a number, and decides the bet one way or the other. The contrivance very much resembles a sea compass, and was formerly the gambling accompaniment of London piemen.
A nickname for any one who has thin legs.
St. Giles’s Workhouse. "Lump," Marylebone Workhouse. "Pan," St. Pancras. "Pan" and "Lump" are now terms applied to all workhouses by tramps and costers.
The place in Cambridge where street-walkers are locked up, if found out after a certain time at night.
The word is Greek (alastor, the avenging god, a title applied to Zeus); the Romans had their Jupiter Vindex; and we read in the Bible, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom. xii, 19).
Or SPURT, "to put on a SPIRT," to make an increased exertion for a brief space, to attain one’s end; a nervous effort. Abbreviation or shortening of SPIRIT, or allusion to a SPIRT of water, which dies away as suddenly as it rises.
He is as like his father as if he was spit out of his mouth; said of a child much resembling his father.
to make something look very clean and shiny
to polish or clean something until it looks very good
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
to speak or perform with great energy and passion
To make a very small contribution to a large problem
To act in a way that is pointless or has no effect
To act against one's own interests or do something futile
to be extremely angry
to show contempt or disrespect