nickn.¹

Brit.

/nɪk/, U.S.

/nɪk/

Forms: Middle English nyke, Middle English 1600s nike, 1500s nycke, 1500s nyk, 1500s–1600s nicke, 1500s– nick, 1600s nic, 1700s– knick (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 nek, pre-1700 nicke, pre-1700 nict, pre-1700 nik, 1800s– nick.

Origin: Of unknown origin. Etymon: nock n.¹

Etymology: Origin unknown; compare nick v.² Several of the senses of the noun (in branches I.) correspond closely to senses of the verb (compare branches I. and II. s.v.), but are older; the noun may in reality have priority, and it may be accidental that the oldest recorded senses of the noun are attested slightly later than the first attestation of the verb. No etymon suggests itself, and although there is an obvious resemblance of form and meaning in the earlier word nock n.¹, which has the parallel senses ‘notched tip of a bow’ and ‘cleft in the buttocks’ (compare sense 2b), it is not easy to see how they might be related.The following may reflect an attempt to connect the word with niche n. and adj. (which is almost certainly unrelated):1659 G. Torriano Vocabolario Italiano & Inglese sig. q2^v/1 Nick (in a wall to set a Statue in), nicchia.

I. A notch or cut, and related senses.

†1. A notch made to keep a score or tally; a tally. Also: a reckoning, an account. out of all nick: out of all account. Obsolete.Now merged in sense 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > [noun]

weenc888

rightnessOE

steemc1330

sight1362

witc1374

emprisea1393

reputation?c1400

apprizingc1449

nick?a1450

vail1471

countc1475

opinionc1480

estimationc1522

meting1548

reckoning1548

valuation1548

computation1558

account1583

cess1588

esteem1598

appreciation1605

resentiment1606

repute1610

ratea1616

assessmenta1626

estimate1637

vote1639

supputation1643

compute1646

value1651

resentment1655

contemplation1673

critique1798

appraisement1808

appraisal1817

viewa1854

sizing up1967

chit1989

the world > relative properties > number > enumeration, reckoning, or calculation > [noun] > mark made to keep score or record

nick?a1450

notch1565

chalk1674

tally1951

the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > making or becoming notched > a notch

nick?a1450

gap1530

notch1555

natch1570

notching1640

nitch1726

snick1775

nicking1844

jog1845

?a1450 Let. in S. G. Hamilton Collectanea (1912) 61 My mayster Syr..R ij nikes ij s. & holande clothe xiii s.

?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 86 A Nyke of A tayle, epimerida.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 644/1 I make nyckes on a tayle, or on a stycke.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Hoche A nicke, or notch, on a Tallie, etc.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. ii. 73 He lou'd her out of all nicke .

1692 Sheriffhall Coal Acct. Bks. 5 Nov. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Nik For 56 nicks at the gine at 14 shill. per nick.

1887 H. R. Haggard Allan Quatermain iv A number of little nicks, each nick representing a man killed in battle.

1891 R. Kipling Light that Failed iii. 40 That's another nick in the score. I'll jostle you later on.

2. A notch, groove, or slit, cut into or present in something; an incision, an indentation.

a. General uses.In quot. ?c1475 at sense 1: spec. the nock of an arrow.

ΚΠ

?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 86 A Nike, tenus.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. iii Some plowes haue a bende of yron..that hath thre nyckes on the farthersyde.

1578 J. Banister Hist. Man i. f. 32 Departyng from this corner, or deepe nicke..there riseth a certaine sharpe Processe.

1623 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie (rev. ed.) vi. sig. P3 It is best..in the edges on both sides to cut little nickes.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 68/2 The leaf 5 pointed, each cut with deep nicks, almost jagged.

1753 J. Bartlet Gentleman's Farriery App. 332 Holes must be made at certain distances in the groove,..and a nick cut to receive the billet from the strap.

1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper xiii. 280 Fill one Nick with chopped Parsley, the second with fat Pork,..and so on 'till you have filled all your Nicks.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 15 A nick is made in the wood or bone, to keep the work from being carried aside by the file.

1847 J. S. Le Fanu T. O'Brien 170 Deepening a nick with his penknife in the counter.

1888 S. R. Bottone Electr. Instr. Making §41 With a file, a nick is cut in this steel rod.

1925 C. P. Slater Marget Pow 48 Outside the house there's a nick in the wall, with a kind o' copy of the Crucifix.

1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 5 Sept. 5/3 Many cases of broken lines can be traced to cracks or nicks on a fishing rod's guides or tiptop.

1990 Trad. Homes Aug. 35/1 An oak niche..once held a dinner service, judging by the nicks for plates on the shaped shelves.

b. A groove or cleft in the flesh of a person or animal. Now: spec. (slang) = nock n.¹ 2a. Cf. sense 2e.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun] > cleft in

creekc1300

nocka1516

nick1562

nockandro1611

bum crack1980

1562 W. Turner Herball (1568) ii. 166 The sede layd to..swageth the payne of the nickes or ryuinge of the fundamente.

1791 Ann. Agric. 16 567 (E.D.D.) Instead of this ridge the new Leicester sheep are now breeding to have a furrow there, which is called the knick.

1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1197/2 Nick,..natal cleft at the fold of the buttock: low: late C. 19–20.

†c. An indentation made in the base of a tankard in order to reduce the vessel's capacity. Cf. kick n.² 1. See also nick-pot n. Obsolete.Only in collocation with froth; frequently in extended use denoting the giving of short measure and dishonest practices in general. Cf. nick v.² 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > flask, flagon, or bottle > [noun] > bottle > indentation in bottom

nick1612

kick1861

kick-up1901

1612 S. Rowlands Knaue of Harts sig. B2^v With Cannes of Beere..And those they say are fil'd with Nick and Froth.

1630 J. Taylor Trav. Twelve-pence in Wks. i. 70/2 They vsed so much deceit with nick and froth.

1651 T. Randolph et al. Hey for Honesty v. i. 40 Jugs of Ale without Excise, Fill'd to the brim, no nick nor froth upon them.

c1665 Nick & Froth in Roxburghe Ballads (1886–7) VI. 487 Now we'll..lay you all open to view, It's all for your Froth and your Nick (you slaves).

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Nick and Froth built the Pye at Aldgate, sharping in the Reckonings and cheating in the Measure built that (once) Noted House.

1741 Poor Robin sig. A4 She still continues the Nick and Froth Trade as usual.

d. slang. The female external genitals; the vagina. Now rare.In quots. a1625 and 1656 apparently with allusion to the game of real tennis; cf. sense 6.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vagina

quaintc1330

quivera1382

tailc1390

mousetrapc1500

cunnigar1550

placket1595

buttonhole1600

bumble broth1602

touch-hole1602

case1606

keyhole1607

vagina1612

nicka1625

nunquam satis1633

lock1640

twat1656

cockpit1658

Whitechapel portion?1695

tuzzy-muzzy1710

niche1749

can1772

bumbo1774

fuckhole1893

jelly roll1895

mole-catcher1896

manhole1916

vag1967

stank1980

pum-pum1983

punani1987

a1625 J. Fletcher Wife for Moneth iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Gggggg4^v/1 The King is wanton Lords, he would needs know of me How many nick chases I would make to night.

1656 R. Fletcher Poems in Ex Otio Negotium 194 Least I should pursue her to the quick, I pass: The chase lies now too near the nick.

a1749 A. Robertson Poems (?1752) 186 And as one guides me to the Nick, The other cries—Put up thy——.

1772 G. A. Stevens Songs Comic & Satyrical 126 The Nick makes the Tail stand, the Farrier's Wife's Mark.

1865 ‘Philocomus’ Love Feast ii. 14 I saw..his ever-standing prick Move in and out the luscious nick.

c1930 Confessions of Virtuous Wife 102 Chinese or Negromen, Zulus or Englishmen, Irish or American, Love Cunt's sweet nick!

†e. A notch made in the ear, etc., of an animal to indicate ownership. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1652 in Arch. Maryland (1891) X. 304 One Cowe calfe..the right Eare being cropt and the left Eare underkeeled with a nick in the Said Eare above.

1709 in A. Perry & C. S. Brigham Early Rec. Portsmouth (Rhode Island) (1901) 261 Two nicks..under the right ear.

1842 M. A. Lower Eng. Surnames (1875) II. App. 156 A nick is the mark cut in the mandible of a swan to distinguish its ownership.

f. Printing. A groove on one side of the shank of a piece of type, serving as a guide in the choice and positioning of the type; †the part of the mould by which this is made.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > [noun] > marks on types > as guide to compositor

nick1683

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 139 In the upper half of the Mold..is fitted into the under side of the Body the Nick: It is made of a piece of Wyer.

1797 Encycl. Brit. VII. 381/1 This wire, or rather half-wire, in the upper part makes the nick in the shank of the letter.

1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. 6 The advantage to be derived from letter having a deep nick, and also that the nick should differ from other founts of that body.

1882 J. Southward Pract. Printing 11 The nick..distinguishes between letters of an equal size but of a different description.

1970 R. K. Kent Lang. Journalism 93 When the type is set by hand, the nicks of the row are toward the compositor, and align as it lies in the composing stick.

†g. Chiefly Scottish. Each of the depressions between the rings which form on a cow's horn, the number of which gives an indication of the animal's age. Also in extended use with reference to the years of a human life. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun] > (miscellaneous) parts of > (parts of) horn > mark indicating age

ring1725

nickc1810

c1810 Cromek in R. Burns Wks. (1838–9) 62 It was his common practice to cut the nicks or markings from the horns of cattle, to disguise their age.

1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems I. 156 May..ilka new nick on her horn Some added pleasure yield her.

1828 M. Corbett & M. Corbett Tales & Legends III. 321 I doubt ye hae ower mony nicks in your horn to suit them.

1838 A. Rodger Poems & Songs 308 Sair she rued her pridefu' scorn, E'er thretty nicks had marked her horn.

1875 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet (ed. 3) 172 There's ower mony nicks in her horn, I doot.

h. Engineering. A groove or slot in the head of a screw.

ΚΠ

1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 109/1 After which the nick, or groove to receive the end of the screw~driver, is cut with a circular saw.

1866 J. Chamberlain in S. Timmins Birmingham & Midl. Hardware District (1886) 608 The ‘soife’, or iron cuttings from the nicks and threads of the screws, average about four tons per day.

1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. 2248/2 It [sc. a screwdriver] has a thin wedge-shaped end which enters the nick in the head of the screw.

i. Biochemistry. A break in one strand of a double-stranded DNA molecule, corresponding to a broken or unformed phosphodiester bond between two adjacent nucleotides.

ΚΠ

1968 Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 33 375/2 With increase of time after infection, single-stranded nicks are introduced with increasing frequency.

1982 T. M. Devlin Textbk. Biochem. xvii. 864 (caption) The nicks in the annealed ends are then sealed by the action of ligase, which forms a stable circular DNA.

1994 Sci. News 24 Sept. 204/2 Bayley has been able to cut ‘nicks’ into the loop and stitch in strings of the amino acids cysteine and histidine.

†3. A mark cut into something to indicate a level, limit, or the like; a level, degree, pitch, etc. Also figurative. to a nick: to a nicety. Obsolete.Chiefly with reference to the winding of a watch spring or lutestring to a point marked with such a notch.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > the exact amount of something

nick1578

the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > graduated instruments > notch used as a mark for measurement

nick1578

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb] > strictly

strait1338

smally1340

at point devicec1390

point-devicec1425

precisely1526

to the point device1542

just1549

rigorously1561

by the square1570

curiously1573

by point device1575

in print1576

to a tittle1597

nicelya1616

to a hair's breadtha1616

point-vice1641

to a nicka1680

to a cow's thumb1681

to a tee1693

narrowly1708

scrupulously1712

to a dot1728

perjinkly1775

to a nicety1795

astringently1866

to a fit1890

1578 T. Churchyard Disc. Queenes Entertainem. sig. Diij You old men, with boyes will iest and scoffe, And either laugh to scorne our words, or taunt vs past the nick.

1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iv. iv. sig. I4 I knew, the Doctor would not leaue, Till he had found the very nick of her fortune.

a1637 B. Jonson Pans Anniv. 120 in Wks. (1640) III To these there is annexed a Clock-keeper..who is to see that they all keepe time to a nick, and move every elbow in order, every knee in compasse.

1638 J. Suckling Aglaura ii. 11 Like the string of a watch wound up too high, and forc'd above the nicke.

1663 W. Clark Marciano iii. i. 31 O how my heart strings, by that pin of grief, As by an unexpert musicians hand, Who strives to raise his Lute to highest notes, Tun'd up above the nick begin to crack.

a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 108 For who could choose but err, without some Trick To take your Elevation to a Nick.

a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) II. 260 [He] has a different Humour for every Nick his drink rises to.

4. Originally Scottish. An angle, gap, or pass between two hills.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > valley > [noun] > gorge or ravine

cloughc1330

heugha1400

straitc1400

gillc1440

gulfa1533

gull1553

gap1555

coomb1578

gullet1600

nick1606

goyle1617

gully1637

nullah1656

ravine1687

barrancaa1691

kloof1731

ravin1746

water gap1756

gorge1769

arroyo1777

quebrada1787

rambla1789

flume1792

linn1799

cañada1814

gulch1832

cañon1834

canyon1837

khud1837

couloir1855

draw1864

box canyon1869

sitch1888

tangi1901

opena1903

1606 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) II. 519 Thay baith mett togidder at the nik of the fell and hering..the countrey to follow thame, thay baith fled in Ingland.

1815 Wks. of Alexander Pennecuik 196 The highway passes through a hollow of blowing sand..called the Sandyhill-Nick.

1860 J. P. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale I. 117 The drivers of strings of gals [sc. Galloway ponies] with lime sacks o'er the nick of Pendle.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters ii. i. 66 There, in the nick, just where the eastern foothills joined the mountain..was Silverado.

1987 Climber Mar. 30/2 Scramble down the rocky ridge of the Lower Tier to the grassy nick, from where a track leads up to Hen Cloud.

†5. Scottish. A sharp stroke or blow. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > a sharp or smart blow

dab1300

rapc1330

thresta1400

bruntc1400

knap14..

yedderc1440

gird1487

yert1509

fillip1543

yark1555

flewet1570

stingera1577

flirt1577

wherret1577

riprapc1580

spang1595

nick1651

lick1680

flip1692

yowf1711

clink1722

wherrya1726

click1773

whither1791

swata1800

yank1818

snock1825

clip1830

snop1849

clinkera1863

siserary1893

blip1894

1651 Ld. Wariston Diary (1919) II. 55 It is a strange nik of providence that when this airmy should goe to the feilds, their head should fall seake.

a1689 W. Cleland Coll. Poems (1697) 106 I must confess the contradict Gave my old frozen heart a nict.

6. Squash and Real Tennis. The junction between a wall and the floor of the court. Also: a (winning) return in which the ball makes contact with both surfaces simultaneously.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > squash rackets > [noun] > court > specific part

sidewall1657

nicka1672

reverse angle1922

tin1933

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > real tennis > [noun] > court > parts of

hazard1583

nicka1672

penthousea1672

gallery1699

grille1700

dedans1706

tambour1706

gallery-post1878

pass court1878

pass line1878

winning-gallery1878

winning opening1878

wing-neta1884

a1672 P. Skippon in F. Willughby Bk. of Games (2003) 105 If a ball be struck under line & it runs to the adverse end & rises at the Nick (which is an obtuse angle to the pavement & the end wall that the ball may rise the better after this manner..).

1890 J. M. Heathcote et al. Tennis (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) iv. 69 When the odds of touch-no-walls..are given, a ball returned by the giver of odds, which makes a nick, is counted for the striker.

1926 C. Arnold Game of Squash Rackets iii. 34 Winners can also be made by what is known as a dead service nick, the ball being made to meet the back or side wall and the floor at the same time.

1963 Times 8 Jan. 3/5 Turning his racket over like a butterfly net to impart top spin and make the ball die in the nick.

1988 Squash Player Internat. Dec. 29/3 Glen Bollington..was defeated by a flurry of nicks in the fourth 9–3, 7–9, 9–6, 9–0.

7. A cut; (now esp.) a minor one made accidentally while shaving, etc. Also: the act of cutting.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > [noun] > a cut or incision

garse?c1225

chinea1387

slit1398

incisionc1400

slivingc1400

raising?a1425

scotchc1450

racec1500

tranchec1500

kerf?1523

hack1555

slash1580

hew1596

raze1596

incutting1598

slisha1616

scar1653

lancementa1655

slap1688

slip1688

nick1692

streak1725

sneck1768

snick1775

rut1785

sliver1806

overcut1874

1692 Processes Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court 22 Apr. He saw Henderson take off hir crocecloath and two little niks upon the foirhead.

1816 ‘P. Pindar’ Middlesex Election v, in Wks. IV. 206 Our cock hath had a nick;..His droat is cut, and there he lieth.

1885 H. R. Haggard King Solomon's Mines xiii The fatal ‘nick’ of the artery was done..swiftly and painlessly.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 627 With thought of aught he sought though fraught with nought might cause a faster rate of shaving and a nick on which incision plaster with precision cut and humected and applied adhered which was to be done.

1943 B. Smith Tree grows in Brooklyn i. 4 Hair cropped so short that there were nicks in the scalp where the clippers had bitten too deeply.

1990 W. Wasserstein Bachelor Girls 139 There are many women with histories of nicks and woes who come to a crossroad when they discover waxing.

II. Senses relating to correspondence or resemblance.

†8. A correspondence or resemblance, esp. a verbal correspondence; a pun. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > [noun] > play on words, pun

allusion1550

nick1561

paronomasia1577

paronomasy1592

quiblin1605

quibblea1627

quiblet1627

clinch1629

quibbling1633

clink1634

clench1638

pun1644

conundrum1645

whim1652

pundigrion1673

jeu de mots1823

calembour1830

Tom Swifty1963

paronym1982

1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. R.iii The other sort of Iestes..consisteth only in quicke & subtill saiynges,..and in nickes.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 111 In these verses by reason one [word] of them doth as it were nicke another,..it behoueth..to place them where the nicke may be more expresly discouered.

9. (a) In the game of hazard: a throw which is either the same as the main (main n.² 1b), or has a fixed correspondence to it (see quot. 1797); a winning throw. Now chiefly historical. (b) In the game of craps: a natural (natural n.¹ 12a).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > hazard > type of throw

sevenc1405

nicka1635

seven and eleven1684

crabs1768

a1635 R. Corbet Poems (1807) 128 Amongst the gamesters, where they name thee thicke At the last maine, or the last pocky nicke.

c1696 M. Prior Cupid & Ganymede 32 The usual trick: Seven, slur a six; eleven, a nick.

1729 J. Gay Polly iii. v. 56 Cul. Have at you. A nick. (flings.) Hac. Throw the dice fairly out. Are you at me again! Cul. I'm at it. Seven or eleven. (flings) eleven.

1778 T. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved 211 The Nick of Seven is seven to two, often laid ten to three. The Nick of Six and Eight is five to one.

1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 347/1 Nicks are either when the chance is the same with the main,..or six and twelve, seven and eleven, eight and twelve.

1809 Ld. Byron Eng. Bards & Sc. Reviewers (ed. 2) 52 The jovial Caster's set, and seven's the nick.

1853 G. J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand I. vi. 164 ‘Seven's the main—seven!’ The dice rattled, the box fell, and a dotted eleven turned its welcome surface upward. I need not say this was what is termed a nick.

1863 Chambers's Encycl. V. 274/2 If his throw be not a nick, or a crab, then, if he can repeat the same throw before the main turns up, he wins.

1907 N.E.D. at Nick v.² To throw the nick of (a certain number).

1987 T. L. Clark Dict. Gambling & Gaming 135/2 Nick,..in hazard, a roll of the dice that wins automatically... In craps, a roll of 7 or 11 on the come out, or first roll of the dice.

10. An instance of cross-breeding, esp. one which produces offspring of high quality. Cf. nick v.² 7b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [noun] > cross-breeding or hybridism

nick1824

crossing1851

hybridization1851

hybridism1854

intercrossing1859

hybridation1879

outcrossing1890

paragenesis1890

outbreeding1901

back-crossing1904

vicinism1905

monohybridism1907

cross-breeding1932

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [noun] > bringing forth young > cross-breeding

nick1824

1824 D. P. Blaine Canine Pathol. (ed. 2) 109 Some rearers of game fowls..are favourable to breeding from the third remove, which they call a nick.

1889 W. Warfield Theory & Pract. Cattle Breeding 26 This thing of a ‘nick’, or a successful cross, is as difficult as determining beforehand how much an animal will inherit from one or the other of its parents.

1897 Outing 29 484/1 Star, a good one in the field, was bred to Druid, and Mr. Wells made a record with this nick.

1927 J. E. Platt Thoroughbred Race-horse iv. 31 All the well-known nicks and blending of bloods must be observed, and the leading lines of sires and dams carefully considered.

1973 Country Life 15 Nov. 1545/1 The nick owed little to studies of genetics and line breeding [of harriers].

1989 J. Dailey Heiress 309 They should make a good nick, I think.

III. A precise moment, location, etc., and related senses.

11.

a. Chiefly in in (also at, upon) the (very) nick. The precise or exact point of time when something takes place or requires to be done; a critical or opportune juncture, a crucial moment; (in later use) esp. the latest possible moment. Now somewhat rare (but cf. sense 11b).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > critical or decisive moment

articlea1398

prick?c1422

crise?1541

push1563

in the nick1565

jump1598

concurrence1605

cardo1609

(the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.)1610

edgea1616

climacterical1628

climacteric1633

in the nick-time1650

moment1666

turning-point1836

watershed1854

psychological moment1871

psychical moment1888

moment of truth1932

crunch1939

cruncher1947

high noon1955

break point1959

defining moment1967

midnight1976

the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > [noun]

chance1297

occasiona1382

leisurec1386

opportunitya1387

advantage1487

portunity1516

in the nick1565

mean1592

vantage?1592

occasionet1593

overture1610

hinta1616

largeness1625

convenience1679

tid1721

opening1752

offer1831

slant1837

show1842

showing1852

show-up1883

window of opportunity1942

op1978

1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis iii. f. 4^v And for too fierce her ire, A nother thing..there commeth in the nicke.

1577 M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus vi. vi, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 365 The Romayne nauye..ariued at the very pinche or as commonly we say in the nicke.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 336 We came at last vnto the Gallies, iust vpon the very nicke.

1638 A. Cowley Loves Riddle v. sig. F3 Philistus;..just at the nick came in And parted us.

1664 J. Wilson Andronicus Comnenius v. i He is so sensible of's danger, He catches at any thing—this is our nick.

1699 G. Farquhar Love & Bottle ii. ii. 23 Oh Mr. Loewell! you come just in the nick.

1719 J. Swift Quiet Life in Wks. (1735) II. 350 Ent'ring in the very Nick, He saw virago Nell belabor..his peaceful Neighbour.

a1732 T. Boston Memoirs (1776) x. 293 They had come forth at such a nick for sale.

a1777 S. Foote Cozeners (1778) iii. ii. 92 Married..they would have been, if I had not come just in the nick.

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. ii. 18 There passed by in the very nick one of his friends.

1844 T. Hood Forge ii, in Whimsicalities I. 124 With whom, at that very particular nick, There is such an unlucky crow to pick.

1897 T. E. Brown Coll. Poems (1900) ii. 213 The little rascal would..wait for a lull, And humoured the boat, and pacified her..Till he saw the nick, and afore you'd be knowin', His helm was up, his jib was drawin', [etc.].

1901 R. C. Lehmann Anni Fugaces 70 ‘Great Themes,’ I cried, ‘you come upon the nick.’

1970 I. Feldman Magic Papers 25 He gets them the hell out of there... Rushes back, just In the nick!

b. In (the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.) in the same sense.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > critical or decisive moment

articlea1398

prick?c1422

crise?1541

push1563

in the nick1565

jump1598

concurrence1605

cardo1609

(the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.)1610

edgea1616

climacterical1628

climacteric1633

in the nick-time1650

moment1666

turning-point1836

watershed1854

psychological moment1871

psychical moment1888

moment of truth1932

crunch1939

cruncher1947

high noon1955

break point1959

defining moment1967

midnight1976

1610 J. Day Day's Festivals (1615) i. 20 Even in this nicke of time, this very, very instant.

1612 R. Carpenter Soules Sentinel 40 [He] came in the nicke of opportunity to beg grace.

c1625 Partiall Law (1908) v. iv. 104 This unexpected comming of your friends So in the nicke of time is a good omen.

1643 J. Angier Lancashires Valley of Achor 19 [We] came in the nick of time to relieve the well-affected in Preston.

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 179 If he had not gone down at the very nick of time, the Ship could not have failed of being very quickly blown up.

a1707 S. Patrick Auto-biogr. (1839) 179 I look upon it as a singular providence of God, that Dr. Harris..should come in at that nick of time.

1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. Pref. 57 There is one season and nick of time, wherein they will allow [etc.].

1757 G. Washington Let. 10 Sept. in Writings (1931) II. 125 That [tobacco]..was of the best Sweetscented, neatly handled; and must if the Ship arriv'd Safe get to Market in the Nick of time.

1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets (1870) viii. 200 He unexpectedly appears just in the nick of time, after years of absence.

1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxxv. 299 It was simply the nick of time which gave it to him.

1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. vii. 118 The following note..reached the young man's hands in the very nick of time.

1892 R. L. Stevenson Footnote to Hist. x The Adler, cast free in the nick of opportunity, had been thrown upon the top.

1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xiv. 145 If Mr. Andrews hadn't caught her by her sash just in the nick of time she'd have fallen in.

1944 K. B. Hathaway Little Locksmith iv. 15 Then when all seems lost—suddenly out of the pocket he comes, remembered in the nick of time.

1990 B. Cornwell Sharpe's Waterloo v. 79 Saxe-Weimar had arrived at the very nick of time.

c. The precise moment or time of some occurrence or event. Now rare (poetic in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > particular time > [noun] > time of occurrence

sitheOE

seasona1400

turna1400

datec1400

when1616

nick1645

whenabouts1898

1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Trivmph of Faith (1845) i. 3 It is unhappy, if, in the nick of the first breaking of the morning sky, the night-watch fall fast asleep.

1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. iii. 199 Dying just in the nick of the vacancy of the See.

1713 R. Steele in Guardian No. 82. ⁋10 In the nick of being surprised, the lovers..escape at a trap-door.

1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 71 The baronet led the extasy,..in the nick of which, glewing more ardently than ever his lips to hers,..he shew'd all the signs of [etc.].

1827 T. Hood Whims & Oddities 2nd Ser. 56 A tramper That came in danger's very nick.

1855 R. Browning Childe Roland xxix In the very nick Of giving up, one time more, came a click.

1985 J. Allman Clio's Children 7 The fabled messenger has arrived in the nick of last minutes.

†12.

a. The essential part of something. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > essential or central

pitheOE

effectc1405

substancec1450

kernel1556

nick1577

keystone1641

vitals1657

narrow1702

secret1738

ganglion1828

nub1833

primality1846

keyword1848

knub1864

buzzword1946

in word1964

1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande i. f. 1/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I He was so crost in the nycke of thys determination, that his hystorie..wandred through sundry hands.

a1625 J. Fletcher Women Pleas'd ii. vi, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Dddddd4^v/1 Now could I eat my very arms for madnesse, Cross'd in the nick o'th matter? vengeance take it.

1684 Observator No. 129 Trim. What's that to the Book here before us? Obs. Only the very Nick of the Case.

b. The exact point aimed at; the target. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object > goal or target

markc1275

lodestarc1374

aimc1400

mete1402

pricka1450

butta1522

level1525

white marka1533

goal1540

Jack-a-Lent1553

blankc1557

scope1562

period1590

upshot1591

bird1592

golden goal1597

nick1602

quarry1615

North Star1639

huba1657

fair game1690

endgame1938

target1942

cockshot1995

1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida Induct. sig. A4 I will so tickle the sense..with the titillation of Hyperbolicall praise, that Ile strike it in the nick, in the very nick.

a1625 J. Fletcher Pilgrim iii. vii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Hhhhh^v/2 Scho. Doe's the Sea stagger ye? Mast. Now ye have hit the nick.

1656 E. Reyner Rules Govt. Tongue 29 Right words are effectual; for they hit the mark, light in the nick, and strike on the right string.

c. Apparently: a point, stage, or degree. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > a stage in a process or development

degreec1230

greea1340

steadc1370

pointc1475

nick1649

stadium1669

notch1670

grade1796

step1811

milestone1820

way station1863

1649 J. Bulwer Pathomyotomia ii. i. 90 To fit its purpose in such an intricate nick of irresolution.

IV. Other uses.

†13. slang. to set in the nick: (perhaps) to cheat (a person) out of his or her money. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle > out of something

beguile1394

wrongc1484

delude1493

licka1500

to wipe a person's nose1577

uncle1585

cheat1597

cozen1602

to bob of1605

to bob out of1605

gull1612

foola1616

to set in the nick1616

to worm (a person) out of1617

shuffle1627

to baffle out of1652

chouse1654

trepan1662

bubble1668

trick1698

to bamboozle out of1705

fling1749

jockey1772

swindle1780

twiddle1825

to diddle out of1829

nig1829

to chisel out of1848

to beat out1851

nobble1852

duff1863

flim-flam1890

1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iv. iv, in Wks. I. 575 A very sharke, he set me i' the nicke t'other night at primero .

†14. The height of fashion. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > the or a prevailing fashion

gentryc1400

the fashion1569

mainstream1599

the trim1603

mood1646

mode1649

vogue1649

beauty1653

à la mode1654

turn1695

the kick1699

goût1717

thing1734

taste1739

ton1769

nick1788

the tippy1790

twig1811

latest1814

dernier mot1834

ticket1838

kibosh1880

last cry1887

le (or the) dernier cri1896

flavour of the month (or week)1946

vague1962

1788 Murray's Mag. 1 472 The word Ton is quite abolished. Everything that is fashionable is now called the Nick.

15. slang (originally Australian). A prison; a lock-up, esp. one at a police station. Also: a police station.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun]

quarternOE

prisona1200

jailc1275

lodgec1290

galleya1300

chartrea1325

ward1338

keepingc1384

prison-house1419

lying-house1423

javel1483

tollbooth1488

kidcotec1515

clinkc1530

warding-place1571

the hangman's budget1589

Newgate1592

gehenna1594

Lob's pound1597

caperdewsie1599

footman's inn1604

cappadochio1607

pena1640

marshalsea1652

log-house1662

bastille1663

naskin1673

state prison1684

tronk1693

stone-doublet1694

iron or stone doublet1698

college1699

nask1699

quod1699

shop1699

black hole1707

start1735

coop1785

blockhouse1796

stone jug1796

calaboose1797

factory1806

bull-pen1809

steel1811

jigger1812

jug1815

kitty1825

rock pile1830

bughouse1842

zindan1844

model1845

black house1846

tench1850

mill1851

stir1851

hoppet1855

booby hatch1859

caboose1865

cooler1872

skookum house1873

chokey1874

gib1877

nick1882

choker1884

logs1888

booby house1894

big house1905

hoosegow1911

can1912

detention camp1916

pokey1919

slammer1952

joint1953

slam1960

1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 6/2 Nick (The), gaol.

1918 Truth (Sydney) 6 Jan. 5/5 Muss and Doolan scruff her to the nick.

1926 A. Muir Blue Bonnet i. ii ‘I'll tak a thrashing instead of the nick,’ said Hector.

1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid xii. 127 I haven't done anything since I've come out of the nick and the old rent's running a bit low.

1962 R. Cook Crust on its Uppers i. 20 The boys down at Chelsea nick.

1995 M. Amis Information (1996) 97 Know how much it costs to keep a bloke in nick for a week?

16. colloquial. Condition, state. Chiefly in in good (fair, etc.) nick: in the specified state or condition.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > [adjective] > in good condition

well-repaireda1470

sufficient1473

in tone1513

in reparation (also reparations)1565

in repair1648

in good (fair, etc.) nick1890

on-form1965

on (full) song1967

1884 R. Lawson Upton-on-Severn Words & Phrases 39 ‘Up to dick’, or ‘nick’..= in first-rate condition; to perfection.]

1890 J. D. Robertson Gloss. Words County of Gloucester 103 Nick,..condition, fettle.

1905 J. Wright Eng. Dial. Dict. Suppl. 151/1 In good nick, in good condition.

1947 D. M. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 178 They're all in pretty good nick, considering. Shagged, of course.

1957 Railway Mag. June 431/1 It does not mean..that an ‘A4’ in good ‘nick’..is not capable of performances well up to the pre-war standard.

1984 M. Amis Money 134 I was in no sort of nick for this encounter, I admit.

Compounds

nick-translated adj. Biochemistry (of DNA) that has undergone nick translation.

ΚΠ

1976 Chromosoma 54 22 Specific hybridization with clean autoradiographic background was obtained with nick-translated ³H ‘Dm’ DNA that had been prepared from Drosophila melanogaster.

1989 Molecular & Cellular Probes 3 371 The stability of photobiotinylated probes is more or less the same as that of conventional nick-translated probes.

nick translation n. Biochemistry a process used esp. to insert labelled nucleotides into a strand of DNA, in which a DNA polymerase adds new nucleotides to the strand on one side of a nick whilst removing nucleotides from the strand on the other side, thus effectively replacing a sequence of nucleotides and translating the nick some distance along the strand.

ΚΠ

1976 Chromosoma 54 16 The technique..includes the in vitro enzymatic synthesis of ³H-labelled DNA by DNA polymerase I from single strand breaks introduced by deoxyribonuclease I; a method first employed by Kelly et al. (1970) and commonly known as ‘nick-translation’ of DNA.

1993 Ann. Human Genetics 57 10 The probes were biotin labelled by nick translation.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† Nickn.²

Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: Old Nick n.

Etymology: Short for Old Nick n. N.E.D. (1907) gives the pronunciation as (nik) /nɪk/.

colloquial. Obsolete.

The Devil. Cf. Old Nick n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun]

devileOE

Beelzebubc950

the foul ghosteOE

SatanOE

warlockOE

SatanasOE

worsea1200

unwinea1225

wondc1250

quedea1275

pucka1300

serpenta1300

dragon1340

shrew1362

Apollyon1382

the god of this worldc1384

Mahoundc1400

leviathan1412

worsta1425

old enemyc1449

Ruffin1567

dismal1570

Plotcocka1578

the Wicked One1582

goodman1603

Mahu1603

foul thief1609

somebody1609

legiona1616

Lord of Flies1622

walliman1629

shaitan1638

Old Nicka1643

Nick1647

unsel?1675

old gentleman1681

old boy1692

the gentleman in black1693

deuce1694

Black Spy1699

the vicious one1713

worricow1719

Old Roger1725

Lord of the Flies1727

Simmie1728

Old Scratch1734

Old Harry1777

Old Poker1784

Auld Hornie1786

old (auld), ill thief1789

old one1790

little-good1821

Tom Walker1833

bogy1840

diabolarch1845

Old Ned1859

iniquity1899

1647 Strange Newes from Campania 7 I..will for ever pray That all those Traytors who their King withstood, May..keepe a Senat with their Grandsire Nick, and in his Kingdome play him such a tricke (As they have lately in Campania done).

?c1695 in J. Maidment Scot. Pasquils (1827) ii. 54 It's not Staire's bairnes alone Nick doth infest, His children's children lykewise are possest.

1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 168 O thou, whatever title suit thee! Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie.

1842 R. H. Barham St. Medard in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 288 Unless you're too Saintly to care about Nick.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2019).

nickn.³

Brit.

/nɪk/, U.S.

/nɪk/

Forms: also with capital initial.

Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: nickel n.

Etymology: Shortened < nickel n.

U.S. slang.

(The value of) a nickel coin.

ΚΠ

1857 N.Y. Herald 27 May 5/2 The bags containing the ‘Nicks’..each..held five hundred.

1865 G. A. Sala My Diary in Amer. II. i. 54 You should have given them a paper ‘spondoulick’ for ten cents, or else a few nickel cents. Those they know, for two sticks of lollipops are to be had for two ‘nicks’.

1894 S. Crane N.Y. City Sketches (1966) 106 Say, Jimmie, gimme change for a nick!

1910 G. Ade I knew him When 17 At the age of 7 he paid a Nick for three Cheroots.

1976 M. Knapp & H. Knapp One Potato, Two Potato 21 They can draw straws or flip a ‘nick’.

1983 Publishers Weekly 15 Apr. 52 We stocked up on this paper a while ago..so now it's only a nick more expensive than our regular stock.

This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† nickv.¹

Forms: Middle English nekyd (past participle), Middle English nic, Middle English nich, Middle English nik, Middle English nikke, Middle English nycke, Middle English nyk, Middle English nykke, Middle English–1600s 1800s nick; also Scottish pre-1700 neck, pre-1700 nyk.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nich adv.

Etymology: < nich adv. (compare forms s.v.).The Old English verb niccan to refuse a person something, cited in Bosworth-Toller and in Middle Eng. Dict. s.v. nikken v.¹, is a ghost, based on a misreading by J. M. Kemble ( Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici (1848) VI. 201) of nittað use, enjoy (see nitte v.) as niccað in the following passage:c1275 ( Will of Ketel (Sawyer 1519) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 90 Ic bidde þe..þat þu it nefre ne let welden mine vnwinan after me þe mid unrichte sitteð þeron, and nittað it me euere to vnþanke.

Obsolete.

a. intransitive. To make denial. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > denial or contradiction > deny or contradict [verb (intransitive)]

atsakec1000

nick?c1225

renege1548

nay-saya1800

disclaima1817

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 228 Hit nis naut igodes curt. ase iþe schire. þer as þe þe nickeð [a1250 Titus nicken; a1300 Caius nichet] wel. Mei beon iboreȝen.

b. transitive. To deny (a thing); to disavow, refuse to acknowledge (a person). rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > denial or contradiction > deny or contradict [verb (transitive)]

withquethec888

withsake971

falsea1225

withsay?c1225

denyc1300

again-saya1382

naitc1390

nitec1390

naya1400

nicka1400

warna1400

denytec1420

traversea1450

repugnc1456

unsayc1460

renay1512

disavow?1532

disaffirm1548

contradict1582

fault1585

belie1587

infringe1590

dementie1594

abnegate1616

negate1623

nege1624

abrenounce1656

nay-saya1774

negative1784

dement1884

the mind > language > statement > repudiation or refusal to acknowledge > repudiate or refuse to acknowledge [verb (transitive)] > knowledge of

forsakea1400

nicka1400

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21078 (MED) Þat erth, þai sai, vmstund Men sais vprisand fra þe grund..Þe landes folk it wil noght nick.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 15566 (MED) Do wai, leue freind..þu sal me nickin..Ar þe koc him crau to-night.

a. transitive. In to nick —— with nay (and variants): to answer (a person) in the negative; to deny (a thing). archaic in later use.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > negation > negate [verb (transitive)]

to nick —— with nayc1330

no1835

c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) 2188 (MED) No wold þai nick him wiþ no nay, What so euer he asked.

c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) 148 Ȝif I nikke hem with nai, hit helpeþ me nouȝt.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 3917 (MED) Laban o leue þam nicked nai.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4382 Has þou nicked me wit nay?

c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 26 (MED) Seche and þou schalt fynd..Nyk not þis with nay.

a1450 (a1400) Athelston (1951) 503 (MED) On here knees þey kneleden adoun And prayden hym off hys benysoun; He nykkyd hem wiþ nay.

1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii^*v Lord wendis on your way Yone berne nykis yow with nay.

?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 364 And sua he neckit thame with nay.

?c1600 (c1515) Sc. Field (Lyme) 54 in I. F. Baird Poems Stanley Family (D.Phil. thesis, Univ. of Birm.) (1990) 231 But he nicked them with nay, and none of yt woulde.

1603 Philotus xxxii. sig. B3 Sweit sucker, neck me not with nay, Bot be content to tak him.

1820 W. Scott Abbot III. xi. 363 I have but one boon to ask, I trust you will not nick me with nay.

b. intransitive. to nick (with) nay: to answer in the negative. rare.

ΚΠ

a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 36 (MED) Euer wymmen ich herie ay..ant euer at neode y nyckenay þat y ner nemnede þat heo nolde.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 4145 Ȝif sche nickes wiþ nay & nel nouȝt com sone..I wol..fecche hire with fin forse.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

nickv.²

Brit.

/nɪk/, U.S.

/nɪk/

Forms: Middle English–1600s nicke, 1500s nycke, 1500s nykk, 1500s– nick, 1600s knick, 1600s nike, 1700s nig; also Scottish pre-1700 neck, pre-1700 nek, pre-1700 nik.

Origin: Perhaps formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nick n.¹

Etymology: < nick n.¹ or its (uncertain) etymon (see etymological note at that entry).There is no obvious connection with formally similar verbs in other Germanic languages, as Middle Dutch nicken to bow, to bend (Dutch nikken , knikken to nod), Middle Low German nicken to bend over, sink down, Middle High German nicken to bend, press down (German nicken , to nod), Middle Low German knicken to bend, snap, German knicken to bend, break, snap. Sense 17 may be of independent, perhaps imitative origin; compare snick v.³

I. Senses relating to the making of notches or cuts.

a. transitive. To make a notch or notches in; to mark with a notch or notches; to indent. Occasionally intransitive with object implied. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > form a recess in [verb (transitive)] > notch

nick?1440

jag1568

natch1570

notch1581

notch1834

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > damage or injure [verb (transitive)] > by breaking, tearing, or cutting something off

forcutc1386

shattera1513

cancel1574

snip1822

mutilate1824

shard1879

detruncate1885

nick1885

tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) viii. 167 (MED) That sensis spille..Is not my wille, and yit in hit is she, Myn ignoraunce..but he, That she myschaunce, he pricke or nicke hit theer.

1460 Ayr Burgh Court Bks. 12 July in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Nik That ony that war filit for pike of reset..suld be nikit with kyrk dure key apon the chek.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 644/1 It is no trewe poynte to nycke your tayle [more than mine].

1573 T. Tusser Points Huswifrie (new ed.) f. 19, in Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) Some cuttith the napkin, some trencher wil nick.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) v. i. 176 His man with Cizers nickes him like a foole.

a1650 Robin Hood & Guy of Gisborne xlii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1888) III. v. 93/2 Robin pulled forth an Irish kniffe, And nicked Sir Guy in the fface.

1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 918 To nick or notch.

1752 E. Moxon Eng. Housewifery (new ed.) 50 Nick your beef about an inch distance.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 122 Before a saw is employed.., nick the place with a paring chisel.

1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh ix. 388 The falling beam, Which nicked me on the forehead as I passed The gallery-door.

1885 Harper's Mag. Feb. 477/1 As regards china..our servants are not in the least careful not to nick.

1936 E. A. Atkins & A. G. Walker Electr. Arc & Oxy-acetylene Welding (ed. 3) iv. 32 In the case of..cast iron the best way is to mark off the Vee and nick down with a hack-saw at intervals of ³/ ₁₆ in.

1951 J. Hawkes Land x. 228 The even contours of the next headland are nicked by the banks and ditches of a Celtic fort.

1985 E. Leonard Glitz i. 12 The .38 slug chipped bone, nicked the ilium.

†b. transitive. To record or keep an account of by means of a notch or notches made on a tally or stick. Also with up, down. Also figurative. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > record > pictorial, etc., records > [verb (transitive)]

nick?1523

notch1573

score1590

tallya1640

the world > relative properties > number > enumeration, reckoning, or calculation > number, calculate, or reckon [verb (transitive)] > record > by notches

scorec1386

tallyc1440

nick?1523

notch1573

strike1626

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlvii^v And if he can nat write: let hym nicke the defautes vpon a sticke.

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 5 Bee sure, this practise wil I nick in a freendlye memento.

1598 B. Yong tr. G. Polo Enamoured Diana in tr. J. de Montemayor Diana 484 Vpon our score You should nicke vp so many merie tides.

1614 J. Day Dyall xii. 318 So is their reasoning again as silly, who vpon the word Merit in the Fathers nick vp still our owne Deserts.

a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 103 With a knife wee nick on a spell howe many cleane weathers.

1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 5 I'll get a Knife, and nick it down, that Mr. Neverout came to our House.

1841 T. Hood Tale of Trumpet i, in New Monthly Mag. May 123 As for the clock the moments nicking, The Dame only gave it credit for ticking.

1853 G. J. Cayley Las Alforjas I. 61 In the fingers of his right [hand] was a crooked whittle, with which..as the basketfuls arrived, he would nick the score upon notch-sticks.

a. transitive. To cut into or through; to cut short, truncate; (now) esp. to nip or snip off. †to nick the thread (Scottish): to kill (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)]

snithec725

carvec1000

cutc1275

slitc1275

hag1294

ritc1300

chop1362

slash1382

cut and carvea1398

flash?a1400

flish?a1400

slenda1400

race?a1425

raise?a1425

razea1425

scotch?c1425

ochec1440

slitec1450

ranch?a1525

scorchc1550

scalp1552

mincea1560

rash?1565

beslash1581

fent1589

engrave1590

nick1592

snip1593

carbonado1596

rescide1598

skice1600

entail1601

chip1609

wriggle1612

insecate1623

carbonate1629

carbonade1634

insecta1652

flick1676

sneg1718

snick1728

slot1747

sneck1817

tame1847

bite-

1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ Def. Conny-catching sig. D His beard squard with such Arte, eyther..standing as stiffe as if he wore a Ruler in his mouth, or else nickt off with the Italian cut.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. xiii. 8 The itch of his Affection should not then Haue nickt his Captain-ship, at such a point.

1721 A. Ramsay Poems (1877) I. 162 Excepting some, wha a' the leave will nick, And gie them nought but bare Whop-shafts to lick.

1787 R. Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xii, in Poems (new ed.) 59 It's e'en a lang, lang time indeed Sin' I began to nick the thread.

1827 J. Watt Poems 90 Wi' rage an' spleen the thread he's nicket.

1865 A. D. Whitney Gayworthys xxvi Skylark grew to be her ordinary appellative; shortened, indeed to Skylie; the nickname nicked.

1887 G. Outram Lyrics 34 If mortal means could nick her thread, Sma' crime it wad appear to me.

1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist (U.K. ed.) v. 52 This was Utah, state shaped like a brick with the corner nicked off.

1977 B. MacLaverty Secrets 27 He opened his mouth in a mock yawn and nicked off the remaining hairs.

1991 Independent 28 Nov. 15/6 Too soon for a verdict, he said, but the protrusion might need to be nicked off under local anaesthetic.

†b. transitive. To shape or mark out by cutting. Frequently with out. Also figurative. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)] > by or as by cutting

hewc900

behewc1314

tailc1400

chisel1517

tailye1581

cut1600

nick1605

pare1708

whittle1848

nibble1987

society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)] > by cutting

score1590

scribe1800

nick1827

1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 42 A Monke of Duresme busied his braine in nicking out these nice verses vpon the death of W. de La-march.

1719 W. Hamilton Epist. to Ramsay ii. vi, in A. Ramsey Poems Thy verses nice as ever nicket, Made me as canty as a cricket.

1827 J. Clare Shepherd's Cal. 180 Nicking the ‘Nine-peg morris’ in the grass.

1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 326/1 The breadth of land has been nicked out upon the ground.

1883 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 372 It is built upon a corner nicked out of the consecrated space, and has the graves close at its back and along one of its sides.

†c. transitive. Mining. To cut away (coal) from a seam after it has been undercut. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II. 576/1 Nick, to cut vertical sections in a mine from the roof. North.

1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 174 Nick, to cut or shear coal after holing.

d. transitive. Biochemistry. To introduce a nick (nick n.¹ 2i) into (a DNA molecule); (more generally) to break a bond between two adjacent units in (a biological polymer).

ΚΠ

1969 Jrnl. Biochem. (Tokyo) 66 6/2 B. subtilis DNA was nicked at 37°C for 2 hr.

1978 Nature 25 May 315/1 This treatment is known to nick ccc-DNA, producing the open circular (oc) form of DNA.

1984 M. J. Taussig Processes in Pathol. & Microbiol. (ed. 2) iii. 316 The haemagglutinin protein is enzymatically ‘nicked’ during viral maturation into two chains..which remain linked by a disulphide bond.

1990 EMBO Jrnl. 9 2919/2 Supercoiled..input DNA is rapidly nicked in cell-free systems.

†3. transitive. To make an indentation in the base of (a tankard) in order to reduce its capacity. Also intransitive with object implied. Obsolete.Frequently coupled with froth, esp. with general implication of the giving of short measure. Cf. nick n.¹ 2c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > providing or serving drink > [verb (transitive)] > supply fraudulent measure

nick1592

1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ Def. Conny-catching sig. C3^v The Alewife vnlesse she nicke her Pottes and Conny-catch her guestes with stone Pottes..can hardly pay her Brewer.

1616 Shirburn Ballads (1906) 92 Though I be loth To nicke and to froth, That built the Pie at Algate.

c1665 in Roxburghe Ballads VI. 487 Bee't tankerd or flaggon,..we'l trust you to Nick and to Froth.

1700 E. Ward London Spy II. iii. 6 Sent up to Town, as Thousands were before, To Nick and Froth, and Learn the Double-Score.

4. transitive. To make an incision at the root of (a horse's tail) in order to make the animal carry it higher; to cut (a horse) in this way. Occasionally intransitive with object implied. See also nicking n.² 1b. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > dock or nick horse

dock1530

curtail1577

nick1740

bob1822

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > dock or nick horse > nick tail

nick1740

1740 H. Bracken Farriery Improv'd (ed. 2) II. i. 4 Why should any Horse carry me better when his Tail is nick'd, (as the Term is) than he did before?

1753 J. Bartlet Gentleman's Farriery xliii. 311 The art of nicking horses then chiefly consists in a transverse division of these depressing tendons of the tail.

1791 W. Gilpin Remarks Forest Scenery II. 268 The custom..of docking, nicking, and cropping their horses.

1859 A. Cary Pictures Country Life 189 I'm a going to..learn to nick and dock.

1887 H. Caine Son of Hagar i. vii Anything from ploughing to threshing and nicking a nag's tail.

1896 Daily News 11 Feb. 9/1 Prosecuted..for ‘nicking’ two hackneys and a chestnut mare.

1990 E. Cotchin Royal Vet. Coll. London (BNC) 73 He condemned the practice of nicking horses' tails.

5. transitive. To cut (the skin, etc.) accidentally, esp. while shaving. Frequently reflexive.

ΚΠ

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. iv. [Calypso] 67 Nicked myself shaving.

1967 G. Vidal Washington, D.C. I. ii. 15 The razor nicked his chin.

1988 G. Swift Out of this World 102 He has nicked himself shaving.

II. Senses relating to correspondence or precision.

6. Dice.

†a. transitive. In the game of hazard: to win against (a player) by throwing a nick (nick n.¹ 9a). Also figurative. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > play at dice [verb (transitive)] > specific throw at hazard > win over at hazard

nicka1553

a1553 Nice Wanton 212 Iniq. Here, sirs, come on; seuen! (They set him.) Aleauen at all! Ism. Do ye nycke vs?

1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love ii. ii. sig. D2 I haue a Salutation wil nick all.

a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V cccx, in Poems (1878) IV. 178 France vnderhand pursues The Advantage of the Warre to nicke him out Ere he could prize his Chance; False Dice may doo't.

1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love iv. 54 My Don he sets me ten pistols; I nick him: ten more, I sweep them too.

1697 C. Cibber Womans Wit i. 8 Fortune was on my side, and in less then two Hours I fairly nickt him of Five Hundred Pound.

†b. transitive. To make (a winning throw); to get as a nick; to throw the nick of (a specified number). Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes To binde, tie, or nick a cast at dice.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Ambezatz Hauing had that chance that no wise man would nicke.

1705 S. Centlivre Gamester i. i. 9 Come, throw a Main, Sir, then I'll instruct you how to nick it.

1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer iii. 63 My old luck: I never nick'd seven that I did not throw ames ace three times following.

1801 Sporting Mag. 17 7 Dreamt that I had thrown crabs all night, and could not nick seven for the life of me.

1815 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 289/2 A wager whether there are more ways than 6 of nicking 7 on the dice.

c. intransitive. To gamble with dice. Formerly also: †to throw a nick (obsolete). Now Caribbean.Continuity of the Caribbean usage with earlier use is not certain.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > play games of chance [verb (intransitive)]

play1340

game1529

nick1611

to cast a chancea1628

to go even or odd1658

gamble1757

gaff1819

buck1849

spiel1859

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > play at dice [verb (intransitive)] > specific throw at hazard

nick1611

to throw in1772

1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words at Zarare To play at hazards or throw hazards, to nike at hazard.

1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer ii. i Thou art some..gaming Companion, and want'st some Widow's old Gold to nick upon.

1732 H. Fielding Lottery i. 7 If I can but nick this time, Ame's-Ace, I defy thee.

1953 Daily Chron. (Georgetown, Guyana) 6 Jan. 3 He had lost it [sc. his pay-packet] ‘nicking’ with the boys.

d. transitive. Caribbean. To gamble with (dice).

ΚΠ

1941 ‘J. Canoe’ Country Cousin 20 Lak wen corpie ketch dem bwoy a nick dice a Race Course an dem run.

1977 Nation (Bridgetown, Barbados) 9 Nov. 20 You find a crowd slamming dominoes, playing a card game, ‘nicking’ dice or casually passing the time with some lighthearted debate.

†a. transitive. To correspond to, tally with; to suit exactly. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > suit or be suitable for [verb (transitive)] > exactly

hitc1580

nick1589

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 111 By reason one [word] of them doth as it were nicke another.

1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 140 Words nicking and resembling one the other, are appliable to diffrent significations.

1702 P. A. Motteux in G. Farquhar Inconstant Prol. sig. a An Op'ra, like an Olio, nicks the Age.

a1704 T. Brown Acct. Conversat. Liberty of Conscience in Duke of Buckingham Misc. Wks. (1705) II. i. 126 To this odd-conditioned Soul was tack'd a Body that nickt it like two Exchequer Tallies.

b. intransitive. Of a domestic animal, etc.: to produce offspring of high quality when mated with an animal of a different breed or pedigree. Of (a mating between) two domestic animals, etc., of different breeds or pedigrees: to produce offspring of high quality. Cf. nick n.¹ 10.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (intransitive)] > copulate > with excellent results

nick1865

1865 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 2nd Ser. 1 ii. 323 Colonel Cradock liked the sort for their size and milk, and they ‘nicked’ well both with the Booth and the Bates blood.

1876 3rd Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1875–6 132 There is another strain or peculiarity among these Canadians, that seems to nick well with the Morgans.

1942 R. B. Kelley Sheep Dogs 51 When the progeny of a bitch by a particular dog are outstanding the parents are said to have ‘nicked’.

1959 New Scientist 22 Oct. 737/2 Where the offspring's performance is conspicuously superior to that of its parents the mating [of poultry] is said to ‘nick’.

1974 Country Life 3 Jan. 43/3 The colour-marking Hereford ‘nicks’ well with virtually all beef and dairy breeds.

1980 D. G. Carlson Dog Owner's Home Vet. Handbk. xv. 253 When two strains have nicked successfully, other crosses between them may work as well.

†c. intransitive. To compare or compete with. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > comparison > compare [verb (intransitive)] > admit of comparison

parec1450

comparea1500

march1567

to deserve to carry the buckler1642

nick1887

to side up with1895

stack1896

1887 Viscount Bury & G. L. Hillier Cycling (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) vi. 227 Only one sport ‘nicks’ with cycling, and that is fair toe and heel walking.

†8.

a. transitive. To designate or call (a person or thing) with (occasionally by, in, etc.) a particular name. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > give appropriate name to

nick1589

1589 J. Lyly Pappe with Hatchet B iv If anie be vnchristened, Ile nicke him with a name.

1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 80 Goodith.., by which name king Henry the first was nicked in contempt.

1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 141 The Greekes..nicked Antiochus Epiphanes, that is, the famous, with Epimanes, that is, the furious.

1687 M. Prior & Earl of Halifax Hind & Panther Transvers'd 24 I have so nickt his Character in a Name as will make you split.

1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 455 Take any Passion of the Soul of Man..and..nick it with some lucky, or unlucky Word.

b. transitive. To call by some name; to nickname. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > give or call by nickname

nickname1567

byname1587

agnominate1595

nick1607

cognominate1609

agname1652

to-name1775

cognomen1831

sobriquet1842

cognominize1849

soubriquet1880

moniker1923

1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster West-ward Hoe v. sig. H1^v Goz. Ha! doe I not Magera. Bird. I am none of your Megges, do not nick-name me so: I will not be nickt.

1634 J. Ford Chron. Hist. Perkin Warbeck iv. sig. H^v Warbecke as you nicke him, came to me.

1656 T. Blount Glossographia at Allusion The Greeks nicked Antiochus Epiphanes, that is, the famous, with Epimanes, that is, the furious.

1689 N. Lee Princess of Cleve ii. iii Believe me Sir, in a little time you'll be nick'd the Town-Bull.

1889 E. R. Lankester in Nature 21 Mar. 485 There is no ground for regarding the word ‘Lamarckism’ as a nickname. There can be no desire to ‘nick’ him or anyone else.

c. transitive. To criticize, censure, speak ill of. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > criticize [verb (transitive)]

reprehendc1400

murmur1424

discommenda1500

belack1531

to find fault (with, at)c1540

scan?c1550

fault1563

pinch1567

to lift or move a lip1579

raign1581

reflect1605

criminate1645

criticize1652

nick1668

critic1697

chop1712

stricture1851

to get on to ——1895

chip1898

rap1899

nitpick1956

1668 J. Dryden Secret-love 2nd Prol. sig. a4 Those who write not, and yet all Writers nick, Are Bankrupt Gamesters.

†9.

a. transitive. To seize, take advantage of, grasp (an opportunity, etc.). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > give opportunity for [verb (transitive)] > take (opportunity)

catchc1425

to take‥vantage (of)1573

apprehend1586

to take odds of1596

to catch at ——1610

feea1616

seize1618

nick1634

to jump at1769

1634 J. Shirley Opportunity v. i Something will come on't, if he have The grace to nick this opportunity.

1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 4 None more ready to nick a juncture of Affairs than a malapert Chaplain.

1703 T. Brown et al. Contin. Lett. from Dead to Living Pref. 17 Blame his damn'd Courtiers and not me, that instead of nicking the nice operation of the Medicine, let in Books and Priests to debauch his understanding.

1708 O. Dykes Moral Reflexions Eng. Prov. 181 Tim'd according to the nice Punctillo's of nicking the Opportunity.

1760 S. Foote Minor ii. 53 Slam me, but he has nick'd the chance.

b. transitive. To hit or catch exactly (the right time, moment, etc., for something). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > provide occasion or opportunity [verb (transitive)] > just be in time for

nicka1664

save1665

a1664 M. Frank in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1872) III. Ps. lxix. 13 Come we but to him in either of these, and we have nicked the time; we are sure to be accepted.

1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin ii. viii. 123 You must be sure to nick the Season; 'Tis at the Masse, just between the Elevation of our Lord, and the three Agnus Dei.

1725 T. Thomas in Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 139 We nicked the time very happily.

1759 O. Goldsmith Bee 20 Oct. 72 He had, as he fancied, just nicked the time, for he came in as the cloth was laying.

1821 Ld. Byron 15 Oct. in Lett. & Jrnls. (1979) IX. 29 I had just nicked a minute when neither mothers nor husbands..were near.

1843 G. W. Le Fevre Life Trav. Physician I. i. iv. 75 I had nicked my time, and..I embarked.

1846 W. S. Landor Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. II. 269 Unless he nicked the time he might miss the monster.

c. transitive. colloquial. To catch (a boat, train, etc.) just at the time of departure. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > provide occasion or opportunity [verb (transitive)] > just be in time for > catch just at the time of departure

nick1841

1841 E. Bulwer-Lytton Night & Morning ii. iv I must arrive just in time to nick the vessels.

1888 Poor Nellie 16 ‘Awfully glad we've nicked it [sc. a train],’ said George.

†10.

a. transitive. to nick it: to hit the mark, to make a hit; to guess correctly. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > achieve success (of persons)

speed993

achievec1300

escheve?a1400

succeed1509

to turn up trumps1595

fadge1611

to nick ita1637

to hit the mark (also nail, needle, pin)1655

to get on1768

to reap, win one's laurels1819

to go a long way1859

win out1861

score1882

to make it1885

to make a ten-strike1887

to make the grade1912

to make good1914

to bring home the bacon1924

to go places1931

the mind > mental capacity > belief > conjecture, guessing > form conjectures, guess [verb (intransitive)] > rightly

to hit it1591

to nick ita1637

a1637 B. Jonson Magnetick Lady ii. iv. 24 in Wks. (1640) III Now, is your time: goe nick it with the Neice.

a1640 P. Massinger Parl. of Love (1976) v. i. 296 Haue I not nickd it tutor?

1682 E. Hickeringill Black Non-Conformist Concl. 64 Jezabel nick't it in Politicks, when..she made the Law..contribute and club to the knocking out Naboth's brains.

1705 J. Vanbrugh Confederacy Prol. All his decent plays, Where he so nicked it, when he writ for praise.

1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 242 So, Jackey, we but just nick'd it, I find.

a1804 R. Graves tr. Martial ii. vii At every ball how prettily you nick it!

1823 W. T. Moncrieff Tom & Jerry i. iv You've nicked it: the fact is this, Dicky—you must turn missionary.

1831 C. Lamb Satan in Search i. xii ‘I wish my Nicky is not in love’.—‘O mother, you have nicked it!’

1860 G. W. Thornbury Turkish Life & Char. I. iv. 73 We at last..found ourselves at the convent. ‘I thought we should nick it,’ Rocket said.

b. transitive. To arrive at with precision, hit upon; to guess or understand correctly. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > locate with precision [verb (transitive)]

nick1673

pinpoint1917

1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 6 I gad sir, and there you have nickt the present juncture of affairs.

1694 T. D'Urfey 1st Pt. Don Quixote ii. i. 12 Why the truth on't it Sir, you have nick'd me there to a Hair, for my whole Office has been to Pray and Fast ever since I came into your Service.

1697 T. Dilke City Lady v. 48 You have nick'd me to a T. and have hit the Punctum of my Conceptions.

1712 W. Oldisworth tr. R. Bentley Note in Horace Odes VII. i. xxxvii. 29/1 Without doubt we have nick'd Horace's Meaning.

1750 M. Clancy Sharper 38 There is a great deal of Judgment in properly nicking the Necessities of a Spendthrift.

1764 S. Foote Patron I. 6 It was lucky I went to Brighthelmstone; I nick'd the time to a hair.

1800 C. Lamb Let. 22 Sept. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1975) I. 237 You just nick'd my palate.

1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. ii. v. 113 He..perceived the chances for and against.., and nicked the question between wind and water.

1889 A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xxvii. 288 Mayhap you have nicked the truth.

c. transitive. to nick off: = to hit off at hit v. 1b(b). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > take care about [verb (transitive)] > do accurately

to nick offa1694

a1694 M. Robinson Autobiogr. (1856) 6 His father..did admire to see how the boy would nick off the very sense of difficult passages.

1839 W. M. Thackeray Second Lect. Fine Arts in Fraser's Mag. June 749/1 The chairs, tables, curtains, and pictures, are nicked off with extraordinary neatness and sharpness.

1856 W. M. Thackeray Christmas Bks. (1872) 25 He dockets his tailor's bills, and nicks off his dinner notes in diplomatic paragraphs.

†11. transitive. slang. to nick the pin: to drink exactly one's share. See pin n.¹ 2a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink specific amount

to nick the pin1655

the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink intoxicating liquor > drink one's fair share

to keep the round1633

to nick the pin1655

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 17 And he accounted the Man, who could nick the Pin, drinking even unto it.

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at Pin Nick the Pin, to Drink fairly.

1708 J. Kersey Dict. Anglo-Britannicum To Nick the Pin, to drink just to the Pin plac'd about the middle of a Wooden Bowl or Cup.

†12. transitive. slang. To break (a window) by throwing stones at it (see nicker n.²). Cf. nicker n.² 3. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > windows

mill1699

nick1717

pin1824

1717 M. Prior Alma iii. 235 He starts up mohack; Breaks watchmen's heads, and chairmen's glasses, And thence proceeds to nicking sashes.

13.

a. intransitive. Hunting, Horse Racing, etc. Of a horse, rider, etc.: to cut in. Also in similar phrases. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > hunt with hounds [verb (intransitive)] > cut in

nick1831

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > engage in horse racing [verb (intransitive)] > actions of horse

to carry weight1734

to get up1840

screw1840

to come again1841

to set to1856

to wait off1856

romp1869

to answer the question1875

compound1876

to gallop to a standstill1892

nick1898

to take up1912

rate1920

1831 New Sporting Mag. Oct. 415/2 The distinction would lie between those who ride fairly to hounds, and those who make a regular practice of what is called nicking in to meet them.

1883 Standard 22 Feb. 3/7 Glenlivet had a good winning balance when Strawberry Girl nicked past and killed.

1898 Daily News 16 June 2/3 That beautiful filly..was lucky enough to nick in on the inside when the leaders ran out at the bend.

b. intransitive. Originally Australian. To go off or away surreptitiously, hurriedly, etc. Also with other adverbs.

ΚΠ

1896 E. Turner Little Larrikin xxiii. 274 Trying to induce the driver of the motor, for whom he had a friendship, to promise at the end of the journey to ‘nick away and come too’.

1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career 258 If you go to a picnic, just when the fun commences you have to nick off home and milk.

1960 B. Crump Good Keen Man 121 Flynn, sensing my decision to nick out for a bit of hunting, kept dashing out.

1984 J. Kelman Busconductor Hines ii. 51 Aye, said McCulloch, and we could've nicked into the bar and had a game of dominoes.

1995 C. Bateman Cycle of Violence ii. 32 He was back at the same table, at just about the same time, just nicking in before they closed the kitchen.

2001 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 4 Nov. 2 As he sought to nick past the Dundee defender he was bundled to the ground.

14. intransitive. Real Tennis and Squash. Of a ball: to strike the floor and wall simultaneously, and so lose momentum. Of a player: to strike (a wall) with such a shot.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > squash rackets > play squash rackets [verb (intransitive)] > actions in squash rackets

nick1898

double-fault1921

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > real tennis > play real tennis [verb (intransitive)] > action of ball

fall1890

nick1898

1898 W. A. Morgan et al. House on Sport 251 By volleying the service you prevent the ball ‘nicking’, i.e., so pitching in the angle formed by floor and wall as to be unplayable.

1926 C. Arnold Game of Squash Rackets iii. 34 It [sc. the ball] should be made just to nick on to the side wall and floor and there lie dead.

1960 Times 29 Nov. 17/3 Oddy was nicking the side wall more often.

III. Senses relating to stealing or taking.

15. colloquial and slang.

a. transitive. Originally: to trick, cheat, or defraud; to obtain something from (a person) by dishonest or unfair means. Later used more generally with reference to unwelcome requests for money, etc. Frequently with for (also of, out of). Now chiefly North American.In quot. 1630 with punning reference to sense 3.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle

defraud1362

deceivec1380

plucka1500

lurch1530

defeata1538

souse1545

lick1548

wipe1549

fraud1563

use1564

cozen1573

nick1576

verse1591

rooka1595

trim1600

skelder1602

firk1604

dry-shave1620

fiddle1630

nose1637

foista1640

doa1642

sharka1650

chouse1654

burn1655

bilk1672

under-enter1692

sharp1699

stick1699

finger1709

roguea1714

fling1749

swindle1773

jink1777

queer1778

to do over1781

jump1789

mace1790

chisel1808

slang1812

bucket1819

to clean out1819

give it1819

to put in the hole1819

ramp1819

sting1819

victimize1839

financier1840

gum1840

snakea1861

to take down1865

verneuk1871

bunco1875

rush1875

gyp1879

salt1882

daddle1883

work1884

to have (one) on toast1886

slip1890

to do (a person) in the eye1891

sugar1892

flay1893

to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895

con1896

pad1897

screw1900

short-change1903

to do in1906

window dress1913

ream1914

twist1914

clean1915

rim1918

tweedle1925

hype1926

clip1927

take1927

gazump1928

yentz1930

promote1931

to take (someone) to the cleaners1932

to carve up1933

chizz1948

stiff1950

scam1963

to rip off1969

to stitch up1970

skunk1971

to steal (someone) blind1974

diddle-

1576 G. Whetstone Ortchard of Repentance 9 in Rocke of Regard I neuer nickt the poorest of his pay, But if hee lackt, hee had before his day.

1579 E. Hake Newes out of Powles Churchyarde newly Renued viii. sig. Gviii How doth he nick the debter now by hault exacting wayes.

1595 ‘J. Dando’ & ‘H. Runt’ Maroccus Extaticus 8 To nycoll you, or nicke you rather of an old peece of velvet hose.

a1625 J. Fletcher Mad Lover i. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. B2/1 You men of wars, the men of wars will nick ye, For sterve nor beg they must not.

1630 J. Taylor Great Eater of Kent 8 Ale-houses nor tapsters cannot nick this Nick [Wood] with froth: curtoll cannes..could neuer cheate him.

1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera ii. iv. 24 She rivetted a Linen-draper's Eye so fast upon her, that he was nick'd of three Pieces of Cambrick before he could look off.

1777 C. A. Burney Jrnl. in F. Burney Early Diary (1889) II. 279 He nickd us entirely and never came at all.

a1809 H. Cowley Town before You iii. i, in Wks. (1813) II. 366 A man will be mad that is choused out of a thousand pounds, but, if his Neighbour is nicked out of it, he laughs, and says [etc.].

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian viii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 209 Three words of your mouth would give the girl the chance to nick Moll Blood [i.e. the gallows].

1868 J. Maidment Sc. Pasquils 349 'Tis to be hop'd we'll spoil their fun, And nick them of their fishing.

1902 H. Hapgood Autobiogr. Thief (1912) 210 She stopped; and at that moment the Kid nicked her.

1935 in H. Galewitz Great Comics (1972) 256 Wot th'!—so you was gonna nick me for my gun!

1962 Washington Daily News 30 May 48/1 District taxpayers..have heard rumblings that they might be nicked for about a million dollars each year to subsidize professional sports here.

1977 R. Coover Public Burning 204 After nicking gullible old Peter Minuit..for twenty-four dollars.

†b. intransitive with object implied. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. ii. xiv. 41 The Miser and the Man will trick, The Mistress and the Maid will nick.

c. transitive. To rob (a bank, etc.). Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > rob [verb (transitive)] > specifically a place

robc1225

nick1829

1829 Sessions' Papers Old Bailey 9 Apr. 329/2 That oil-shop the corner of Cannon-street, i went in a [i.e. to] nick the lob [i.e. till] of 7 peg, and parcel papers rold up.

1927 in D. Hammett Big Knockover 277 All I got was that the Seaman's [bank] is gonna be nicked.

16. colloquial and slang.

a. transitive. To catch, take unawares; to apprehend. Now: spec. (of the police) to arrest, take into custody (slang). †nick me!: (in quot. 1760) used as an imprecation (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > seizing > catching or capture > catch or capture [verb (transitive)]

i-lecchec1000

fang1016

hentOE

takeOE

alatchlOE

catchc1275

wina1300

to take ina1387

attain1393

geta1400

overhent?a1400

restay?a1400

seizea1400

tachec1400

arrest1481

carrya1500

collara1535

snap1568

overgo1581

surprise1592

nibble1608

incaptivate1611

nicka1640

cop1704

chop1726

nail1735

to give a person the foot1767

capture1796

hooka1800

sniba1801

net1803

nib1819

prehend1831

corral1860

rope1877

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > oaths other than religious or obscene > imprecations

woeOE

dahetc1290

confoundc1330

foul (also shame) fall ——c1330

sorrow on——c1330

in the wanianda1352

wildfirea1375

evil theedomc1386

a pestilence on (also upon)c1390

woe betide you (also him, her, etc.)c1390

maldathaita1400

murrainc1400

out ona1415

in the wild waning worldc1485

vengeance?a1500

in a wanion1549

with a wanion1549

woe worth1553

a plague on——a1566

with a wanion to?c1570

with a wanyand1570

bot1584

maugre1590

poxa1592

death1593

rot1594

rot on1595

cancro1597

pax1604

pize on (also upon)1605

vild1605

peascod1606

cargo1607

confusion1608

perditiona1616

(a) pest upon1632

deuce1651

stap my vitals1697

strike me blind, dumb, lucky (if, but—)1697

stop my vitals1699

split me (or my windpipe)1700

rabbit1701

consume1756

capot me!1760

nick me!1760

weary set1788

rats1816

bad cess to1859

curse1885

hanged1887

buggeration1964

society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)]

at-holda1230

attacha1325

resta1325

takec1330

arrest1393

restay?a1400

tachec1400

seisinc1425

to take upa1438

stowc1450

seize1471

to lay (also set, clap, etc.) (a person) by the heels?1515

deprehend1532

apprehend1548

nipa1566

upsnatcha1566

finger1572

to make stay of1572

embarge1585

cap1590

reprehend1598

prehenda1605

embar1647

nap1665

nab1686

bone1699

roast1699

do1784

touch1785

pinch1789

to pull up1799

grab1800

nick1806

pull1811

hobble1819

nail1823

nipper1823

bag1824

lag1847

tap1859

snaffle1860

to put the collar on1865

copper1872

to take in1878

lumber1882

to pick up1887

to pull in1893

lift1923

drag1924

to knock off1926

to put the sleeve on1930

bust1940

pop1960

vamp1970

a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Prophetesse iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Eeee/2 We must be sometimes wittie, to nick a knave.

1673 S'too him Bayes 83 Now will I nick thee here—worse than any where in all my book.

1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 94 If he gets him dead drunk, for then is the critical Minute to nick him.

1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 99 There the Common Pleas thought they had nicked them.

1759 J. Townley High Life below Stairs ii. i You have just nick'd them in the very Minute.

1760 S. Foote Minor i. 32 Nick me, but I have a great mind to tie up, and ruin the rascals.

1806 Spirit of Public Jrnls. 9 379 He..stands a chance of getting nicked, because he was found in bad company.

1836 F. Marryat Japhet III. iii. 35 He has come to get off his accomplice, and now we've just nicked them both.

1893 P. H. Emerson Signor Lippo xvii All my pals got nicked, and I chucked it.

1926 J. Gray Stray Leaves xi. 2 It wis him 'at struck the blow, 'at I wis nickit for.

1959 ‘M. Cronin’ Dead & Done With x. 152 They nicked your chum for killing his wife.

1973 J. Wainwright Devil you Don't 32 I am talking to you, copper..either nick me..or close that bloody door.

2001 Sun 27 Jan. 76/1 Police nicked a bloke outside the Barcelona training ground last week.

b. transitive. To steal; to pilfer. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > steal [verb (transitive)]

pick?c1300

takec1300

fetch1377

bribec1405

usurpc1412

rapc1415

to rap and rendc1415

embezzle1495

lifta1529

pilfer1532

suffurate1542

convey?1545

mill1567

prig1567

strike1567

lag1573

shave1585

knave1601

twitch1607

cly1610

asport1621

pinch1632

snapa1639

nap1665

panyar1681

to carry off1684

to pick up1687

thievea1695

to gipsy away1696

bone1699

make1699

win1699

magg1762

snatch1766

to make off with1768

snavel1795

feck1809

shake1811

nail1819

geach1821

pull1821

to run off1821

smug1825

nick1826

abduct1831

swag1846

nobble1855

reef1859

snig1862

find1865

to pull off1865

cop1879

jump1879

slock1888

swipe1889

snag1895

rip1904

snitch1904

pole1906

glom1907

boost1912

hot-stuff1914

score1914

clifty1918

to knock off1919

snoop1924

heist1930

hoist1931

rabbit1943

to rip off1967

to have off1974

1826 D. Anderson Poems in Sc. Dial. 69 Some there ha'e gotten their pouches picket, Their siller an' their watches nickit.

1869 Temple Bar July 75 I bolted in and ‘nicked’ a nice silver tea-pot.

1903 J. London People of Abyss xxiii. 280 At thirteen we nicks things; an' at sixteen we bashes the copper.

1966 J. Porter Sour Cream xiii. 169 I had Azatov's own pass which I had nicked from him at the airport.

1987 Today 10 Nov. 11 Union official Tucker Chance said: ‘They're nicking our jobs.’

c. transitive. Chiefly Sport. To win (a point, game, championship, award, etc.), esp. narrowly or unexpectedly.

ΚΠ

1988 Squash World May 25/2 Having already beaten number 11 seed Ricki Hill of Australia, Hailstone nicked the first game from Jansher Khan.

1990 Rolling Stone 5 Apr. 5/2 At the thirty-second annual awards presentation, Bonnie Raitt received long-overdue recognition, nicking four awards.

1993 Time Out 31 Mar. 105/1 Blisset ended their nightmare last week when his 100th Brentford goal nicked an away win at Grimsby.

IV. Senses relating to the making of a clicking sound.

17. transitive. To fasten or unfasten with a click. Also with open, shut, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > fasten [verb (transitive)] > with a click

nick1856

1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh vi. 267 The lady closed That door and nicked the lock.

1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse i. ix. 83 She nicked the catch of her paint-box to, more firmly than was necessary.

1941 V. Woolf Between Acts 245 Miss La Trobe nicked the lock and hoisted the heavy case of gramophone records to her shoulder.

1943 G. Greene Ministry of Fear iii. ii. 198 A pocket watch. He nicked open the heavy back and read aloud: [etc.].

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

n.¹?a1450

n.²1647

n.³1857

v.¹?c1225

v.²?1440

单词	nick
释义	nickn.¹ Brit. /nɪk/, U.S. /nɪk/ Forms: Middle English nyke, Middle English 1600s nike, 1500s nycke, 1500s nyk, 1500s–1600s nicke, 1500s– nick, 1600s nic, 1700s– knick (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 nek, pre-1700 nicke, pre-1700 nict, pre-1700 nik, 1800s– nick. Origin: Of unknown origin. Etymon: nock n.¹ Etymology: Origin unknown; compare nick v.² Several of the senses of the noun (in branches I.) correspond closely to senses of the verb (compare branches I. and II. s.v.), but are older; the noun may in reality have priority, and it may be accidental that the oldest recorded senses of the noun are attested slightly later than the first attestation of the verb. No etymon suggests itself, and although there is an obvious resemblance of form and meaning in the earlier word nock n.¹, which has the parallel senses ‘notched tip of a bow’ and ‘cleft in the buttocks’ (compare sense 2b), it is not easy to see how they might be related.The following may reflect an attempt to connect the word with niche n. and adj. (which is almost certainly unrelated):1659 G. Torriano Vocabolario Italiano & Inglese sig. q2^v/1 Nick (in a wall to set a Statue in), nicchia. I. A notch or cut, and related senses. †1. A notch made to keep a score or tally; a tally. Also: a reckoning, an account. out of all nick: out of all account. Obsolete.Now merged in sense 2a. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > [noun] weenc888 rightnessOE steemc1330 sight1362 witc1374 emprisea1393 reputation?c1400 apprizingc1449 nick?a1450 vail1471 countc1475 opinionc1480 estimationc1522 meting1548 reckoning1548 valuation1548 computation1558 account1583 cess1588 esteem1598 appreciation1605 resentiment1606 repute1610 ratea1616 assessmenta1626 estimate1637 vote1639 supputation1643 compute1646 value1651 resentment1655 contemplation1673 critique1798 appraisement1808 appraisal1817 viewa1854 sizing up1967 chit1989 the world > relative properties > number > enumeration, reckoning, or calculation > [noun] > mark made to keep score or record nick?a1450 notch1565 chalk1674 tally1951 the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > making or becoming notched > a notch nick?a1450 gap1530 notch1555 natch1570 notching1640 nitch1726 snick1775 nicking1844 jog1845 ?a1450 Let. in S. G. Hamilton Collectanea (1912) 61 My mayster Syr..R ij nikes ij s. & holande clothe xiii s. ?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 86 A Nyke of A tayle, epimerida. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 644/1 I make nyckes on a tayle, or on a stycke. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Hoche A nicke, or notch, on a Tallie, etc. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. ii. 73 He lou'd her out of all nicke . View more context for this quotation 1692 Sheriffhall Coal Acct. Bks. 5 Nov. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Nik For 56 nicks at the gine at 14 shill. per nick. 1887 H. R. Haggard Allan Quatermain iv A number of little nicks, each nick representing a man killed in battle. 1891 R. Kipling Light that Failed iii. 40 That's another nick in the score. I'll jostle you later on. 2. A notch, groove, or slit, cut into or present in something; an incision, an indentation. a. General uses.In quot. ?c1475 at sense 1: spec. the nock of an arrow. ΚΠ ?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 86 A Nike, tenus. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. iii Some plowes haue a bende of yron..that hath thre nyckes on the farthersyde. 1578 J. Banister Hist. Man i. f. 32 Departyng from this corner, or deepe nicke..there riseth a certaine sharpe Processe. 1623 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie (rev. ed.) vi. sig. P3 It is best..in the edges on both sides to cut little nickes. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 68/2 The leaf 5 pointed, each cut with deep nicks, almost jagged. 1753 J. Bartlet Gentleman's Farriery App. 332 Holes must be made at certain distances in the groove,..and a nick cut to receive the billet from the strap. 1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper xiii. 280 Fill one Nick with chopped Parsley, the second with fat Pork,..and so on 'till you have filled all your Nicks. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 15 A nick is made in the wood or bone, to keep the work from being carried aside by the file. 1847 J. S. Le Fanu T. O'Brien 170 Deepening a nick with his penknife in the counter. 1888 S. R. Bottone Electr. Instr. Making §41 With a file, a nick is cut in this steel rod. 1925 C. P. Slater Marget Pow 48 Outside the house there's a nick in the wall, with a kind o' copy of the Crucifix. 1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 5 Sept. 5/3 Many cases of broken lines can be traced to cracks or nicks on a fishing rod's guides or tiptop. 1990 Trad. Homes Aug. 35/1 An oak niche..once held a dinner service, judging by the nicks for plates on the shaped shelves. b. A groove or cleft in the flesh of a person or animal. Now: spec. (slang) = nock n.¹ 2a. Cf. sense 2e. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun] > cleft in creekc1300 nocka1516 nick1562 nockandro1611 bum crack1980 1562 W. Turner Herball (1568) ii. 166 The sede layd to..swageth the payne of the nickes or ryuinge of the fundamente. 1791 Ann. Agric. 16 567 (E.D.D.) Instead of this ridge the new Leicester sheep are now breeding to have a furrow there, which is called the knick. 1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1197/2 Nick,..natal cleft at the fold of the buttock: low: late C. 19–20. †c. An indentation made in the base of a tankard in order to reduce the vessel's capacity. Cf. kick n.² 1. See also nick-pot n. Obsolete.Only in collocation with froth; frequently in extended use denoting the giving of short measure and dishonest practices in general. Cf. nick v.² 3. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > flask, flagon, or bottle > [noun] > bottle > indentation in bottom nick1612 kick1861 kick-up1901 1612 S. Rowlands Knaue of Harts sig. B2^v With Cannes of Beere..And those they say are fil'd with Nick and Froth. 1630 J. Taylor Trav. Twelve-pence in Wks. i. 70/2 They vsed so much deceit with nick and froth. 1651 T. Randolph et al. Hey for Honesty v. i. 40 Jugs of Ale without Excise, Fill'd to the brim, no nick nor froth upon them. c1665 Nick & Froth in Roxburghe Ballads (1886–7) VI. 487 Now we'll..lay you all open to view, It's all for your Froth and your Nick (you slaves). 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Nick and Froth built the Pye at Aldgate, sharping in the Reckonings and cheating in the Measure built that (once) Noted House. 1741 Poor Robin sig. A4 She still continues the Nick and Froth Trade as usual. d. slang. The female external genitals; the vagina. Now rare.In quots. a1625 and 1656 apparently with allusion to the game of real tennis; cf. sense 6. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vagina quaintc1330 quivera1382 tailc1390 mousetrapc1500 cunnigar1550 placket1595 buttonhole1600 bumble broth1602 touch-hole1602 case1606 keyhole1607 vagina1612 nicka1625 nunquam satis1633 lock1640 twat1656 cockpit1658 Whitechapel portion?1695 tuzzy-muzzy1710 niche1749 can1772 bumbo1774 fuckhole1893 jelly roll1895 mole-catcher1896 manhole1916 vag1967 stank1980 pum-pum1983 punani1987 a1625 J. Fletcher Wife for Moneth iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Gggggg4^v/1 The King is wanton Lords, he would needs know of me How many nick chases I would make to night. 1656 R. Fletcher Poems in Ex Otio Negotium 194 Least I should pursue her to the quick, I pass: The chase lies now too near the nick. a1749 A. Robertson Poems (?1752) 186 And as one guides me to the Nick, The other cries—Put up thy——. 1772 G. A. Stevens Songs Comic & Satyrical 126 The Nick makes the Tail stand, the Farrier's Wife's Mark. 1865 ‘Philocomus’ Love Feast ii. 14 I saw..his ever-standing prick Move in and out the luscious nick. c1930 Confessions of Virtuous Wife 102 Chinese or Negromen, Zulus or Englishmen, Irish or American, Love Cunt's sweet nick! †e. A notch made in the ear, etc., of an animal to indicate ownership. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1652 in Arch. Maryland (1891) X. 304 One Cowe calfe..the right Eare being cropt and the left Eare underkeeled with a nick in the Said Eare above. 1709 in A. Perry & C. S. Brigham Early Rec. Portsmouth (Rhode Island) (1901) 261 Two nicks..under the right ear. 1842 M. A. Lower Eng. Surnames (1875) II. App. 156 A nick is the mark cut in the mandible of a swan to distinguish its ownership. f. Printing. A groove on one side of the shank of a piece of type, serving as a guide in the choice and positioning of the type; †the part of the mould by which this is made. ΘΚΠ society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > [noun] > marks on types > as guide to compositor nick1683 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 139 In the upper half of the Mold..is fitted into the under side of the Body the Nick: It is made of a piece of Wyer. 1797 Encycl. Brit. VII. 381/1 This wire, or rather half-wire, in the upper part makes the nick in the shank of the letter. 1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. 6 The advantage to be derived from letter having a deep nick, and also that the nick should differ from other founts of that body. 1882 J. Southward Pract. Printing 11 The nick..distinguishes between letters of an equal size but of a different description. 1970 R. K. Kent Lang. Journalism 93 When the type is set by hand, the nicks of the row are toward the compositor, and align as it lies in the composing stick. †g. Chiefly Scottish. Each of the depressions between the rings which form on a cow's horn, the number of which gives an indication of the animal's age. Also in extended use with reference to the years of a human life. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun] > (miscellaneous) parts of > (parts of) horn > mark indicating age ring1725 nickc1810 c1810 Cromek in R. Burns Wks. (1838–9) 62 It was his common practice to cut the nicks or markings from the horns of cattle, to disguise their age. 1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems I. 156 May..ilka new nick on her horn Some added pleasure yield her. 1828 M. Corbett & M. Corbett Tales & Legends III. 321 I doubt ye hae ower mony nicks in your horn to suit them. 1838 A. Rodger Poems & Songs 308 Sair she rued her pridefu' scorn, E'er thretty nicks had marked her horn. 1875 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet (ed. 3) 172 There's ower mony nicks in her horn, I doot. h. Engineering. A groove or slot in the head of a screw. ΚΠ 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 109/1 After which the nick, or groove to receive the end of the screw~driver, is cut with a circular saw. 1866 J. Chamberlain in S. Timmins Birmingham & Midl. Hardware District (1886) 608 The ‘soife’, or iron cuttings from the nicks and threads of the screws, average about four tons per day. 1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. 2248/2 It [sc. a screwdriver] has a thin wedge-shaped end which enters the nick in the head of the screw. i. Biochemistry. A break in one strand of a double-stranded DNA molecule, corresponding to a broken or unformed phosphodiester bond between two adjacent nucleotides. ΚΠ 1968 Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 33 375/2 With increase of time after infection, single-stranded nicks are introduced with increasing frequency. 1982 T. M. Devlin Textbk. Biochem. xvii. 864 (caption) The nicks in the annealed ends are then sealed by the action of ligase, which forms a stable circular DNA. 1994 Sci. News 24 Sept. 204/2 Bayley has been able to cut ‘nicks’ into the loop and stitch in strings of the amino acids cysteine and histidine. †3. A mark cut into something to indicate a level, limit, or the like; a level, degree, pitch, etc. Also figurative. to a nick: to a nicety. Obsolete.Chiefly with reference to the winding of a watch spring or lutestring to a point marked with such a notch. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > the exact amount of something nick1578 the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > graduated instruments > notch used as a mark for measurement nick1578 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb] > strictly strait1338 smally1340 at point devicec1390 point-devicec1425 precisely1526 to the point device1542 just1549 rigorously1561 by the square1570 curiously1573 by point device1575 in print1576 to a tittle1597 nicelya1616 to a hair's breadtha1616 point-vice1641 to a nicka1680 to a cow's thumb1681 to a tee1693 narrowly1708 scrupulously1712 to a dot1728 perjinkly1775 to a nicety1795 astringently1866 to a fit1890 1578 T. Churchyard Disc. Queenes Entertainem. sig. Diij You old men, with boyes will iest and scoffe, And either laugh to scorne our words, or taunt vs past the nick. 1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iv. iv. sig. I4 I knew, the Doctor would not leaue, Till he had found the very nick of her fortune. View more context for this quotation a1637 B. Jonson Pans Anniv. 120 in Wks. (1640) III To these there is annexed a Clock-keeper..who is to see that they all keepe time to a nick, and move every elbow in order, every knee in compasse. 1638 J. Suckling Aglaura ii. 11 Like the string of a watch wound up too high, and forc'd above the nicke. 1663 W. Clark Marciano iii. i. 31 O how my heart strings, by that pin of grief, As by an unexpert musicians hand, Who strives to raise his Lute to highest notes, Tun'd up above the nick begin to crack. a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 108 For who could choose but err, without some Trick To take your Elevation to a Nick. a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) II. 260 [He] has a different Humour for every Nick his drink rises to. 4. Originally Scottish. An angle, gap, or pass between two hills. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > valley > [noun] > gorge or ravine cloughc1330 heugha1400 straitc1400 gillc1440 gulfa1533 gull1553 gap1555 coomb1578 gullet1600 nick1606 goyle1617 gully1637 nullah1656 ravine1687 barrancaa1691 kloof1731 ravin1746 water gap1756 gorge1769 arroyo1777 quebrada1787 rambla1789 flume1792 linn1799 cañada1814 gulch1832 cañon1834 canyon1837 khud1837 couloir1855 draw1864 box canyon1869 sitch1888 tangi1901 opena1903 1606 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) II. 519 Thay baith mett togidder at the nik of the fell and hering..the countrey to follow thame, thay baith fled in Ingland. 1815 Wks. of Alexander Pennecuik 196 The highway passes through a hollow of blowing sand..called the Sandyhill-Nick. 1860 J. P. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale I. 117 The drivers of strings of gals [sc. Galloway ponies] with lime sacks o'er the nick of Pendle. 1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters ii. i. 66 There, in the nick, just where the eastern foothills joined the mountain..was Silverado. 1987 Climber Mar. 30/2 Scramble down the rocky ridge of the Lower Tier to the grassy nick, from where a track leads up to Hen Cloud. †5. Scottish. A sharp stroke or blow. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > a sharp or smart blow dab1300 rapc1330 thresta1400 bruntc1400 knap14.. yedderc1440 gird1487 yert1509 fillip1543 yark1555 flewet1570 stingera1577 flirt1577 wherret1577 riprapc1580 spang1595 nick1651 lick1680 flip1692 yowf1711 clink1722 wherrya1726 click1773 whither1791 swata1800 yank1818 snock1825 clip1830 snop1849 clinkera1863 siserary1893 blip1894 1651 Ld. Wariston Diary (1919) II. 55 It is a strange nik of providence that when this airmy should goe to the feilds, their head should fall seake. a1689 W. Cleland Coll. Poems (1697) 106 I must confess the contradict Gave my old frozen heart a nict. 6. Squash and Real Tennis. The junction between a wall and the floor of the court. Also: a (winning) return in which the ball makes contact with both surfaces simultaneously. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > squash rackets > [noun] > court > specific part sidewall1657 nicka1672 reverse angle1922 tin1933 society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > real tennis > [noun] > court > parts of hazard1583 nicka1672 penthousea1672 gallery1699 grille1700 dedans1706 tambour1706 gallery-post1878 pass court1878 pass line1878 winning-gallery1878 winning opening1878 wing-neta1884 a1672 P. Skippon in F. Willughby Bk. of Games (2003) 105 If a ball be struck under line & it runs to the adverse end & rises at the Nick (which is an obtuse angle to the pavement & the end wall that the ball may rise the better after this manner..). 1890 J. M. Heathcote et al. Tennis (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) iv. 69 When the odds of touch-no-walls..are given, a ball returned by the giver of odds, which makes a nick, is counted for the striker. 1926 C. Arnold Game of Squash Rackets iii. 34 Winners can also be made by what is known as a dead service nick, the ball being made to meet the back or side wall and the floor at the same time. 1963 Times 8 Jan. 3/5 Turning his racket over like a butterfly net to impart top spin and make the ball die in the nick. 1988 Squash Player Internat. Dec. 29/3 Glen Bollington..was defeated by a flurry of nicks in the fourth 9–3, 7–9, 9–6, 9–0. 7. A cut; (now esp.) a minor one made accidentally while shaving, etc. Also: the act of cutting. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > [noun] > a cut or incision garse?c1225 chinea1387 slit1398 incisionc1400 slivingc1400 raising?a1425 scotchc1450 racec1500 tranchec1500 kerf?1523 hack1555 slash1580 hew1596 raze1596 incutting1598 slisha1616 scar1653 lancementa1655 slap1688 slip1688 nick1692 streak1725 sneck1768 snick1775 rut1785 sliver1806 overcut1874 1692 Processes Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court 22 Apr. He saw Henderson take off hir crocecloath and two little niks upon the foirhead. 1816 ‘P. Pindar’ Middlesex Election v, in Wks. IV. 206 Our cock hath had a nick;..His droat is cut, and there he lieth. 1885 H. R. Haggard King Solomon's Mines xiii The fatal ‘nick’ of the artery was done..swiftly and painlessly. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 627 With thought of aught he sought though fraught with nought might cause a faster rate of shaving and a nick on which incision plaster with precision cut and humected and applied adhered which was to be done. 1943 B. Smith Tree grows in Brooklyn i. 4 Hair cropped so short that there were nicks in the scalp where the clippers had bitten too deeply. 1990 W. Wasserstein Bachelor Girls 139 There are many women with histories of nicks and woes who come to a crossroad when they discover waxing. II. Senses relating to correspondence or resemblance. †8. A correspondence or resemblance, esp. a verbal correspondence; a pun. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > [noun] > play on words, pun allusion1550 nick1561 paronomasia1577 paronomasy1592 quiblin1605 quibblea1627 quiblet1627 clinch1629 quibbling1633 clink1634 clench1638 pun1644 conundrum1645 whim1652 pundigrion1673 jeu de mots1823 calembour1830 Tom Swifty1963 paronym1982 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. R.iii The other sort of Iestes..consisteth only in quicke & subtill saiynges,..and in nickes. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 111 In these verses by reason one [word] of them doth as it were nicke another,..it behoueth..to place them where the nicke may be more expresly discouered. 9. (a) In the game of hazard: a throw which is either the same as the main (main n.² 1b), or has a fixed correspondence to it (see quot. 1797); a winning throw. Now chiefly historical. (b) In the game of craps: a natural (natural n.¹ 12a). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > hazard > type of throw sevenc1405 nicka1635 seven and eleven1684 crabs1768 a1635 R. Corbet Poems (1807) 128 Amongst the gamesters, where they name thee thicke At the last maine, or the last pocky nicke. c1696 M. Prior Cupid & Ganymede 32 The usual trick: Seven, slur a six; eleven, a nick. 1729 J. Gay Polly iii. v. 56 Cul. Have at you. A nick. (flings.) Hac. Throw the dice fairly out. Are you at me again! Cul. I'm at it. Seven or eleven. (flings) eleven. 1778 T. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved 211 The Nick of Seven is seven to two, often laid ten to three. The Nick of Six and Eight is five to one. 1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 347/1 Nicks are either when the chance is the same with the main,..or six and twelve, seven and eleven, eight and twelve. 1809 Ld. Byron Eng. Bards & Sc. Reviewers (ed. 2) 52 The jovial Caster's set, and seven's the nick. 1853 G. J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand I. vi. 164 ‘Seven's the main—seven!’ The dice rattled, the box fell, and a dotted eleven turned its welcome surface upward. I need not say this was what is termed a nick. 1863 Chambers's Encycl. V. 274/2 If his throw be not a nick, or a crab, then, if he can repeat the same throw before the main turns up, he wins. 1907 N.E.D. at Nick v.² To throw the nick of (a certain number). 1987 T. L. Clark Dict. Gambling & Gaming 135/2 Nick,..in hazard, a roll of the dice that wins automatically... In craps, a roll of 7 or 11 on the come out, or first roll of the dice. 10. An instance of cross-breeding, esp. one which produces offspring of high quality. Cf. nick v.² 7b. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [noun] > cross-breeding or hybridism nick1824 crossing1851 hybridization1851 hybridism1854 intercrossing1859 hybridation1879 outcrossing1890 paragenesis1890 outbreeding1901 back-crossing1904 vicinism1905 monohybridism1907 cross-breeding1932 the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [noun] > bringing forth young > cross-breeding nick1824 1824 D. P. Blaine Canine Pathol. (ed. 2) 109 Some rearers of game fowls..are favourable to breeding from the third remove, which they call a nick. 1889 W. Warfield Theory & Pract. Cattle Breeding 26 This thing of a ‘nick’, or a successful cross, is as difficult as determining beforehand how much an animal will inherit from one or the other of its parents. 1897 Outing 29 484/1 Star, a good one in the field, was bred to Druid, and Mr. Wells made a record with this nick. 1927 J. E. Platt Thoroughbred Race-horse iv. 31 All the well-known nicks and blending of bloods must be observed, and the leading lines of sires and dams carefully considered. 1973 Country Life 15 Nov. 1545/1 The nick owed little to studies of genetics and line breeding [of harriers]. 1989 J. Dailey Heiress 309 They should make a good nick, I think. III. A precise moment, location, etc., and related senses. 11. a. Chiefly in in (also at, upon) the (very) nick. The precise or exact point of time when something takes place or requires to be done; a critical or opportune juncture, a crucial moment; (in later use) esp. the latest possible moment. Now somewhat rare (but cf. sense 11b). ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > critical or decisive moment articlea1398 prick?c1422 crise?1541 push1563 in the nick1565 jump1598 concurrence1605 cardo1609 (the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.)1610 edgea1616 climacterical1628 climacteric1633 in the nick-time1650 moment1666 turning-point1836 watershed1854 psychological moment1871 psychical moment1888 moment of truth1932 crunch1939 cruncher1947 high noon1955 break point1959 defining moment1967 midnight1976 the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > [noun] chance1297 occasiona1382 leisurec1386 opportunitya1387 advantage1487 portunity1516 in the nick1565 mean1592 vantage?1592 occasionet1593 overture1610 hinta1616 largeness1625 convenience1679 tid1721 opening1752 offer1831 slant1837 show1842 showing1852 show-up1883 window of opportunity1942 op1978 1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis iii. f. 4^v And for too fierce her ire, A nother thing..there commeth in the nicke. 1577 M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus vi. vi, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 365 The Romayne nauye..ariued at the very pinche or as commonly we say in the nicke. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 336 We came at last vnto the Gallies, iust vpon the very nicke. 1638 A. Cowley Loves Riddle v. sig. F3 Philistus;..just at the nick came in And parted us. 1664 J. Wilson Andronicus Comnenius v. i He is so sensible of's danger, He catches at any thing—this is our nick. 1699 G. Farquhar Love & Bottle ii. ii. 23 Oh Mr. Loewell! you come just in the nick. 1719 J. Swift Quiet Life in Wks. (1735) II. 350 Ent'ring in the very Nick, He saw virago Nell belabor..his peaceful Neighbour. a1732 T. Boston Memoirs (1776) x. 293 They had come forth at such a nick for sale. a1777 S. Foote Cozeners (1778) iii. ii. 92 Married..they would have been, if I had not come just in the nick. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. ii. 18 There passed by in the very nick one of his friends. 1844 T. Hood Forge ii, in Whimsicalities I. 124 With whom, at that very particular nick, There is such an unlucky crow to pick. 1897 T. E. Brown Coll. Poems (1900) ii. 213 The little rascal would..wait for a lull, And humoured the boat, and pacified her..Till he saw the nick, and afore you'd be knowin', His helm was up, his jib was drawin', [etc.]. 1901 R. C. Lehmann Anni Fugaces 70 ‘Great Themes,’ I cried, ‘you come upon the nick.’ 1970 I. Feldman Magic Papers 25 He gets them the hell out of there... Rushes back, just In the nick! b. In (the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.) in the same sense. ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > critical or decisive moment articlea1398 prick?c1422 crise?1541 push1563 in the nick1565 jump1598 concurrence1605 cardo1609 (the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.)1610 edgea1616 climacterical1628 climacteric1633 in the nick-time1650 moment1666 turning-point1836 watershed1854 psychological moment1871 psychical moment1888 moment of truth1932 crunch1939 cruncher1947 high noon1955 break point1959 defining moment1967 midnight1976 1610 J. Day Day's Festivals (1615) i. 20 Even in this nicke of time, this very, very instant. 1612 R. Carpenter Soules Sentinel 40 [He] came in the nicke of opportunity to beg grace. c1625 Partiall Law (1908) v. iv. 104 This unexpected comming of your friends So in the nicke of time is a good omen. 1643 J. Angier Lancashires Valley of Achor 19 [We] came in the nick of time to relieve the well-affected in Preston. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 179 If he had not gone down at the very nick of time, the Ship could not have failed of being very quickly blown up. a1707 S. Patrick Auto-biogr. (1839) 179 I look upon it as a singular providence of God, that Dr. Harris..should come in at that nick of time. 1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. Pref. 57 There is one season and nick of time, wherein they will allow [etc.]. 1757 G. Washington Let. 10 Sept. in Writings (1931) II. 125 That [tobacco]..was of the best Sweetscented, neatly handled; and must if the Ship arriv'd Safe get to Market in the Nick of time. 1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets (1870) viii. 200 He unexpectedly appears just in the nick of time, after years of absence. 1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxxv. 299 It was simply the nick of time which gave it to him. 1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. vii. 118 The following note..reached the young man's hands in the very nick of time. 1892 R. L. Stevenson Footnote to Hist. x The Adler, cast free in the nick of opportunity, had been thrown upon the top. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xiv. 145 If Mr. Andrews hadn't caught her by her sash just in the nick of time she'd have fallen in. 1944 K. B. Hathaway Little Locksmith iv. 15 Then when all seems lost—suddenly out of the pocket he comes, remembered in the nick of time. 1990 B. Cornwell Sharpe's Waterloo v. 79 Saxe-Weimar had arrived at the very nick of time. c. The precise moment or time of some occurrence or event. Now rare (poetic in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > time > particular time > [noun] > time of occurrence sitheOE seasona1400 turna1400 datec1400 when1616 nick1645 whenabouts1898 1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Trivmph of Faith (1845) i. 3 It is unhappy, if, in the nick of the first breaking of the morning sky, the night-watch fall fast asleep. 1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. iii. 199 Dying just in the nick of the vacancy of the See. 1713 R. Steele in Guardian No. 82. ⁋10 In the nick of being surprised, the lovers..escape at a trap-door. 1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 71 The baronet led the extasy,..in the nick of which, glewing more ardently than ever his lips to hers,..he shew'd all the signs of [etc.]. 1827 T. Hood Whims & Oddities 2nd Ser. 56 A tramper That came in danger's very nick. 1855 R. Browning Childe Roland xxix In the very nick Of giving up, one time more, came a click. 1985 J. Allman Clio's Children 7 The fabled messenger has arrived in the nick of last minutes. †12. a. The essential part of something. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > essential or central pitheOE effectc1405 substancec1450 kernel1556 nick1577 keystone1641 vitals1657 narrow1702 secret1738 ganglion1828 nub1833 primality1846 keyword1848 knub1864 buzzword1946 in word1964 1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande i. f. 1/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I He was so crost in the nycke of thys determination, that his hystorie..wandred through sundry hands. a1625 J. Fletcher Women Pleas'd ii. vi, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Dddddd4^v/1 Now could I eat my very arms for madnesse, Cross'd in the nick o'th matter? vengeance take it. 1684 Observator No. 129 Trim. What's that to the Book here before us? Obs. Only the very Nick of the Case. b. The exact point aimed at; the target. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object > goal or target markc1275 lodestarc1374 aimc1400 mete1402 pricka1450 butta1522 level1525 white marka1533 goal1540 Jack-a-Lent1553 blankc1557 scope1562 period1590 upshot1591 bird1592 golden goal1597 nick1602 quarry1615 North Star1639 huba1657 fair game1690 endgame1938 target1942 cockshot1995 1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida Induct. sig. A4 I will so tickle the sense..with the titillation of Hyperbolicall praise, that Ile strike it in the nick, in the very nick. a1625 J. Fletcher Pilgrim iii. vii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Hhhhh^v/2 Scho. Doe's the Sea stagger ye? Mast. Now ye have hit the nick. 1656 E. Reyner Rules Govt. Tongue 29 Right words are effectual; for they hit the mark, light in the nick, and strike on the right string. c. Apparently: a point, stage, or degree. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > a stage in a process or development degreec1230 greea1340 steadc1370 pointc1475 nick1649 stadium1669 notch1670 grade1796 step1811 milestone1820 way station1863 1649 J. Bulwer Pathomyotomia ii. i. 90 To fit its purpose in such an intricate nick of irresolution. IV. Other uses. †13. slang. to set in the nick: (perhaps) to cheat (a person) out of his or her money. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle > out of something beguile1394 wrongc1484 delude1493 licka1500 to wipe a person's nose1577 uncle1585 cheat1597 cozen1602 to bob of1605 to bob out of1605 gull1612 foola1616 to set in the nick1616 to worm (a person) out of1617 shuffle1627 to baffle out of1652 chouse1654 trepan1662 bubble1668 trick1698 to bamboozle out of1705 fling1749 jockey1772 swindle1780 twiddle1825 to diddle out of1829 nig1829 to chisel out of1848 to beat out1851 nobble1852 duff1863 flim-flam1890 1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iv. iv, in Wks. I. 575 A very sharke, he set me i' the nicke t'other night at primero . View more context for this quotation †14. The height of fashion. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > the or a prevailing fashion gentryc1400 the fashion1569 mainstream1599 the trim1603 mood1646 mode1649 vogue1649 beauty1653 à la mode1654 turn1695 the kick1699 goût1717 thing1734 taste1739 ton1769 nick1788 the tippy1790 twig1811 latest1814 dernier mot1834 ticket1838 kibosh1880 last cry1887 le (or the) dernier cri1896 flavour of the month (or week)1946 vague1962 1788 Murray's Mag. 1 472 The word Ton is quite abolished. Everything that is fashionable is now called the Nick. 15. slang (originally Australian). A prison; a lock-up, esp. one at a police station. Also: a police station. ΘΚΠ society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] quarternOE prisona1200 jailc1275 lodgec1290 galleya1300 chartrea1325 ward1338 keepingc1384 prison-house1419 lying-house1423 javel1483 tollbooth1488 kidcotec1515 clinkc1530 warding-place1571 the hangman's budget1589 Newgate1592 gehenna1594 Lob's pound1597 caperdewsie1599 footman's inn1604 cappadochio1607 pena1640 marshalsea1652 log-house1662 bastille1663 naskin1673 state prison1684 tronk1693 stone-doublet1694 iron or stone doublet1698 college1699 nask1699 quod1699 shop1699 black hole1707 start1735 coop1785 blockhouse1796 stone jug1796 calaboose1797 factory1806 bull-pen1809 steel1811 jigger1812 jug1815 kitty1825 rock pile1830 bughouse1842 zindan1844 model1845 black house1846 tench1850 mill1851 stir1851 hoppet1855 booby hatch1859 caboose1865 cooler1872 skookum house1873 chokey1874 gib1877 nick1882 choker1884 logs1888 booby house1894 big house1905 hoosegow1911 can1912 detention camp1916 pokey1919 slammer1952 joint1953 slam1960 1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 6/2 Nick (The), gaol. 1918 Truth (Sydney) 6 Jan. 5/5 Muss and Doolan scruff her to the nick. 1926 A. Muir Blue Bonnet i. ii ‘I'll tak a thrashing instead of the nick,’ said Hector. 1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid xii. 127 I haven't done anything since I've come out of the nick and the old rent's running a bit low. 1962 R. Cook Crust on its Uppers i. 20 The boys down at Chelsea nick. 1995 M. Amis Information (1996) 97 Know how much it costs to keep a bloke in nick for a week? 16. colloquial. Condition, state. Chiefly in in good (fair, etc.) nick: in the specified state or condition. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > [adjective] > in good condition well-repaireda1470 sufficient1473 in tone1513 in reparation (also reparations)1565 in repair1648 in good (fair, etc.) nick1890 on-form1965 on (full) song1967 1884 R. Lawson Upton-on-Severn Words & Phrases 39 ‘Up to dick’, or ‘nick’..= in first-rate condition; to perfection.] 1890 J. D. Robertson Gloss. Words County of Gloucester 103 Nick,..condition, fettle. 1905 J. Wright Eng. Dial. Dict. Suppl. 151/1 In good nick, in good condition. 1947 D. M. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 178 They're all in pretty good nick, considering. Shagged, of course. 1957 Railway Mag. June 431/1 It does not mean..that an ‘A4’ in good ‘nick’..is not capable of performances well up to the pre-war standard. 1984 M. Amis Money 134 I was in no sort of nick for this encounter, I admit. Compounds nick-translated adj. Biochemistry (of DNA) that has undergone nick translation. ΚΠ 1976 Chromosoma 54 22 Specific hybridization with clean autoradiographic background was obtained with nick-translated ³H ‘Dm’ DNA that had been prepared from Drosophila melanogaster. 1989 Molecular & Cellular Probes 3 371 The stability of photobiotinylated probes is more or less the same as that of conventional nick-translated probes. nick translation n. Biochemistry a process used esp. to insert labelled nucleotides into a strand of DNA, in which a DNA polymerase adds new nucleotides to the strand on one side of a nick whilst removing nucleotides from the strand on the other side, thus effectively replacing a sequence of nucleotides and translating the nick some distance along the strand. ΚΠ 1976 Chromosoma 54 16 The technique..includes the in vitro enzymatic synthesis of ³H-labelled DNA by DNA polymerase I from single strand breaks introduced by deoxyribonuclease I; a method first employed by Kelly et al. (1970) and commonly known as ‘nick-translation’ of DNA. 1993 Ann. Human Genetics 57 10 The probes were biotin labelled by nick translation. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † Nickn.² Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: Old Nick n. Etymology: Short for Old Nick n. N.E.D. (1907) gives the pronunciation as (nik) /nɪk/. colloquial. Obsolete. The Devil. Cf. Old Nick n. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun] devileOE Beelzebubc950 the foul ghosteOE SatanOE warlockOE SatanasOE worsea1200 unwinea1225 wondc1250 quedea1275 pucka1300 serpenta1300 dragon1340 shrew1362 Apollyon1382 the god of this worldc1384 Mahoundc1400 leviathan1412 worsta1425 old enemyc1449 Ruffin1567 dismal1570 Plotcocka1578 the Wicked One1582 goodman1603 Mahu1603 foul thief1609 somebody1609 legiona1616 Lord of Flies1622 walliman1629 shaitan1638 Old Nicka1643 Nick1647 unsel?1675 old gentleman1681 old boy1692 the gentleman in black1693 deuce1694 Black Spy1699 the vicious one1713 worricow1719 Old Roger1725 Lord of the Flies1727 Simmie1728 Old Scratch1734 Old Harry1777 Old Poker1784 Auld Hornie1786 old (auld), ill thief1789 old one1790 little-good1821 Tom Walker1833 bogy1840 diabolarch1845 Old Ned1859 iniquity1899 1647 Strange Newes from Campania 7 I..will for ever pray That all those Traytors who their King withstood, May..keepe a Senat with their Grandsire Nick, and in his Kingdome play him such a tricke (As they have lately in Campania done). ?c1695 in J. Maidment Scot. Pasquils (1827) ii. 54 It's not Staire's bairnes alone Nick doth infest, His children's children lykewise are possest. 1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 168 O thou, whatever title suit thee! Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie. 1842 R. H. Barham St. Medard in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 288 Unless you're too Saintly to care about Nick. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2019). nickn.³ Brit. /nɪk/, U.S. /nɪk/ Forms: also with capital initial. Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: nickel n. Etymology: Shortened < nickel n. U.S. slang. (The value of) a nickel coin. ΚΠ 1857 N.Y. Herald 27 May 5/2 The bags containing the ‘Nicks’..each..held five hundred. 1865 G. A. Sala My Diary in Amer. II. i. 54 You should have given them a paper ‘spondoulick’ for ten cents, or else a few nickel cents. Those they know, for two sticks of lollipops are to be had for two ‘nicks’. 1894 S. Crane N.Y. City Sketches (1966) 106 Say, Jimmie, gimme change for a nick! 1910 G. Ade I knew him When 17 At the age of 7 he paid a Nick for three Cheroots. 1976 M. Knapp & H. Knapp One Potato, Two Potato 21 They can draw straws or flip a ‘nick’. 1983 Publishers Weekly 15 Apr. 52 We stocked up on this paper a while ago..so now it's only a nick more expensive than our regular stock. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † nickv.¹ Forms: Middle English nekyd (past participle), Middle English nic, Middle English nich, Middle English nik, Middle English nikke, Middle English nycke, Middle English nyk, Middle English nykke, Middle English–1600s 1800s nick; also Scottish pre-1700 neck, pre-1700 nyk. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nich adv. Etymology: < nich adv. (compare forms s.v.).The Old English verb niccan to refuse a person something, cited in Bosworth-Toller and in Middle Eng. Dict. s.v. nikken v.¹, is a ghost, based on a misreading by J. M. Kemble ( Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici (1848) VI. 201) of nittað use, enjoy (see nitte v.) as niccað in the following passage:c1275 ( Will of Ketel (Sawyer 1519) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 90 Ic bidde þe..þat þu it nefre ne let welden mine vnwinan after me þe mid unrichte sitteð þeron, and nittað it me euere to vnþanke. Obsolete. 1. a. intransitive. To make denial. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > denial or contradiction > deny or contradict [verb (intransitive)] atsakec1000 nick?c1225 renege1548 nay-saya1800 disclaima1817 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 228 Hit nis naut igodes curt. ase iþe schire. þer as þe þe nickeð [a1250 Titus nicken; a1300 Caius nichet] wel. Mei beon iboreȝen. b. transitive. To deny (a thing); to disavow, refuse to acknowledge (a person). rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > denial or contradiction > deny or contradict [verb (transitive)] withquethec888 withsake971 falsea1225 withsay?c1225 denyc1300 again-saya1382 naitc1390 nitec1390 naya1400 nicka1400 warna1400 denytec1420 traversea1450 repugnc1456 unsayc1460 renay1512 disavow?1532 disaffirm1548 contradict1582 fault1585 belie1587 infringe1590 dementie1594 abnegate1616 negate1623 nege1624 abrenounce1656 nay-saya1774 negative1784 dement1884 the mind > language > statement > repudiation or refusal to acknowledge > repudiate or refuse to acknowledge [verb (transitive)] > knowledge of forsakea1400 nicka1400 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21078 (MED) Þat erth, þai sai, vmstund Men sais vprisand fra þe grund..Þe landes folk it wil noght nick. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 15566 (MED) Do wai, leue freind..þu sal me nickin..Ar þe koc him crau to-night. 2. a. transitive. In to nick —— with nay (and variants): to answer (a person) in the negative; to deny (a thing). archaic in later use. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > negation > negate [verb (transitive)] to nick —— with nayc1330 no1835 c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) 2188 (MED) No wold þai nick him wiþ no nay, What so euer he asked. c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) 148 Ȝif I nikke hem with nai, hit helpeþ me nouȝt. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 3917 (MED) Laban o leue þam nicked nai. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4382 Has þou nicked me wit nay? c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 26 (MED) Seche and þou schalt fynd..Nyk not þis with nay. a1450 (a1400) Athelston (1951) 503 (MED) On here knees þey kneleden adoun And prayden hym off hys benysoun; He nykkyd hem wiþ nay. 1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii^v Lord wendis on your way Yone berne nykis yow with nay. ?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis* in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 364 And sua he neckit thame with nay. ?c1600 (c1515) Sc. Field (Lyme) 54 in I. F. Baird Poems Stanley Family (D.Phil. thesis, Univ. of Birm.) (1990) 231 But he nicked them with nay, and none of yt woulde. 1603 Philotus xxxii. sig. B3 Sweit sucker, neck me not with nay, Bot be content to tak him. 1820 W. Scott Abbot III. xi. 363 I have but one boon to ask, I trust you will not nick me with nay. b. intransitive. to nick (with) nay: to answer in the negative. rare. ΚΠ a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 36 (MED) Euer wymmen ich herie ay..ant euer at neode y nyckenay þat y ner nemnede þat heo nolde. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 4145 Ȝif sche nickes wiþ nay & nel nouȝt com sone..I wol..fecche hire with fin forse. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021). nickv.² Brit. /nɪk/, U.S. /nɪk/ Forms: Middle English–1600s nicke, 1500s nycke, 1500s nykk, 1500s– nick, 1600s knick, 1600s nike, 1700s nig; also Scottish pre-1700 neck, pre-1700 nek, pre-1700 nik. Origin: Perhaps formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nick n.¹ Etymology: < nick n.¹ or its (uncertain) etymon (see etymological note at that entry).There is no obvious connection with formally similar verbs in other Germanic languages, as Middle Dutch nicken to bow, to bend (Dutch nikken , knikken to nod), Middle Low German nicken to bend over, sink down, Middle High German nicken to bend, press down (German nicken , to nod), Middle Low German knicken to bend, snap, German knicken to bend, break, snap. Sense 17 may be of independent, perhaps imitative origin; compare snick v.³ I. Senses relating to the making of notches or cuts. 1. a. transitive. To make a notch or notches in; to mark with a notch or notches; to indent. Occasionally intransitive with object implied. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > form a recess in [verb (transitive)] > notch nick?1440 jag1568 natch1570 notch1581 notch1834 the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > damage or injure [verb (transitive)] > by breaking, tearing, or cutting something off forcutc1386 shattera1513 cancel1574 snip1822 mutilate1824 shard1879 detruncate1885 nick1885 tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) viii. 167 (MED) That sensis spille..Is not my wille, and yit in hit is she, Myn ignoraunce..but he, That she myschaunce, he pricke or nicke hit theer. 1460 Ayr Burgh Court Bks. 12 July in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Nik That ony that war filit for pike of reset..suld be nikit with kyrk dure key apon the chek. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 644/1 It is no trewe poynte to nycke your tayle [more than mine]. 1573 T. Tusser Points Huswifrie (new ed.) f. 19, in Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) Some cuttith the napkin, some trencher wil nick. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) v. i. 176 His man with Cizers nickes him like a foole. View more context for this quotation a1650 Robin Hood & Guy of Gisborne xlii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1888) III. v. 93/2 Robin pulled forth an Irish kniffe, And nicked Sir Guy in the fface. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 918 To nick or notch. 1752 E. Moxon Eng. Housewifery (new ed.) 50 Nick your beef about an inch distance. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 122 Before a saw is employed.., nick the place with a paring chisel. 1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh ix. 388 The falling beam, Which nicked me on the forehead as I passed The gallery-door. 1885 Harper's Mag. Feb. 477/1 As regards china..our servants are not in the least careful not to nick. 1936 E. A. Atkins & A. G. Walker Electr. Arc & Oxy-acetylene Welding (ed. 3) iv. 32 In the case of..cast iron the best way is to mark off the Vee and nick down with a hack-saw at intervals of ³/ ₁₆ in. 1951 J. Hawkes Land x. 228 The even contours of the next headland are nicked by the banks and ditches of a Celtic fort. 1985 E. Leonard Glitz i. 12 The .38 slug chipped bone, nicked the ilium. †b. transitive. To record or keep an account of by means of a notch or notches made on a tally or stick. Also with up, down. Also figurative. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > pictorial, etc., records > [verb (transitive)] nick?1523 notch1573 score1590 tallya1640 the world > relative properties > number > enumeration, reckoning, or calculation > number, calculate, or reckon [verb (transitive)] > record > by notches scorec1386 tallyc1440 nick?1523 notch1573 strike1626 ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlvii^v And if he can nat write: let hym nicke the defautes vpon a sticke. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 5 Bee sure, this practise wil I nick in a freendlye memento. 1598 B. Yong tr. G. Polo Enamoured Diana in tr. J. de Montemayor Diana 484 Vpon our score You should nicke vp so many merie tides. 1614 J. Day Dyall xii. 318 So is their reasoning again as silly, who vpon the word Merit in the Fathers nick vp still our owne Deserts. a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 103 With a knife wee nick on a spell howe many cleane weathers. 1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 5 I'll get a Knife, and nick it down, that Mr. Neverout came to our House. 1841 T. Hood Tale of Trumpet i, in New Monthly Mag. May 123 As for the clock the moments nicking, The Dame only gave it credit for ticking. 1853 G. J. Cayley Las Alforjas I. 61 In the fingers of his right [hand] was a crooked whittle, with which..as the basketfuls arrived, he would nick the score upon notch-sticks. 2. a. transitive. To cut into or through; to cut short, truncate; (now) esp. to nip or snip off. †to nick the thread (Scottish): to kill (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)] snithec725 carvec1000 cutc1275 slitc1275 hag1294 ritc1300 chop1362 slash1382 cut and carvea1398 flash?a1400 flish?a1400 slenda1400 race?a1425 raise?a1425 razea1425 scotch?c1425 ochec1440 slitec1450 ranch?a1525 scorchc1550 scalp1552 mincea1560 rash?1565 beslash1581 fent1589 engrave1590 nick1592 snip1593 carbonado1596 rescide1598 skice1600 entail1601 chip1609 wriggle1612 insecate1623 carbonate1629 carbonade1634 insecta1652 flick1676 sneg1718 snick1728 slot1747 sneck1817 tame1847 bite- 1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ Def. Conny-catching sig. D His beard squard with such Arte, eyther..standing as stiffe as if he wore a Ruler in his mouth, or else nickt off with the Italian cut. a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. xiii. 8 The itch of his Affection should not then Haue nickt his Captain-ship, at such a point. View more context for this quotation 1721 A. Ramsay Poems (1877) I. 162 Excepting some, wha a' the leave will nick, And gie them nought but bare Whop-shafts to lick. 1787 R. Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xii, in Poems (new ed.) 59 It's e'en a lang, lang time indeed Sin' I began to nick the thread. 1827 J. Watt Poems 90 Wi' rage an' spleen the thread he's nicket. 1865 A. D. Whitney Gayworthys xxvi Skylark grew to be her ordinary appellative; shortened, indeed to Skylie; the nickname nicked. 1887 G. Outram Lyrics 34 If mortal means could nick her thread, Sma' crime it wad appear to me. 1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist (U.K. ed.) v. 52 This was Utah, state shaped like a brick with the corner nicked off. 1977 B. MacLaverty Secrets 27 He opened his mouth in a mock yawn and nicked off the remaining hairs. 1991 Independent 28 Nov. 15/6 Too soon for a verdict, he said, but the protrusion might need to be nicked off under local anaesthetic. †b. transitive. To shape or mark out by cutting. Frequently with out. Also figurative. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)] > by or as by cutting hewc900 behewc1314 tailc1400 chisel1517 tailye1581 cut1600 nick1605 pare1708 whittle1848 nibble1987 society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)] > by cutting score1590 scribe1800 nick1827 1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 42 A Monke of Duresme busied his braine in nicking out these nice verses vpon the death of W. de La-march. 1719 W. Hamilton Epist. to Ramsay ii. vi, in A. Ramsey Poems Thy verses nice as ever nicket, Made me as canty as a cricket. 1827 J. Clare Shepherd's Cal. 180 Nicking the ‘Nine-peg morris’ in the grass. 1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 326/1 The breadth of land has been nicked out upon the ground. 1883 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 372 It is built upon a corner nicked out of the consecrated space, and has the graves close at its back and along one of its sides. †c. transitive. Mining. To cut away (coal) from a seam after it has been undercut. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II. 576/1 Nick, to cut vertical sections in a mine from the roof. North. 1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 174 Nick, to cut or shear coal after holing. d. transitive. Biochemistry. To introduce a nick (nick n.¹ 2i) into (a DNA molecule); (more generally) to break a bond between two adjacent units in (a biological polymer). ΚΠ 1969 Jrnl. Biochem. (Tokyo) 66 6/2 B. subtilis DNA was nicked at 37°C for 2 hr. 1978 Nature 25 May 315/1 This treatment is known to nick ccc-DNA, producing the open circular (oc) form of DNA. 1984 M. J. Taussig Processes in Pathol. & Microbiol. (ed. 2) iii. 316 The haemagglutinin protein is enzymatically ‘nicked’ during viral maturation into two chains..which remain linked by a disulphide bond. 1990 EMBO Jrnl. 9 2919/2 Supercoiled..input DNA is rapidly nicked in cell-free systems. †3. transitive. To make an indentation in the base of (a tankard) in order to reduce its capacity. Also intransitive with object implied. Obsolete.Frequently coupled with froth, esp. with general implication of the giving of short measure. Cf. nick n.¹ 2c. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > providing or serving drink > [verb (transitive)] > supply fraudulent measure nick1592 1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ Def. Conny-catching sig. C3^v The Alewife vnlesse she nicke her Pottes and Conny-catch her guestes with stone Pottes..can hardly pay her Brewer. 1616 Shirburn Ballads (1906) 92 Though I be loth To nicke and to froth, That built the Pie at Algate. c1665 in Roxburghe Ballads VI. 487 Bee't tankerd or flaggon,..we'l trust you to Nick and to Froth. 1700 E. Ward London Spy II. iii. 6 Sent up to Town, as Thousands were before, To Nick and Froth, and Learn the Double-Score. 4. transitive. To make an incision at the root of (a horse's tail) in order to make the animal carry it higher; to cut (a horse) in this way. Occasionally intransitive with object implied. See also nicking n.² 1b. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > dock or nick horse dock1530 curtail1577 nick1740 bob1822 the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > dock or nick horse > nick tail nick1740 1740 H. Bracken Farriery Improv'd (ed. 2) II. i. 4 Why should any Horse carry me better when his Tail is nick'd, (as the Term is) than he did before? 1753 J. Bartlet Gentleman's Farriery xliii. 311 The art of nicking horses then chiefly consists in a transverse division of these depressing tendons of the tail. 1791 W. Gilpin Remarks Forest Scenery II. 268 The custom..of docking, nicking, and cropping their horses. 1859 A. Cary Pictures Country Life 189 I'm a going to..learn to nick and dock. 1887 H. Caine Son of Hagar i. vii Anything from ploughing to threshing and nicking a nag's tail. 1896 Daily News 11 Feb. 9/1 Prosecuted..for ‘nicking’ two hackneys and a chestnut mare. 1990 E. Cotchin Royal Vet. Coll. London (BNC) 73 He condemned the practice of nicking horses' tails. 5. transitive. To cut (the skin, etc.) accidentally, esp. while shaving. Frequently reflexive. ΚΠ 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. iv. [Calypso] 67 Nicked myself shaving. 1967 G. Vidal Washington, D.C. I. ii. 15 The razor nicked his chin. 1988 G. Swift Out of this World 102 He has nicked himself shaving. II. Senses relating to correspondence or precision. 6. Dice. †a. transitive. In the game of hazard: to win against (a player) by throwing a nick (nick n.¹ 9a). Also figurative. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > play at dice [verb (transitive)] > specific throw at hazard > win over at hazard nicka1553 a1553 Nice Wanton 212 Iniq. Here, sirs, come on; seuen! (They set him.) Aleauen at all! Ism. Do ye nycke vs? 1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love ii. ii. sig. D2 I haue a Salutation wil nick all. View more context for this quotation a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V cccx, in Poems (1878) IV. 178 France vnderhand pursues The Advantage of the Warre to nicke him out Ere he could prize his Chance; False Dice may doo't. 1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love iv. 54 My Don he sets me ten pistols; I nick him: ten more, I sweep them too. 1697 C. Cibber Womans Wit i. 8 Fortune was on my side, and in less then two Hours I fairly nickt him of Five Hundred Pound. †b. transitive. To make (a winning throw); to get as a nick; to throw the nick of (a specified number). Obsolete. ΚΠ 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes To binde, tie, or nick a cast at dice. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Ambezatz Hauing had that chance that no wise man would nicke. 1705 S. Centlivre Gamester i. i. 9 Come, throw a Main, Sir, then I'll instruct you how to nick it. 1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer iii. 63 My old luck: I never nick'd seven that I did not throw ames ace three times following. 1801 Sporting Mag. 17 7 Dreamt that I had thrown crabs all night, and could not nick seven for the life of me. 1815 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 289/2 A wager whether there are more ways than 6 of nicking 7 on the dice. c. intransitive. To gamble with dice. Formerly also: †to throw a nick (obsolete). Now Caribbean.Continuity of the Caribbean usage with earlier use is not certain. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > play games of chance [verb (intransitive)] play1340 game1529 nick1611 to cast a chancea1628 to go even or odd1658 gamble1757 gaff1819 buck1849 spiel1859 society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > play at dice [verb (intransitive)] > specific throw at hazard nick1611 to throw in1772 1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words at Zarare To play at hazards or throw hazards, to nike at hazard. 1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer ii. i Thou art some..gaming Companion, and want'st some Widow's old Gold to nick upon. 1732 H. Fielding Lottery i. 7 If I can but nick this time, Ame's-Ace, I defy thee. 1953 Daily Chron. (Georgetown, Guyana) 6 Jan. 3 He had lost it [sc. his pay-packet] ‘nicking’ with the boys. d. transitive. Caribbean. To gamble with (dice). ΚΠ 1941 ‘J. Canoe’ Country Cousin 20 Lak wen corpie ketch dem bwoy a nick dice a Race Course an dem run. 1977 Nation (Bridgetown, Barbados) 9 Nov. 20 You find a crowd slamming dominoes, playing a card game, ‘nicking’ dice or casually passing the time with some lighthearted debate. 7. †a. transitive. To correspond to, tally with; to suit exactly. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > suit or be suitable for [verb (transitive)] > exactly hitc1580 nick1589 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 111 By reason one [word] of them doth as it were nicke another. 1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 140 Words nicking and resembling one the other, are appliable to diffrent significations. 1702 P. A. Motteux in G. Farquhar Inconstant Prol. sig. a An Op'ra, like an Olio, nicks the Age. a1704 T. Brown Acct. Conversat. Liberty of Conscience in Duke of Buckingham Misc. Wks. (1705) II. i. 126 To this odd-conditioned Soul was tack'd a Body that nickt it like two Exchequer Tallies. b. intransitive. Of a domestic animal, etc.: to produce offspring of high quality when mated with an animal of a different breed or pedigree. Of (a mating between) two domestic animals, etc., of different breeds or pedigrees: to produce offspring of high quality. Cf. nick n.¹ 10. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (intransitive)] > copulate > with excellent results nick1865 1865 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 2nd Ser. 1 ii. 323 Colonel Cradock liked the sort for their size and milk, and they ‘nicked’ well both with the Booth and the Bates blood. 1876 3rd Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1875–6 132 There is another strain or peculiarity among these Canadians, that seems to nick well with the Morgans. 1942 R. B. Kelley Sheep Dogs 51 When the progeny of a bitch by a particular dog are outstanding the parents are said to have ‘nicked’. 1959 New Scientist 22 Oct. 737/2 Where the offspring's performance is conspicuously superior to that of its parents the mating [of poultry] is said to ‘nick’. 1974 Country Life 3 Jan. 43/3 The colour-marking Hereford ‘nicks’ well with virtually all beef and dairy breeds. 1980 D. G. Carlson Dog Owner's Home Vet. Handbk. xv. 253 When two strains have nicked successfully, other crosses between them may work as well. †c. intransitive. To compare or compete with. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > comparison > compare [verb (intransitive)] > admit of comparison parec1450 comparea1500 march1567 to deserve to carry the buckler1642 nick1887 to side up with1895 stack1896 1887 Viscount Bury & G. L. Hillier Cycling (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) vi. 227 Only one sport ‘nicks’ with cycling, and that is fair toe and heel walking. †8. a. transitive. To designate or call (a person or thing) with (occasionally by, in, etc.) a particular name. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > give appropriate name to nick1589 1589 J. Lyly Pappe with Hatchet B iv If anie be vnchristened, Ile nicke him with a name. 1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 80 Goodith.., by which name king Henry the first was nicked in contempt. 1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 141 The Greekes..nicked Antiochus Epiphanes, that is, the famous, with Epimanes, that is, the furious. 1687 M. Prior & Earl of Halifax Hind & Panther Transvers'd 24 I have so nickt his Character in a Name as will make you split. 1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 455 Take any Passion of the Soul of Man..and..nick it with some lucky, or unlucky Word. b. transitive. To call by some name; to nickname. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > give or call by nickname nickname1567 byname1587 agnominate1595 nick1607 cognominate1609 agname1652 to-name1775 cognomen1831 sobriquet1842 cognominize1849 soubriquet1880 moniker1923 1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster West-ward Hoe v. sig. H1^v Goz. Ha! doe I not Magera. Bird. I am none of your Megges, do not nick-name me so: I will not be nickt. 1634 J. Ford Chron. Hist. Perkin Warbeck iv. sig. H^v Warbecke as you nicke him, came to me. 1656 T. Blount Glossographia at Allusion The Greeks nicked Antiochus Epiphanes, that is, the famous, with Epimanes, that is, the furious. 1689 N. Lee Princess of Cleve ii. iii Believe me Sir, in a little time you'll be nick'd the Town-Bull. 1889 E. R. Lankester in Nature 21 Mar. 485 There is no ground for regarding the word ‘Lamarckism’ as a nickname. There can be no desire to ‘nick’ him or anyone else. c. transitive. To criticize, censure, speak ill of. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > criticize [verb (transitive)] reprehendc1400 murmur1424 discommenda1500 belack1531 to find fault (with, at)c1540 scan?c1550 fault1563 pinch1567 to lift or move a lip1579 raign1581 reflect1605 criminate1645 criticize1652 nick1668 critic1697 chop1712 stricture1851 to get on to ——1895 chip1898 rap1899 nitpick1956 1668 J. Dryden Secret-love 2nd Prol. sig. a4 Those who write not, and yet all Writers nick, Are Bankrupt Gamesters. †9. a. transitive. To seize, take advantage of, grasp (an opportunity, etc.). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > give opportunity for [verb (transitive)] > take (opportunity) catchc1425 to take‥vantage (of)1573 apprehend1586 to take odds of1596 to catch at ——1610 feea1616 seize1618 nick1634 to jump at1769 1634 J. Shirley Opportunity v. i Something will come on't, if he have The grace to nick this opportunity. 1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 4 None more ready to nick a juncture of Affairs than a malapert Chaplain. 1703 T. Brown et al. Contin. Lett. from Dead to Living Pref. 17 Blame his damn'd Courtiers and not me, that instead of nicking the nice operation of the Medicine, let in Books and Priests to debauch his understanding. 1708 O. Dykes Moral Reflexions Eng. Prov. 181 Tim'd according to the nice Punctillo's of nicking the Opportunity. 1760 S. Foote Minor ii. 53 Slam me, but he has nick'd the chance. b. transitive. To hit or catch exactly (the right time, moment, etc., for something). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > provide occasion or opportunity [verb (transitive)] > just be in time for nicka1664 save1665 a1664 M. Frank in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1872) III. Ps. lxix. 13 Come we but to him in either of these, and we have nicked the time; we are sure to be accepted. 1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin ii. viii. 123 You must be sure to nick the Season; 'Tis at the Masse, just between the Elevation of our Lord, and the three Agnus Dei. 1725 T. Thomas in Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 139 We nicked the time very happily. 1759 O. Goldsmith Bee 20 Oct. 72 He had, as he fancied, just nicked the time, for he came in as the cloth was laying. 1821 Ld. Byron 15 Oct. in Lett. & Jrnls. (1979) IX. 29 I had just nicked a minute when neither mothers nor husbands..were near. 1843 G. W. Le Fevre Life Trav. Physician I. i. iv. 75 I had nicked my time, and..I embarked. 1846 W. S. Landor Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. II. 269 Unless he nicked the time he might miss the monster. c. transitive. colloquial. To catch (a boat, train, etc.) just at the time of departure. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > provide occasion or opportunity [verb (transitive)] > just be in time for > catch just at the time of departure nick1841 1841 E. Bulwer-Lytton Night & Morning ii. iv I must arrive just in time to nick the vessels. 1888 Poor Nellie 16 ‘Awfully glad we've nicked it [sc. a train],’ said George. †10. a. transitive. to nick it: to hit the mark, to make a hit; to guess correctly. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > achieve success (of persons) speed993 achievec1300 escheve?a1400 succeed1509 to turn up trumps1595 fadge1611 to nick ita1637 to hit the mark (also nail, needle, pin)1655 to get on1768 to reap, win one's laurels1819 to go a long way1859 win out1861 score1882 to make it1885 to make a ten-strike1887 to make the grade1912 to make good1914 to bring home the bacon1924 to go places1931 the mind > mental capacity > belief > conjecture, guessing > form conjectures, guess [verb (intransitive)] > rightly to hit it1591 to nick ita1637 a1637 B. Jonson Magnetick Lady ii. iv. 24 in Wks. (1640) III Now, is your time: goe nick it with the Neice. a1640 P. Massinger Parl. of Love (1976) v. i. 296 Haue I not nickd it tutor? 1682 E. Hickeringill Black Non-Conformist Concl. 64 Jezabel nick't it in Politicks, when..she made the Law..contribute and club to the knocking out Naboth's brains. 1705 J. Vanbrugh Confederacy Prol. All his decent plays, Where he so nicked it, when he writ for praise. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 242 So, Jackey, we but just nick'd it, I find. a1804 R. Graves tr. Martial ii. vii At every ball how prettily you nick it! 1823 W. T. Moncrieff Tom & Jerry i. iv You've nicked it: the fact is this, Dicky—you must turn missionary. 1831 C. Lamb Satan in Search i. xii ‘I wish my Nicky is not in love’.—‘O mother, you have nicked it!’ 1860 G. W. Thornbury Turkish Life & Char. I. iv. 73 We at last..found ourselves at the convent. ‘I thought we should nick it,’ Rocket said. b. transitive. To arrive at with precision, hit upon; to guess or understand correctly. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > locate with precision [verb (transitive)] nick1673 pinpoint1917 1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 6 I gad sir, and there you have nickt the present juncture of affairs. 1694 T. D'Urfey 1st Pt. Don Quixote ii. i. 12 Why the truth on't it Sir, you have nick'd me there to a Hair, for my whole Office has been to Pray and Fast ever since I came into your Service. 1697 T. Dilke City Lady v. 48 You have nick'd me to a T. and have hit the Punctum of my Conceptions. 1712 W. Oldisworth tr. R. Bentley Note in Horace Odes VII. i. xxxvii. 29/1 Without doubt we have nick'd Horace's Meaning. 1750 M. Clancy Sharper 38 There is a great deal of Judgment in properly nicking the Necessities of a Spendthrift. 1764 S. Foote Patron I. 6 It was lucky I went to Brighthelmstone; I nick'd the time to a hair. 1800 C. Lamb Let. 22 Sept. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1975) I. 237 You just nick'd my palate. 1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. ii. v. 113 He..perceived the chances for and against.., and nicked the question between wind and water. 1889 A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xxvii. 288 Mayhap you have nicked the truth. c. transitive. to nick off: = to hit off at hit v. 1b(b). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > take care about [verb (transitive)] > do accurately to nick offa1694 a1694 M. Robinson Autobiogr. (1856) 6 His father..did admire to see how the boy would nick off the very sense of difficult passages. 1839 W. M. Thackeray Second Lect. Fine Arts in Fraser's Mag. June 749/1 The chairs, tables, curtains, and pictures, are nicked off with extraordinary neatness and sharpness. 1856 W. M. Thackeray Christmas Bks. (1872) 25 He dockets his tailor's bills, and nicks off his dinner notes in diplomatic paragraphs. †11. transitive. slang. to nick the pin: to drink exactly one's share. See pin n.¹ 2a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink specific amount to nick the pin1655 the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink intoxicating liquor > drink one's fair share to keep the round1633 to nick the pin1655 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 17 And he accounted the Man, who could nick the Pin, drinking even unto it. 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at Pin Nick the Pin, to Drink fairly. 1708 J. Kersey Dict. Anglo-Britannicum To Nick the Pin, to drink just to the Pin plac'd about the middle of a Wooden Bowl or Cup. †12. transitive. slang. To break (a window) by throwing stones at it (see nicker n.²). Cf. nicker n.² 3. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > windows mill1699 nick1717 pin1824 1717 M. Prior Alma iii. 235 He starts up mohack; Breaks watchmen's heads, and chairmen's glasses, And thence proceeds to nicking sashes. 13. a. intransitive. Hunting, Horse Racing, etc. Of a horse, rider, etc.: to cut in. Also in similar phrases. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > hunt with hounds [verb (intransitive)] > cut in nick1831 society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > engage in horse racing [verb (intransitive)] > actions of horse to carry weight1734 to get up1840 screw1840 to come again1841 to set to1856 to wait off1856 romp1869 to answer the question1875 compound1876 to gallop to a standstill1892 nick1898 to take up1912 rate1920 1831 New Sporting Mag. Oct. 415/2 The distinction would lie between those who ride fairly to hounds, and those who make a regular practice of what is called nicking in to meet them. 1883 Standard 22 Feb. 3/7 Glenlivet had a good winning balance when Strawberry Girl nicked past and killed. 1898 Daily News 16 June 2/3 That beautiful filly..was lucky enough to nick in on the inside when the leaders ran out at the bend. b. intransitive. Originally Australian. To go off or away surreptitiously, hurriedly, etc. Also with other adverbs. ΚΠ 1896 E. Turner Little Larrikin xxiii. 274 Trying to induce the driver of the motor, for whom he had a friendship, to promise at the end of the journey to ‘nick away and come too’. 1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career 258 If you go to a picnic, just when the fun commences you have to nick off home and milk. 1960 B. Crump Good Keen Man 121 Flynn, sensing my decision to nick out for a bit of hunting, kept dashing out. 1984 J. Kelman Busconductor Hines ii. 51 Aye, said McCulloch, and we could've nicked into the bar and had a game of dominoes. 1995 C. Bateman Cycle of Violence ii. 32 He was back at the same table, at just about the same time, just nicking in before they closed the kitchen. 2001 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 4 Nov. 2 As he sought to nick past the Dundee defender he was bundled to the ground. 14. intransitive. Real Tennis and Squash. Of a ball: to strike the floor and wall simultaneously, and so lose momentum. Of a player: to strike (a wall) with such a shot. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > squash rackets > play squash rackets [verb (intransitive)] > actions in squash rackets nick1898 double-fault1921 society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > real tennis > play real tennis [verb (intransitive)] > action of ball fall1890 nick1898 1898 W. A. Morgan et al. House on Sport 251 By volleying the service you prevent the ball ‘nicking’, i.e., so pitching in the angle formed by floor and wall as to be unplayable. 1926 C. Arnold Game of Squash Rackets iii. 34 It [sc. the ball] should be made just to nick on to the side wall and floor and there lie dead. 1960 Times 29 Nov. 17/3 Oddy was nicking the side wall more often. III. Senses relating to stealing or taking. 15. colloquial and slang. a. transitive. Originally: to trick, cheat, or defraud; to obtain something from (a person) by dishonest or unfair means. Later used more generally with reference to unwelcome requests for money, etc. Frequently with for (also of, out of). Now chiefly North American.In quot. 1630 with punning reference to sense 3. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle defraud1362 deceivec1380 plucka1500 lurch1530 defeata1538 souse1545 lick1548 wipe1549 fraud1563 use1564 cozen1573 nick1576 verse1591 rooka1595 trim1600 skelder1602 firk1604 dry-shave1620 fiddle1630 nose1637 foista1640 doa1642 sharka1650 chouse1654 burn1655 bilk1672 under-enter1692 sharp1699 stick1699 finger1709 roguea1714 fling1749 swindle1773 jink1777 queer1778 to do over1781 jump1789 mace1790 chisel1808 slang1812 bucket1819 to clean out1819 give it1819 to put in the hole1819 ramp1819 sting1819 victimize1839 financier1840 gum1840 snakea1861 to take down1865 verneuk1871 bunco1875 rush1875 gyp1879 salt1882 daddle1883 work1884 to have (one) on toast1886 slip1890 to do (a person) in the eye1891 sugar1892 flay1893 to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895 con1896 pad1897 screw1900 short-change1903 to do in1906 window dress1913 ream1914 twist1914 clean1915 rim1918 tweedle1925 hype1926 clip1927 take1927 gazump1928 yentz1930 promote1931 to take (someone) to the cleaners1932 to carve up1933 chizz1948 stiff1950 scam1963 to rip off1969 to stitch up1970 skunk1971 to steal (someone) blind1974 diddle- 1576 G. Whetstone Ortchard of Repentance 9 in Rocke of Regard I neuer nickt the poorest of his pay, But if hee lackt, hee had before his day. 1579 E. Hake Newes out of Powles Churchyarde newly Renued viii. sig. Gviii How doth he nick the debter now by hault exacting wayes. 1595 ‘J. Dando’ & ‘H. Runt’ Maroccus Extaticus 8 To nycoll you, or nicke you rather of an old peece of velvet hose. a1625 J. Fletcher Mad Lover i. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. B2/1 You men of wars, the men of wars will nick ye, For sterve nor beg they must not. 1630 J. Taylor Great Eater of Kent 8 Ale-houses nor tapsters cannot nick this Nick [Wood] with froth: curtoll cannes..could neuer cheate him. 1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera ii. iv. 24 She rivetted a Linen-draper's Eye so fast upon her, that he was nick'd of three Pieces of Cambrick before he could look off. 1777 C. A. Burney Jrnl. in F. Burney Early Diary (1889) II. 279 He nickd us entirely and never came at all. a1809 H. Cowley Town before You iii. i, in Wks. (1813) II. 366 A man will be mad that is choused out of a thousand pounds, but, if his Neighbour is nicked out of it, he laughs, and says [etc.]. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian viii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 209 Three words of your mouth would give the girl the chance to nick Moll Blood [i.e. the gallows]. 1868 J. Maidment Sc. Pasquils 349 'Tis to be hop'd we'll spoil their fun, And nick them of their fishing. 1902 H. Hapgood Autobiogr. Thief (1912) 210 She stopped; and at that moment the Kid nicked her. 1935 in H. Galewitz Great Comics (1972) 256 Wot th'!—so you was gonna nick me for my gun! 1962 Washington Daily News 30 May 48/1 District taxpayers..have heard rumblings that they might be nicked for about a million dollars each year to subsidize professional sports here. 1977 R. Coover Public Burning 204 After nicking gullible old Peter Minuit..for twenty-four dollars. †b. intransitive with object implied. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. ii. xiv. 41 The Miser and the Man will trick, The Mistress and the Maid will nick. c. transitive. To rob (a bank, etc.). Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > rob [verb (transitive)] > specifically a place robc1225 nick1829 1829 Sessions' Papers Old Bailey 9 Apr. 329/2 That oil-shop the corner of Cannon-street, i went in a [i.e. to] nick the lob [i.e. till] of 7 peg, and parcel papers rold up. 1927 in D. Hammett Big Knockover 277 All I got was that the Seaman's [bank] is gonna be nicked. 16. colloquial and slang. a. transitive. To catch, take unawares; to apprehend. Now: spec. (of the police) to arrest, take into custody (slang). †nick me!: (in quot. 1760) used as an imprecation (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > seizing > catching or capture > catch or capture [verb (transitive)] i-lecchec1000 fang1016 hentOE takeOE alatchlOE catchc1275 wina1300 to take ina1387 attain1393 geta1400 overhent?a1400 restay?a1400 seizea1400 tachec1400 arrest1481 carrya1500 collara1535 snap1568 overgo1581 surprise1592 nibble1608 incaptivate1611 nicka1640 cop1704 chop1726 nail1735 to give a person the foot1767 capture1796 hooka1800 sniba1801 net1803 nib1819 prehend1831 corral1860 rope1877 the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > oaths other than religious or obscene > imprecations woeOE dahetc1290 confoundc1330 foul (also shame) fall ——c1330 sorrow on——c1330 in the wanianda1352 wildfirea1375 evil theedomc1386 a pestilence on (also upon)c1390 woe betide you (also him, her, etc.)c1390 maldathaita1400 murrainc1400 out ona1415 in the wild waning worldc1485 vengeance?a1500 in a wanion1549 with a wanion1549 woe worth1553 a plague on——a1566 with a wanion to?c1570 with a wanyand1570 bot1584 maugre1590 poxa1592 death1593 rot1594 rot on1595 cancro1597 pax1604 pize on (also upon)1605 vild1605 peascod1606 cargo1607 confusion1608 perditiona1616 (a) pest upon1632 deuce1651 stap my vitals1697 strike me blind, dumb, lucky (if, but—)1697 stop my vitals1699 split me (or my windpipe)1700 rabbit1701 consume1756 capot me!1760 nick me!1760 weary set1788 rats1816 bad cess to1859 curse1885 hanged1887 buggeration1964 society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)] at-holda1230 attacha1325 resta1325 takec1330 arrest1393 restay?a1400 tachec1400 seisinc1425 to take upa1438 stowc1450 seize1471 to lay (also set, clap, etc.) (a person) by the heels?1515 deprehend1532 apprehend1548 nipa1566 upsnatcha1566 finger1572 to make stay of1572 embarge1585 cap1590 reprehend1598 prehenda1605 embar1647 nap1665 nab1686 bone1699 roast1699 do1784 touch1785 pinch1789 to pull up1799 grab1800 nick1806 pull1811 hobble1819 nail1823 nipper1823 bag1824 lag1847 tap1859 snaffle1860 to put the collar on1865 copper1872 to take in1878 lumber1882 to pick up1887 to pull in1893 lift1923 drag1924 to knock off1926 to put the sleeve on1930 bust1940 pop1960 vamp1970 a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Prophetesse iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Eeee/2 We must be sometimes wittie, to nick a knave. 1673 S'too him Bayes 83 Now will I nick thee here—worse than any where in all my book. 1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 94 If he gets him dead drunk, for then is the critical Minute to nick him. 1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 99 There the Common Pleas thought they had nicked them. 1759 J. Townley High Life below Stairs ii. i You have just nick'd them in the very Minute. 1760 S. Foote Minor i. 32 Nick me, but I have a great mind to tie up, and ruin the rascals. 1806 Spirit of Public Jrnls. 9 379 He..stands a chance of getting nicked, because he was found in bad company. 1836 F. Marryat Japhet III. iii. 35 He has come to get off his accomplice, and now we've just nicked them both. 1893 P. H. Emerson Signor Lippo xvii All my pals got nicked, and I chucked it. 1926 J. Gray Stray Leaves xi. 2 It wis him 'at struck the blow, 'at I wis nickit for. 1959 ‘M. Cronin’ Dead & Done With x. 152 They nicked your chum for killing his wife. 1973 J. Wainwright Devil you Don't 32 I am talking to you, copper..either nick me..or close that bloody door. 2001 Sun 27 Jan. 76/1 Police nicked a bloke outside the Barcelona training ground last week. b. transitive. To steal; to pilfer. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > steal [verb (transitive)] pick?c1300 takec1300 fetch1377 bribec1405 usurpc1412 rapc1415 to rap and rendc1415 embezzle1495 lifta1529 pilfer1532 suffurate1542 convey?1545 mill1567 prig1567 strike1567 lag1573 shave1585 knave1601 twitch1607 cly1610 asport1621 pinch1632 snapa1639 nap1665 panyar1681 to carry off1684 to pick up1687 thievea1695 to gipsy away1696 bone1699 make1699 win1699 magg1762 snatch1766 to make off with1768 snavel1795 feck1809 shake1811 nail1819 geach1821 pull1821 to run off1821 smug1825 nick1826 abduct1831 swag1846 nobble1855 reef1859 snig1862 find1865 to pull off1865 cop1879 jump1879 slock1888 swipe1889 snag1895 rip1904 snitch1904 pole1906 glom1907 boost1912 hot-stuff1914 score1914 clifty1918 to knock off1919 snoop1924 heist1930 hoist1931 rabbit1943 to rip off1967 to have off1974 1826 D. Anderson Poems in Sc. Dial. 69 Some there ha'e gotten their pouches picket, Their siller an' their watches nickit. 1869 Temple Bar July 75 I bolted in and ‘nicked’ a nice silver tea-pot. 1903 J. London People of Abyss xxiii. 280 At thirteen we nicks things; an' at sixteen we bashes the copper. 1966 J. Porter Sour Cream xiii. 169 I had Azatov's own pass which I had nicked from him at the airport. 1987 Today 10 Nov. 11 Union official Tucker Chance said: ‘They're nicking our jobs.’ c. transitive. Chiefly Sport. To win (a point, game, championship, award, etc.), esp. narrowly or unexpectedly. ΚΠ 1988 Squash World May 25/2 Having already beaten number 11 seed Ricki Hill of Australia, Hailstone nicked the first game from Jansher Khan. 1990 Rolling Stone 5 Apr. 5/2 At the thirty-second annual awards presentation, Bonnie Raitt received long-overdue recognition, nicking four awards. 1993 Time Out 31 Mar. 105/1 Blisset ended their nightmare last week when his 100th Brentford goal nicked an away win at Grimsby. IV. Senses relating to the making of a clicking sound. 17. transitive. To fasten or unfasten with a click. Also with open, shut, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > fasten [verb (transitive)] > with a click nick1856 1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh vi. 267 The lady closed That door and nicked the lock. 1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse i. ix. 83 She nicked the catch of her paint-box to, more firmly than was necessary. 1941 V. Woolf Between Acts 245 Miss La Trobe nicked the lock and hoisted the heavy case of gramophone records to her shoulder. 1943 G. Greene Ministry of Fear iii. ii. 198 A pocket watch. He nicked open the heavy back and read aloud: [etc.]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.¹?a1450n.²1647n.³1857v.¹?c1225v.²?1440
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nickn.1

Compounds

† Nickn.2

nickn.3

† nickv.1

nickv.2

nickn.¹

† Nickn.²

nickn.³

† nickv.¹

nickv.²