| 释义 |
nutn.1adj.2 Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with West Frisian nút , Middle Dutch noit , noot , note , nuete , (Flanders, Brabant) not (Dutch noot , (now rare except in compounds) not , (now chiefly regional) neut ), Middle Low German not , nut , Old High German hnuz , nuz (Middle High German nuz , German Nuss ), Old Icelandic hnot , Old Swedish noth , nut , nyt (Swedish nöt ), Danish nød , probably < a Germanic base showing an extended form of the same Indo-European base as Early Irish cnú nut (Irish cnó ), Welsh cnau (collective noun) nuts (1346), and also (with a different root extension) of classical Latin nuc- , nux (compare nuci- comb. form).The word was originally a Germanic feminine athematic consonant stem (compare book n., borough n., goose n., louse n., etc.), which in Old English showed nominative and accusative singular hnutu , genitive and dative singular and nominative and accusative plural (with i-mutation) hnyte . By the Middle English period this distinction was lost. The Middle English form ote shows metanalysis (see N n.). A. n.1 I. A hard edible kernel, and related senses. 1. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > nut > [noun] the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > nut > [noun] the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > edible pods, seeds, leaves, or flowers > [noun] > cocoa-bean α. eOE (1974) 4 Abilina, hnutu. OE (Mercian) vii. 16 Numquid colligunt..de tribulis ficos : ah he somnigaþ..of gorstum ficos uel nyte. ?a1200 (?OE) (1896) 45 Pinh[n]utena cyrnles & amigdalas & oþera hnutena cyrnlu. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 79 (MED) Me brekeð þe nute for to habbene þene curnel. a1300 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker (1884) I. 557/32 Auellane, petite noiz, litel nute. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 18833 (MED) His hare like to þe nute brun, Quen it for ripnes fals dun. c1485 ( G. Hay (1993) xxix. 104 Nutis. 1531 J. Bellenden in H. Boece i. 33 In Murray is..gret plente of nutis and appilis. c1590 A. Montgomerie xlvi. 8 Lat sie vho first my wedfie wins; For I will wed ane apple and a nute [rhyme shute]. 1642 in S. Ree (1908) II. 241 For selling of nutes upon Sunday at even. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > [noun] > fir- or pine-cone OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius (Vitell.) (1984) cxxxiv. 174 Genim..cyrnlu of wintrywenum [read pintrywenum] hnutum. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 241 The pyneappel is most grete notte and conteyneþ in it self in stede of fruyt many curnelles yclosed in ful harde schales. a1500 Legend of Cross in (1965) 34 216 (MED) The pyne..whiche gendrith many nootis, p[re]chith to vs many of the yiftes of the holi gost. 1611 R. Cotgrave Noix de pin,..the nut, or fruit of the Pine-apple. 1727 R. Bradley (Dublin ed.) at Fir tree The Kernels and Nuts, which may be got out of their Cones and Clogs. 1868 2 530 In the Rocky Mountains I found no nuts except those of the pine. 1895 22 117 The seeds or ‘nuts’ of many species of Pine are large and albuminous. 1933 2 70 The nuts of the Siberian cedar constitute one of the most important sources of food for a great many animals of the taiga. 1969 T. H. Everett 50/2 The piñon or Mexican stone pine (P. cembroides) is small and spreading and, like its variety P. c. edulis, the nut pine, produces delicious edible seeds or ‘nuts’. 1991 (Royal Soc.) B. 334 234/2 Larger tribal gatherings..occurred regularly..in southern Queensland when the nuts from the Bunya pine were ripe. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > fruit or seed > nutmeg a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer (Hunterian) 1360 Trees there were..That baren notes in her sesoun, Such as men notemygges calle. ?a1425 (?1373) (1938) f. 53 (MED) Notemyge is a froite..Take in the mornyng a notte, and yf hit be a litell not hit is þe better. 1616 W. Keeling (1971) 150 The Attendant sett saile for Jacatra, to land our light nutts. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > [noun] > stone-fruit or drupe > stone or formation of stone 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus iii. 207 Their peaches they cut into fower quarters, and casting away the nuts or stones, they drie them in the sunne. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus vi. 269 They feede their goates with the nuts or stones of their dates beaten to powder, whereby they grow exceeding fat. 1880 J. Sibree xiv. 281 The tangena is a small and handsome tree..and the poison is procured from the nut of its fruit. the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > coconut the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink from coconut shell 1307–8 in R. R. Sharpe (1889) I. 196 (MED) [A vessel called] nothte. 1337 in H. T. Riley (1868) 200 (MED) [One cup called] note [with a foot and cover of silver]. 1361 in R. R. Sharpe (1890) II. 26 (MED) [A] Nhutte [with silver stand and covercle]. 1427 (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/3) f. 55 (MED) Vnum note de dogean cum coopertorio. 1455 in H. E. Salter (1932) I. 351 (MED) A Nutte pouderd with siluer and the Conacle and the fete therof of siluer and gilt. c1479 Inventory of Plate in (2004) II. 603 A blak notte standing of siluer and gilt, with a kover to þe same. 1520 R. Elyot Will in T. Elyot (1880) App. A. 312 ii playn bolles of silver.., ii nuttes garnysshed with silver and gilt. c1580 in (1840) 28 132 A drynkinge nutte of sylver, worth about twentie pounds. 1600 in E. R. Brinkworth & J. S. W. Gibson (1976) I. 159 In pewter..two sawsers, a pyntt pott, a beaker, a nutt, a botell for aquavite and a pewter solte. 1667 Edinb. Test. LXXIII. f. 123v, in (at cited word) Four little potts, ane nutt, ane looking glas. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iv, in 2nd Ser. II. 126 Tender him the nut once more. 1889 30 Nov. 437/1 When a guest arrived he was met by the laird, who made him ‘crack a nut’, that is, drink a silver-mounted cocoanut-shell full of claret. II. Figurative uses of branch A. I. 3. the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > of little worth c1300 (Laud) (1868) 419 He ne yaf a note of his oþes. c1300 (Laud) (1868) 1332 Have þou nouth þer-offe douthe Nouth þe worth of one nouthe. 1340 (1866) 143 (MED) Ne prosperite ne aduersete of þe wordle hi ne prazeþ ane nhote. c1450 (c1400) (Huntington) (1942) 142 (MED) Þat is myshap or worldes schame, þat he ȝeueþ of a notee. 1562 J. Heywood Sixt Hundred Epigrammes iii, in sig. Cc Not woorth a crakt nut. 1872 ‘G. Eliot’ I. xviii. 324 He..knew that if his personal prospects simply had been concerned, he would not have cared a rotten nut for the banker's friendship or enmity. 1878 Dec. 262/1 Finding that the..animal doesn't scare worth a nut, he prudently beats a retreat. 2000 Re: Hardcore, Long-term Acid Use in alt.drugs.psychedelics (Usenet newsgroup) 20 July My fascination with Timothy Leary wore off after just two weeks... I don't think the content of what he says is worth a nut. c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 61 Worschip and worthines is more to preise than riches, in as mych as the note [c1450 Longleat nutte] is better than the schelle. 1546 J. Heywood i. x. sig. Ciii She is lost with an appul, and woon with a nut. 1647 A. Cowley Tree in ii With Art as strange, as Homer in the Nut, Love in my Heart has Volumes put. 1659 J. Howell Prov. Eng. Toung 15/2 in (1660) He may be gott by an Apple, and lost by a Nutt. 1722 W. Wollaston viii. 161 They, who are not, or but lately, past their nuts, cannot be supposed to have any extent of knowledge. 1843 H. W. Longfellow i. iv. 38 Very little meat, and a great deal of tablecloth..And more noise than nuts. the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > that which is difficult > a difficult thing or person the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > that which is difficult > a difficult problem the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > a profound secret, mystery > puzzle, enigma, riddle > [noun] > especially difficult 1540 T. Elyot sig. Ciiiv Nowe knacke me that nut mayster Candidus. 1570 T. North tr. A. F. Doni 60 Your Maiestie hath euen lighted right on the..hardest Nutte to cracke: if you meane to follow that you haue propounded. 1589 (1844) 33 Like you any of these Nuts, John Canterbury? 1659 No. 199. 800 Now we have in our power most of the passages of the Country that are of any importance, except..Dammin, which is a hard Nut to crack. 1662–7 A. Cowley Of Plants in (1881) II. 276/1 'Tis time that you these childish Sports forsake, Hymen for you has other Nuts to crack. ?1705 E. Hickeringill 26 Here's Nuts enough to employ their Teeth..; but,..before they crack them they will break their Brains. 1745 B. Franklin Let. in (1887) II. 16 Fortified towns are hard nuts to crack; and your teeth have not been accustomed to it. 1801 W. Huntington Ded. p. iii Those providences which appear rather out of the common line are hard nuts in the mouth of a weak believer. 1861 J. Brown 2nd Ser. II. 242 He especially liked mental nuts. 1866 9 June 549 Spain has..got some of her teeth broken in the attempt to crack a nut that was too hard for them. 1897 B. Stoker v. 56 He tries this on very much with me, but I flatter myself he has got a tough nut to crack. 1924 A. Christie 113 The thing's a dark mystery!.. It's a hard nut to crack. 1968 P. Warner iii. 63 This was a tougher nut than Tunbridge; whereas the latter had been a mere mound, Pevensey was a Roman fortress strengthened by Norman builders. 1989 20 Mar. 33/2 The hard nut still to be cracked in Geneva concerns protection of intellectual property. 5. In plural. society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment a1625 J. Fletcher Mad Lover v. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher (1647) sig. D2v/1 But they are needfull mischiefes, And such are Nuts to me. 1672 A. Marvell i. 56 This story would have been Nuts to Mother Midnight. 1705 in W. S. Perry (1870) I. 147 Pray remember that our divisions will be nuts to the adversaries of the Church. 1712 J. Swift 8 Jan. (1948) II. 458 And lord keeper and treasurer teazed me for a week: it was nuts to them: a serious thing with a vengeance. a1774 A. Tucker (1777) III. iii. 411 Mischief is said to be nuts to some folks. 1805 13 11 This was Nuts to many of them whose purses could afford it. 1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in II. at Nut To please a person by any little act of assiduity, by a present, or by flattering words, is called nutting him; as the present, &c., by which you have gratified them is termed a nut. 1829 P. Egan New Ser. II. 284 It was nuts for the turnpike coves; and the Bonifaces, all the way to the scene of action, were in high spirits. 1840 R. H. Dana xxv. 269 This was nuts to us; for we liked to have a Spaniard wet with salt water. 1854 July 52/1 So that his landlord might not..advert to the unsettled account, on the stair-case, which event would be nuts and cheese to his fellow-lodgers, who would be sure to listen at their doors. 1876 ‘M. Twain’ xiii. 118 ‘Ain't it gay?’ said Joe. ‘It's nuts!’ said Tom. ‘What would the boys say if they could see us?’ 1886 J. M. Morton 161 I used to be considered quite a crack shot at the bull's-eye!..at the end of a barrow—for nuts! 1910 4 254/2 To go in the cup From twenty feet up To Sandy McCann was nuts. 1914 G. Atherton i. 79 Why don't you sink a shaft, just for nuts. 1941 H. L. Mencken 16 Oct. (1989) 163 Such an idiot, in his palmy days, would have been nuts for him, but I begin to doubt..that he will be able to swing the job now. 1895 W. P. Ridge 82 An' the eldest gal she thinks she can play, and, if you'll believe me, she carn't play for nuts. 1899 25 Oct. 5/3 They can't shoot for nuts; go ahead. 1911 T. E. Lawrence 21 May (1938) 105 I am as certain as nuts that they stood on a wall next which they were found. 1922 J. Joyce iii. xvi. [Eumaeus] 586 There was lice in that bunk in Bridgwater,... Sure as nuts. 1934 A. Thirkell xi. 237 That Miss Stevenson can't play for nuts. 1974 18 Aug. That bounding, beaming, irresistible juvenile with the patent leather hair, Douglas Fairbanks, who couldn't really act for nuts, but, boy, could he beam and bound! the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent thing 1917 in J. J. Niles (1927) 10 Oh, Jonah got a gas-bomb and said this is the nuts, I'll polish off this monster, cause I surely hate his guts. 1932 L. Hart Innocent Chorus Girls of Yesterday in (1986) 168/2 We all got stinkin' last night! Its the nuts the way we're leaping! 1949 W. Stevens 9 Sept. (1967) 647 At the Museum of Modern Art they cultivate the idea that everything is the nuts. 1984 M. Wallace & G. P. Gates 110 When Hewitt asked me what I thought of the pilot, I assured him emphatically that it was ‘the nuts’. 2001 29 Sept. i. 19/8 The survey [of children's slang] turned up dozens of words for ‘cool’; including mesmeric, wix, deep, bodashes, mint, oudish, the nuts, animal, mad, [etc.]. 6. the world > people > person > [noun] 1856 5 Apr. 87 Zeb Beeswing was as hard lookin an old nut as you'd find on a twelve hours' travel. 1887 G. M. Fenn vii He is a close old nut. 1896 June 150/2 ‘Who's the old nut walking with your father-in-law?’ ‘He's my clerk’. 1918 F. Hunt 49 Let some of those nuts who are afraid to do any fighting come over here and take our jobs. ?1930 R. E. Howard (1976) 34 Mike is a queer nut... He ain't got a fighter's brain. 1960 24 Jan. 7/1 N smiled and said he could see that I fancied myself as a very shrewd nut. 1961 G. Smith xi. 219 The gaffer..was a doomy old nut who once or twice had talked about jagging it in. society > morality > moral evil > wickedness > roguery, knavery, or rascalry > [noun] > rogue, knave, or rascal 1882 A. J. Boyd 60 What is a Nut?.. Imagine a long, lank, lantern-jawed, whiskerless, colonial youth. 1882 A. J. Boyd 65 He is a bully, a low, coarse, blasphemous blackguard—what is termed a regular colonial Nut. 1902 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley V. 78/2 Nut,..3. (provincial).—A harum-scarum ass. a1903 H. Latham in (1903) IV. 313/1 [West Yorkshire] He's a little nut and gets war every day. 1941 S. J. Baker 50 Nut, a young larrikin, a high-spirited young dare-devil. the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > dandy 1904 in (1913) 26 July 78/1 I'm one of the nuts, one of the nibs. 1913 12 Feb. 115/1 Spring socks will be black and Spring ties a quiet blue. A strike of nuts is expected at any moment. 1920 W. J. Locke xvii. 205 I've a jolly good mind to set him up regardless, like a pre-war nut—with solid silver boot-trees and the rest to correspond. 1923 Oct. 3/3 The last named continue to be marks of the ‘nut’. 7. colloquial (originally U.S.). the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > mentally ill person > [noun] > mad person the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > slight madness > crankiness or eccentricity > person 1908 H. C. Fisher in 23 Nov. 6 (comic strip) They'll just think I'm some old nut. 1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer 62 Nut, commonly current in all circles when the meaning is ‘loco’. 1921 (ed. 6) 247 Am I really crazy? Gee! that's tough! I'm a nut! I'm a nut! 1931 D. Runyon (1932) 213 I am commencing to think this Count Saro is some kind of a nut, and is only speaking through his hat. 1960 H. Pinter 118 You're not only a nut, you're a blind nut and you can get out the way you came. 1984 K. Hulme (1985) ii. 59 They shoved him in the special class to begin with, all the slow learners and near nuts. 2000 M. Chabon 524 Would they think he was some kind of nut? Was he some kind of nut? the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > one who loves > devotee 1915 R. W. Lardner in Aug. 21/2 He's a nut all right on the singin' stuff... He's a pretty good guy, even if he is crazy. 1934 in Nut, one who is overenthusiastic about a particular matter, esp. a hobby. 1951 7 Oct. 16 When one football nut writes a book, another football nut should not be entrusted with the job of passing judgement on it. 1973 E. Jong ii. 32 Who can explain the basis for selection? Astrology nuts try. 1977 I. Shaw ii. i. 110 The Colonel was a tennis nut and tried to play at least an hour a day. 1988 22 Oct. 5/3 I am interested in the analysis of systems. I'm a nut about it. 8. U.S. slang. 1909 W. Irwin 81 First, they took out the ‘nut’. That is the general term, among gamblers for the expense account. 1912 A. H. Lewis 201 Every day I'm open puts me fifty dollars on th' nut. 1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer 62 Nut,..used by grafters whose operations involve an investment to signify an expense incurred in connection with a venture. 1933 28 Jan. 16/4 The difficulty of ‘making the nut’, the term applied to accumulating the rental charge due each night to the owner of the cab. 1936 11 219 He [sc. the producer] decides that in order to open the show a certain amount of money will be necessary. This amount is the production nut. 1972 14 Feb. 60/1 He submitted a strong script that led Fox to substitute color film and wide screen for black-and-white and the conventional small-screen ratio, and to raise the nut to $400,000. 1998 Apr. 156/1 Netscape..wasn't selling enough software to big corporate customers to make the nut. 1929 M. A. Gill 8/1 My nut, my share. 1956 H. Gold xviii. 159 I was getting a nut of cash, and it felt good. 1970 27 Apr. 3 New York police have their own secret slang to deal with their illegal business... ‘Nut’ is a cash bribe. 1980 W. Sherman 42 To pay the shylock's weekly nut, Mack turned to..holdups. III. Something resembling a nut in shape. 9. the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > cut or piece of meat > [noun] > small piece of meat a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 276 (MED) Let him ete 3 notis of þe forseid rollis of raphani. 1575 G. Turberville 228 Giue her..a pyll as bygge as a nutte of butter washt seuen or eyght tymes in freshe water. 1769 J. Skeat 12 A sham Tortoise..is made of a calf's liver. There is a small nut of liver that hangs to it, which serves for the head. 1861 H. L. Scott 190 Beat an egg up, pour it to the other ingredients, a nut of butter. 1931 A. de Croze xx. 171 Slices of apple or peach laid on a buttered and sugared dish, sprinkled with small nuts of butter and caster sugar. 1999 25 May If I cook flat, cultivated mushrooms with a nut of butter and a little water, over moderate heat and with a lid on the pan, they develop flavors and juices. the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > mutton > [noun] > other cuts or parts 1611 R. Cotgrave Oeil de Iudas, the Nut, or Fryers peece of a Leg of Mutton. 1682 T. Gibson (1697) iv. App. A gland which we..call in sheep the Nut or Pope's eye. the world > life > the body > secretory organs > gland > specific glands > [noun] > glands having gastric secretions c1816 2 The liver, lights, heart, nut, and milt. 1893 P. H. Emerson xvii. 76 Jim..had bought a pig's fry... I ate of all parts—the ‘nut’ and the ‘mint’..were really good. 1893 P. H. Emerson xvii. 76 The apron (omentum), that's nice..; but the kell, that's the thing, and the nut of that is the sweetest part of all. a1903 F. Hall in (1903) IV. 313/1 [Suffolk] Nut [the pancreas, esp. of veal or lamb; a lobe of fat in a slaughtered animal]. the world > life > the body > secretory organs > gland > specific glands > [noun] > glans penis 1565 T. Cooper at Glans The nutte of a mans yarde. 1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger II. iii. vi. sig. Gg.vijv/1 There is a skinne which doth..couer..the nut or forepart of a mannes yarde. 1611 R. Cotgrave Pennache de mer,..at one end resembles a feather, and th' vncouered nut of a mans yard at th' other. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot i. 42 After they have cut off the fore-skin, [they] slit with their nails the skin also that covers the nut. 1739 Gen. Chirurg. Dict. at Balanus, in J. Sparrow tr. H. F. Le Dran The Glans or Nut of the Yard. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > biscuit > [noun] > other biscuits 1775 J. Jekyll (1894) 38 We..beg the receipt of your gingerbread nuts. 1861 I. M. Beeton xxxv. 857 Work the whole [mixture] up with as much fine flour as may be necessary to form a paste. Make this into nuts of any size, put them on a tin plate, and bake [etc.]. 1890 R. Wells (ed. 2) Spiced Gingerbread... Make it [sc. the dough] into nuts or cakes, and bake in a cool oven. ?1950 999 (heading) Hunting nuts. 12. colloquial. the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > [noun] 1841 H. J. Mercier & W. Gallop 175 Who ever thought you had so much poetry in that woolly nut of yours. 1846 ‘Lord Chief Baron’ (new ed.) 76 Why, she's getting groggy on her pins, and if you don't pipe rumbo, she'll go prat over nut (head over heels). 1858 A. Mayhew ii. xii. 189 The first round was soon terminated, for Jack got a ‘cracker on his nut’. 1909 J. R. Ware 114/2 When a gent puts a donkey's breakfast a-top of his nut. 1940 Feb. 10/2 Just keep an eye on that Paddy Fallon, Maggie, and if he starts any of his practical jokes, tip me, huh, or crack a stove lid over his nut. 1992 (BNC) John Evans is heading for the record books again today—by balancing a car on his nut. the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with 1858 H. J. Byron (BL Add. MS 52977 H) v. f. 78 If this goes on much longer I shall cut In the vernacular she's ‘off her nut’. 1860 (ed. 2) 182 To be ‘off one's nut’, to be in liquor [1874 to be crazed or idiotic]. 1873 M. E. Braddon ii. iii. 178 There are the men who go off their nuts by the time they're worth a million or so. 1918 12 Apr. 6/1 Back in the States, when our bunkie was mentally touring, we told him simply that he was ‘off his nut’. 1919 C. E. Van Loan 35 I'd go off my nut if I had to stay in this place another week. 1961 A. Wilson i. 49 Marrying a woman who's off her nut is no recommendation for anyone. 1999 C. Grimshaw viii. 125 How do they actually know he's not going to go off his nut again and slay them in their beds? the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [verb (intransitive)] > suffer from frenzy or raging 1919 W. H. Downing 20 Do the nut, lose one's head. 1936 ‘J. Curtis’ 231 The jane'd be bound to think he had done his nut. 1960 16 Feb. 6/5 Been doing his nut about little Barbara for months, he had. 1972 J. Brown v. 68 I thought what Grace would say, that she'd do her nut maybe. But she didn't blink an eyelid. 2000 J. Goodwin vii. 163 Should have known you'd turn up again. Your mam's been fair doin her nut. 1958 B. Behan ii. 154 I was trying to pull his head back by the hair to hit him in the face with my head... ‘That's it Paddy, give 'im the nut.’ 1971 T. Murphy i. 13 And we breezed out lively, Michael, and these two English blokes—one of them putting the nut into Des. 1973 E. Dunphy (1976) iii. 96 He had had a go, stuck the nut on a fellow, for which he was booked. 1999 C. Hulme v. 51 I said, ‘I've just woken up, man. I've got a hangover and just who the fuck are you?’ So I stuck the nut on him. That is the kind of guy I was. society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > coal or types of coal > [noun] > small, refuse, impure, or coal-dust 1857 R. Hunt 214 A small coal apparatus for separating the dust from the small coal, and sorting it into nutt, seconds, and duff. 1870 18 Feb. 563/3 We have been using silk~stone nuts. 1883 W. S. Gresley 175 Nuts, small lumps of coal which will pass through a screen the bars of which vary in width apart between 1/ 2 inch and 21/ 2 inches. 1922 ‘R. Crompton’ (1924) viii. 135 Only William could have seized a moment just before lunch..to carry the principal dishes down to the coal cellar and conceal them beneath the best nuts. 1964 G. Kardaun & G. Viets in G. N. Critchley 167 The wish to make available the largest possible amount of anthracite nuts for domestic purposes was the reason why the smaller sizes of nuts coal..were introduced into the market at lower prices. 14. coarse slang (originally U.S.). the world > life > the body > secretory organs > gland > specific glands > [noun] > testicle or testicles 1863 L. Starks Let. 30 Sept. in J. S. McKee (1973) 119 Such men..ought to be hung up by their n… till they starved to death.] 1865 ‘Philocomus’ ii. 16 I rubbed it up, I stroked it down..and then with gentle touch Rubbed the soft nut I loved so much. c1890 It is only a pet squirrel. He will come down when he finds out that there are no nuts up there [i.e. under a woman's dress]. 1917 V. Randolph Let. in R. Cochran (1985) 56 Mumps, by God!.. Nuts look like these here Water-Wings. 1927 21 Arthur White had been castrated, And had not a single nut. 1928 M. Cowley Let. 24 July in (1988) 181 He was either going to shoot off your nuts or blow out your brain. 1973 R. Busby v. 79 Russell got a boot in the nuts. 1993 Sept. 128/2 I guess there's but so many ways a B-boy can sling a Glock, light a blunt, or grab his nuts. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity [verb (intransitive)] > ejaculate c1932 in R. G. Holt (1971) 54 I thought you might want to get your nuts off. 1938 ‘R. Hallas’ 74 Genter was so excited he like to bust a nut. 1967 C. L. Cooper 5 She lay with her arms spread like..a woman who has just busted her nuts. 1987 E. Spencer 160 If you like watching ordnance go off..a B-52 strike can pop your nuts. 1995 P. Bourgois (1997) v. 210 I used to get my nuts off watching that shit there. Word! It was good. 1944 R. L. Sherrod 99 We got 'em by the nuts now! 1955 W. S. Burroughs 23 Oct. (1993) 292 Now, Al, I'd cut off my right nut to see you..but I don't want to give you the impression I'm like on my way to Frisco. 1974 J. Wainwright xxi. 102 He was working his nuts off. 1993 J. Burchill in June 80/1 I'm ten years younger, two stone heavier and I haven't had my nuts taken off by academia. 1952 F. Reed vii. 74 A very useful ‘balanced feed’ is available similar to dairy nuts. 1981 A. Fraser in K. Thear & A. Fraser viii. 199/1 The horse will probably require a ton..of hay and up to half a ton..of horse nuts as supplementary feeding. 1992 14 Aug. 54/2 The greatest weight loss between housing and 28 days after lamb birth was the 10.8kg recorded by ewes fed straw plus nuts. IV. Technical senses. the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of 1428 in H. Nicolas (1834) III. 289 (MED) Item, for amendyng of the note and the spyndill, vij s. 1567 in (1888) Apr. 169 For makyng a nutte for the dyall, iijd. 1599 Haddington Burgh Rec. 6 Apr. in (at cited word) For the panis tan be him in mending the knok, making of ane new extre nutt & spindall therto. 1648 Bp. J. Wilkins i. xx. 142 Let us imagine every wheel in this following figure to have a hundred teeth in it, and every nut ten. 1678 J. Moxon I. iii. 45 Before a revolution of the wheel be performed, it would go off from the length of the Teeth of the Nut. 1724 N. Bailey (ed. 2) Pallats, two Nuts which play in the Fangs of the Crown Wheel of a Watch. 1775 J. Ash Nut, a small protuberance with indentures answering to the teeth of a wheel. 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ 130 A spur nut a, and a bevelled nut b;..the nut a works into the spur-wheel. 1857 37 25 Thomas Clock~maker received 7s. for amending of the note and spindle. 17. society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > nut 1507 in J. B. Paul (1901) III. 397 xliiij vices and nutis for harnes sadilles xxxij s. viij d. 1611 R. Cotgrave Couplot de bois, a woodden sole, or Nut for a Scrue; the foot of a Scrue. 1678 J. Moxon I. i. 5 The Nut or Screw-Box hath also a Square Worm, and is brazed into the round Box. 1735 J. Price 7 Iron Hooks should be let into their Flanks, and screw'd into Nuts. 1815 J. Smith I. 62 A screw with a button head, tightened at the back with a nut. 1894 S. R. Bottone (ed. 6) 173 The nut, of course, works against the springs... When the nut is loosened the spring causes g to rise. 1911 (Tariff Reform League) III. 39 When we get our nuts screwed a little tighter we shall be able to look after our own industries and mind our own business. 1953 N. Tinbergen iv. 32 Nuts, bolts and various small pieces of scrap iron. 1984 Dec. 122/3 The bolts were driven through holes drilled in the timber, and they were held in place by wrought-iron or wood nuts. society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > parts of printers or presses > [noun] > other parts 1642 6 The Printers Nuts and Spindles which they find so employed. 1683 J. Moxon II. 62 To preserve the Worms of the Spindle and Nut from wearing each other out the faster. 1824 J. Johnson II. 507 The brass nut in which the screw of the spindle works. 1841 XXI. 111/1 In the upper cross-bar or head..a nut is firmly secured. The screw works up and down in this nut. 1973 J. Moran 40 Wilhelm Haas..provided a cast-iron frame... The platen and spindle were of iron, and the hose and nut of brass. the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [phrase] > nuts and bolts 1947 14 Apr. 4/3 This conference will concern itself with administrative matters—the essential ‘nuts and bolts’ holding together what Lloyd George once called the ‘steel frame’ of India, but which is now little more than a scaffolding. 1956 E. Bridges in A. Dunsire 2 Administration is sometimes used to mean the nuts and bolts in any job—necessary tasks such as meeting lecturers at the station, and seeing that [etc.]. 1967 30 Apr. 11/8 A..keen-eyed Army colonel..talks to you about ‘the nuts and bolts’ of the programme. 1973 T. Allbeury xvii. 83 A bit of cigarette ash on a magnetic tape could screw up a whole pay-roll..but..that's pretty well a nuts and bolts area for us. We know it inside out. 2001 15 Jan. 23/3 The book..culminates with..appendices devoted to the nuts and bolts of voter registration and political organization. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > artificial aid > types of 1965 A. Blackshaw vii. 207 Some climbers thread hexagonal nuts of various sizes on to slings, in order that they can be used for jammed-nut belays... Heavy brass nuts are very good because they are malleable. 1968 P. Crew 87/1 Apart from the ease of carrying, the fact that the sling goes through a nut instead of round a chockstone, often makes the running belay more mechanically sound. 1980 S. Schneider ii. 21 When establishing a belay, use a generous quantity of nuts. 1994 May 58/2 In this layback crack the runners must be placed while climbing; take large nuts and friends. 18. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > archer's weapons > [noun] > bow > crossbow > catch to detain string 1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano sig. Q ij b The iij nutte, that is, the nutte of the crosse bowe, is dethe, for the crosse bowe sleethe men. 1578 in G. J. Piccope (1860) II. 59 My crossebowe wthout the nutte. 1611 R. Cotgrave La noix d'vne arbaleste, the nut of a crossebow. 1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer 98 They..draw the string up to the nut made of bone in the handle, with an iron hook they wear at their girdle. 1792 W. M. Moseley 304 It was on this nut (as they termed it) that the string was held when they charged the bow. 1874 C. Boutell tr. J. P. Lacombe 142 The string is then lodged on a nut. 1915 C. J. Ffoulkes II. 325 Stirrup crossbow... The stock is much decayed, and the cord, the nut and part of the windlass is wanting. 1934 G. C. Stone (1961) 12/2 The largest crossbows had very complicated locks; some having as many as six scears between the trigger and the nut (catch for the string). 1985 J. Bradbury viii. 147 The nut..fitted a special socket in the ‘box’ of the crossbow, so that it would revolve smoothly. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > bow > nut or head 1659 C. Simpson 2 Hold the Bow betwixt the ends of your Thumb and two foremost Fingers, near to the Nutt. 1664 J. Playford (ed. 4) i. 89 Hold the Bow betwixt the ends of your Thumb and your Forefinger, an Inch below the Nut. 1751 F. Geminiani Ex. IB. 2 The Bow is to be held at a small Distance from the Nut, between the Thumb and Fingers. 1852 G. Dubourg (ed. 4) ix. 362 So regulated as to cause the nearest approach made by the stick to the hair to be exactly in the middle, between the head and the nut. 1884 E. Heron-Allen 93 A bow..with a properly constructed head and nut to receive the hair. 1961 D. D. Boyden in A. C. Baines vi. 108 The nut is made of ebony, or sometimes of ivory or tortoiseshell, and the bow is tightened by turning a screw-cap which draws back the nut. 1980 III. 126/1 In order to keep the hair and the stick apart on the flat type of bow, various forms of (non-adjustable) nut were introduced from the 13th century onwards. 1984 26 Mar. 4/6 The rich, translucent tortoiseshell that for more than 100 years has formed the nut, the block which connects the horsehair with the stick. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > anchoring equipment > [noun] > anchor > shank of anchor > part to which stock is fixed 1627 J. Smith vii. 29 At the head of the Shanke there is a hole..and in it a Ring, wherein is the Nut to which there is fast fixed a Stocke of wood crossing the Flookes. 1688 R. Holme (1905) iii. xv. 29/1 The nutt, the round part under the eye, to which the stock is fixt. 1769 W. Falconer Nuts of the anchor, two little prominencies, appearing like short square bars of iron, fixed across the upper-part of the anchor-shank, to secure the stock. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher 502 Nuts, two projections either raised or welded on the square part of the shank [etc.]. 1927 G. Bradford 120/1 Nut, the ball on the end of an anchor stock. This nut or ball aids in bringing the stock flat on the bottom. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > lute- or viol-type parts > [noun] > nut 1653 Ld. Brouncker tr. R. Descartes 65 The Space from the Bridge to the Nutt, is understood to be divided into 540, or 10.000 equall parts. 1698 (Royal Soc.) 20 80 The Frets are nearer to one another toward the Bridge, and wider toward the Nut or Head of a Viol. 1771 III. 323/2 An equal division of a string between either the nut and bridge, or stop and bridge. 1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett 316 Nut, the fixed bridge formed by a slight prominence or ridge at the upper end of the strings of instruments of the violin and guitar family. 1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. VIII. 12 The violoncello players..who seek to get high-pitched notes from their instruments by shortening the strings by violent pressure with the outside of the phalangeal joint of the left thumb, while the fingers are engaged in stopping the string lower down (a manœuvre known as ‘making the nut’). 1961 C. Bunting in A. C. Baines vi. iii. 141 The use of the thumb as a movable ‘nut’ (like the guitarist's capotasto). 1989 Mar. 15/1 A device that raises the nut by flipping a lever—without messing up your tuning. society > occupation and work > equipment > pottery manufacturing equipment > [noun] > mould > part of 1735 at Pottery The potters wheel consists principally in the nut, which is a beam or axis, whose foot or pivot plays perpendicularly on a free-stone sole or bottom. 1848 W. Barnes (new ed.) Gloss. Nut, the stock of a wheel. 1886 W. H. Long 44 The waggon wheels got stuck in the keeart loose up to the nuts. a1903 J. R. Wise in (1903) IV. 313/1 [Warwickshire] Nut [the nave or axle of a wheel]. 1988 J. Lavers 59 Nut, the stock or axle of a wheel. society > communication > writing > written character > name of written character > [noun] > others 1940 294/2 En quad, (Typog.) a type space half an em wide. It is more usually known as a nut, the word en being easily mistaken for em. 1968 J. R. Biggs 174/1 Nut, printers' jargon for an en. 1992 P. Luna 51 ‘Em’ and ‘en’ are now only used to define the width of spaces and dashes. Because they can be misunderstood when spoken, printers have traditionally renamed them the mutton and nut. B. adj.2the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with 1906 Feb. 406/2 And you mean to say, Dan, that you're nut enough to think this? 1918 29 Mar. 3/2 The gink who used to write nut-stuff by order for frivolous night city editors to gloat over and kill can occasionally deliver himself of a serious contribution—under threat. 1922 U. Sinclair xix. 66 I just want to know where he got his nut ideas. 1966 T. Pynchon iii. 48 ‘You one of these right-wing nut outfits?’ inquired the diplomatic Metzger. 1978 S. Brill ii. 45 He took the nut calls that still came in. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. (a) (In sense A. 1.) the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > nut > [noun] > bunch of nuts a1864 J. Clare (1989) I. 374 Just as the nut bunch ripnd brown Leaves its shell & tumbles down. 2000 (Nexis) 22 June Spray either neem oil emulsion..or neem seed kernel extract..on the leaves and tender nut bunches. the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > [noun] > nut-tree ?c1475 (BL Add. 15562) f. 87v A Nuttebuske, coruletum. 1706 tr. E. Y. Ides x. 51 Partridges..harbour..in low Nut-bushes. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ III. v. xliii. 130 I saw something odd and round and whitish lying on the ground under a nut-bush by the side of me. 1972 R. Adams xii. 50 One or another would begin to..venture a little way in among the trees and nut-bushes. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [noun] > blossom or flower(s) > considered as preceding another product 1648 H. Hexham Note-bloemen, nut-flowers. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > nut > [noun] the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > nut > [noun] 1850 E. B. Browning (new ed.) II. 262 They listen For..nut-fruit falling from the trees. 1992 M. L. Dewan et al. (title) Nut fruits for the Himalayas. the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of fruit > [noun] > orchard or fruit garden > type of 1535 Song of Sol. vi. 11 I wente downe in to the nutt garden, to se what grew by the brokes. a1729 E. Taylor (1989) 189 In thy Nut Garden make my heart a Bed And set therein thy Spicknard, Cypress, Vine. 1865 W. L. Alexander (ed. 3) II. 68/1 Gardens were planted..with various fruit-bearing and other trees... Thus we find mention of nut-gardens. 1989 (Nexis) 24 Nov. 13 A Victorian maze is under construction with half a mile of path, a half-acre nut garden and a lake. the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of fruit > [noun] > orchard or fruit garden > type of 1840–1 T. Moore Fire-worshippers in VI. 232 When, from the banks of Bendemeer To the nut-groves of Samarcand, Thy temples flam'd o'er all the land. 1869 J. G. Fuller 19 Skip and I were hunting a squirrel down in the nut-grove this morning. 1991 F. Spalding (BNC) 127 He drew the nut grove in the Lamont's garden and the surrounding countryside. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > nut > [noun] > kernel the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > nut > [noun] > kernel eOE (Royal) (1865) i. ii. 34 Genim hnutcyrnla & hwæte corn. a1475 (1889) 23 Putte þerine..note-kirnelis, fyn triacle. 1530 J. Palsgrave 254/1 Pyll of a nutte curnell. 1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby 143 The nuthatch..feeds not only upon Insects, but also upon Nut-kernels. 1884 M. Hunt tr. J. Grimm & W. Grimm I. 311 The little hen..has swallowed a great nut-kernel, and is choking with it. 1989 (Nexis) 10 Apr. We were given all sorts of things in soap that weren't particularly delicious or scientific: nut kernels and seaweed and oatmeal. 1681 N. Grew ii. §i. i. 200 A small Orbicular Fruit, as it seems, of the Nut-kind. 1830 J. Lindley 116 The Souari..Nuts..the kernel of which is one of the most delicious fruits of the nut kind. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva > defined by parasitism or feeding > found in nuts 1817 W. Kirby & W. Spence II. xxv. 416 The beetle to which the nut-maggot is transformed. 1845 C. Hodgkinson 224 The tree grub, which is very similar to the common nut maggot. 1765 3 285 In the nut season fences are pulled in pieces for the fruit by all the boys and girls in the neighbourhood. 1897 Feb. 485/2 They have as competitors a lot of boys who swarm under the trees in the nut season. 1907 N. Love v. 35 During the nut season we worked every day from morning to night, gathering large quantities of nuts. 1999 B. Chalfin in D. B. Small & N. Tannenbaum viii. 142 Nuts became available for credit very early and very late in the nut season, two periods when people were least likely to engage in butter production. 2012 C. Boesch iii. 48 During the nut season, chimpanzees crack an average of 2 nuts per minute, for an average period of 2 hours and 15 minutes per day. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > nut > [noun] > nutshell 1648 H. Hexham Een note-booste, a Nut-skin or Husk. 1855 May 748/2 The acid nut-skins are less ripe than some miles above. 1983 (Nexis) Jan. 100 Pour hot nuts onto a dish towel and fold cloth to enclose nuts. Rub gently to remove as much of the nut skins as possible. 1845 B. Disraeli II. iii. iv. 61 He cut my eyelid open once with a nutstick. 1995 T. Hughes 183 The nut-stick yealm-twist's got into his soul, He didn't break. He's proof As his crusty roofs. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > pastry > tart > [noun] > types of tart 1886 W. J. Tucker 367 The fourth course was a nut tart, very large, very rich, very sweet. 1992 (Nexis) 10 July c20/3 The nut tart ($6), a lovely blend of coconut, macadamia nuts and caramel big enough to share. 1963 R. Carrier 256 (heading) Chocolate date nut torte. 1996 R. M. Lanner 91 Pine nuts were the essential ingredient of the famous nut-tortes of the Engadin Valley. the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > division Vermes > [noun] > member of (worm) > parasitic or harmful > to plants c1475 MS Sloane 4 in (1864) 2 July 4/1 A note worme or a piscod worme. 1496 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle in (rev. ed.) sig. iij The bayte that bredith on an oke, and the notworme. (b) (In sense A. 7a.) 1935 A. J. Pollock 81/2 Nut alley, prison insane ward. 1940 D. Clemmer 334 Nut doctor,..a psychiatrist. 1951 16 452/2 It would seem to be one of the psychiatrist's major problems today to break down the ‘nut doctor’ and the ‘last resort’ associations in the public mind. 1996 (Nexis) 31 May a1 Some lower-ranking person just cannot wait to go back and say, ‘Guess who I saw coming out of the nut doctor's place?’ a1940 F. S. Fitzgerald (1941) i. 12 Some mystic..spouting tripe that'd land him on a nut-farm anywhere outside of California. 1999 (Nexis) 12 Aug. 16 a L.A. has always been considered a kind of nut farm with its obsessive-compulsive behavior patterns. 1916 A. Stringer vii. 154 There's a bunch o' stuff..wort' a hundred thousand dollars, or yuh kin put me in the nut-ward up at Bellevue! 1951 J. Jones xxxix. 591 Any man who goes in the Hole and stays there 21 days is automatically sent up to the nutward in the Station Hospital. 1973 T. Pynchon i. 114 Why didn't they keep him on at that nut ward for as long as they said they would. 2004 A. Dunham in P. Brock 140 We..believed that Clark had been sent to the ‘nut ward’ purely for punishment. (c) (In sense A. 17a.) 1612 S. Sturtevant xiv. 97 The Press-mould consisteth of..1. Two clay-boxes..6. Two Nutboxes 7. Two squease tables [etc.]. 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ 443 The nut-frame should carry three flat pieces of wood or iron. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [noun] > type of iron > scrap iron 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ 338 Scrap or nut-iron, consisting of old nails, screws, nuts, and pieces of that description. 1711 W. Sutherland 153 Nut-slings of the Guns. b. Objective. (a) the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > picking or gathering > [noun] > nut-gathering > nut-gatherer 1746 Mrs. Carter in M. Pennington (1808) I. 105 My fellow nut-catcher and I have another wood in reserve where we hope for better success. 1984 (Nexis) 8 July (Metro section) b1 There's a pileated woodpecker..and over there, a nutcatcher. the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating specific substances or food > [noun] > eating of other substances > eaters of other substances 1878 Dec. 263/2 Other nut-eaters less industrious know well what is going on, and hasten to carry away the cones as they fall. 1992 J. Barnes (BNC) 8 Yes I do know it's bad for my health as a matter of fact, that's why I like it. God, we've only just met and you're coming on like some rampant nut-eater. the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > picking or gathering > [noun] > nut-gathering 1829 T. Flint iv. 67 Eliza described, in her way, the dinner, the nut-gathering, and the gallantry of Hercules. 1876 H. H. Thomas i. 4 Delighting in country rambles, in nut-gathering and bathing. 1989 30 386/2 The upland sites seem to have been used as specialized activity areas for hunting or nut gathering. society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > seller of provisions > seller of nuts 1648 H. Hexham Een note-menger, a Nut-seller. 1851 H. Mayhew I. 201/1 These almond nut-sellers are, for the most part, itinerant. 1990 (Nexis) 25 June (Business section) 5 The tentmakers share a street, as do the nut sellers, the gold merchants, and those selling silk or coffee or discount underwear. (b) 1665 R. Lovell (ed. 2) 60 Trees which are Nuciferous, or Nut bearing, as the Almondtree. Wallnuttree. 1725 R. Bradley at Catkin Catkins, the Male Blossoms of Nut-bearing..Trees. 1952 A. G. L. Hellyer (ed. 22) 130 Corylus (Cob-nut; Filbert)... Hardy deciduous nut-bearing shrubs. 1922 J. Joyce ii. xv. [Circe] 512 Who left his nutquesting classmates to seek our shade? c. Similative. the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of ear > disordered hearing > [adjective] > deaf 1828 23 806 Old men are our aversion, so nut-deaf are they, so sand-blind. the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > brownish grey 1797 VI. 220/2 To give an example of the manner of producing these colours we shall take the nut-grey. 1853 W. L. Herndon i. 241 He showed me an oblong, nut-shaped fruit, growing in clusters at the base of a lily-like plant. 1910 W. de la Mare i. 2 There came limping along a most singular Mulgar... He..walked as men walk, his nut-shaped head bending up out of a big red jacket. 2002 (Nexis) 30 Apr. 52 disc-shaped beads of shell, bone dice, bone pointer, terracotta weight and nutshaped beads. the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sweetness > [adjective] 1586 T. Bright xviii. 113 For of it selfe [sc. the blood] being..nutsweete, or milkesweete, by this heate becommeth..suger or hony sweet. 1895 A. Austin 40 Brushing the nut-sweet gorse, she sped Where the runnel lisps in its reedy bed. 1950 C. Paddleford in 19 Feb. m34/2 One swift bite, a shower of nut-sweet crumbs crumble in the mouth. 1991 D. Ackerman (1993) 166 Chance on an island extravagant as tuesday. Nut-sweet as tuesday. Lush and willowy and green as tuesday. d. (a) Instrumental. 1854 L. H. Sigourney 83 Scaring thence the wild deer, and the fox, And the lithe squirrel from the nut-strewn home, So long enjoyed. 1896 Aug. 725 The harmless snake lairs in its cellar's sand; The squirrel sits upon its nut-strewn roof. 1973 M. Amis 15 I did feel quite braced and manly walking the nut-strewn lane to the village. 1973 K. S. Nelson 74 This flavorful nut and raisin-studded yeast cake.] 1978 (Nexis) 12 Feb. (Mag. section) 39 Kron has..chocolate-dipped strawberries and oranges ($5 a box), nut-studded bricks ($8 to $10), [etc.]. 1993 Mar. 134 Biscotti, the nut-studded, finger—shaped biscuits that originated in Italy and have resurfaced as a hot new trend. (b) Also in the sense ‘from a nut’. 1809 T. Campbell i. iii And playful squirrel on his nut-grown tree. society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > coal or types of coal > [noun] > small, refuse, impure, or coal-dust 1861 28 Dec. 408/3 The stove coal passes through a section..having a mesh 1¾ inches square. The nut coal passes through a section..having a mesh 1 1-16 inches square. 1870 18 Mar. 661/2 Coke (made..of nut-slack riddled). 1979 (B.B.C.) (Nexis) 8 Jan. EE/6009/B/1 An inquiry had been received..about the supply of nut coal for domestic use and for locomotives. 1992 D. Weale 99 Here, where the nut-coal fire glows, and the anvil sings. C2. the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > [noun] > nut-tree eOE (Royal) (1865) i. iii. 42 Hnutbeames rinde seaw..drype on eare. lOE 9 Amigdalus, easterne nutebeam. 1318 in P. D. A. Harvey (1976) 318 In xiij bordis de quodam trunco de notebem sarandis xij d. 1412–13 in R. E. G. Kirk (1892) 75 (MED) Et de v s. de j notebem vendito in Gardino hoc anno. the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > picking or gathering > [noun] > nut-gathering > nut-gatherer 1653 D. Osborne (1903) 29 She wears twenty strung upon a ribbon, like the nut boys play withal. 1964 ‘E. Lathen’ (1965) vii. 59 These nutboys start crawling out of the woodwork. 1989 (Nexis) 1 Aug. 13 We could use that type of frisky, devil-may-care attitude in Congress... What harm would be caused by having just one nutboy from New England? 1799 27 Nov. Living upon fish and fowl, with nut bread. 1911 Dec. p. xiv Entire wheat Nut-Bread spread with butter and cream cheese. 1994 Dec. 81/4 (advt.) Grandma's Christmas shortbread, scrumptious natural mincemeat, cranberry nutbread, tasty turkey stuffing. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > larger song birds > family Corvidae (crow) > [noun] > genus Nucifraga (nut-cracker) 1778 T. Pennant I. 20 Excepting the Caryocatactes or nut-breaker, I do not recollect any very uncommon bird to have visited this parish. 1871 L. Colange II. 498/3 Nut-hatch, Nut-breaker, Nut-jobber, a genus of Insessores birds, Sitta. the world > food and drink > food > fat or oil > [noun] > vegetable oil or margarine 1873 R. Barnes xl. 517 So-called resolutive pessaries of iodine, made up into conical balls, with cocoa-nut butter or other ingredients.] 1896 E. G. Smith x. 153 There seems no end to novelties by way of food preparations, and nut butter for table use is one of the latest. 1908 5 Aug. 2/3 Vegetarians cannot expect to be allowed to call their butter-substitute ‘nut butter’ when other people's butter-substitutes are called ‘margarine’. 1961 C. Loewenfeld tr. R. Bircher ii. iii. 246 Nut butter is a good and easily digested substitute for those who do not like, or should not have, butter. 1998 May–June 7/1 Choose..fillings that are low in saturated fats, such as eggs, soya spreads, nut butter, fish or lean meat, hummus or avocado. 1926–7 54/1 Chocolate..Nut (¼ lb. pkts.). 1955 M. Allingham xvi. 228 Offering Westy half a bar of nut chocolate. 1999 Christmas Eve Report in alt.support.diet (Usenet newsgroup) 25 Dec. I was almost full up so I only had some croccante..and two pieces of nut chocolate. 1970 13 Mar. 1486/3 Schmidt..found a vertical pattern developed only in the nacre of Pinna and in some specimens of the nut clam Nucula nuclea. 1982 No. 82 Nucula nucleus. Common Nut Clam. the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > hospital for the mentally ill c1906 ‘Sleepy’ Burke 9 I was sent to the ‘boobie hatch’ (jail), played ‘daffy’ (insane) and was landed in a ‘nut college’ (insane asylum). 1951 in H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner (1960) 360/2 He has been recalled by the nut college to join Napoleon..and Shakespeare, inventing paper dolls! the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food prepared from nuts > [noun] 1908 F. A. George ix. 113 Nut cutlets... Make into cutlet shapes. Egg and crumb. Fry in deep fat. 1925 D. H. Lawrence ?17 Dec. (1962) II. 871 So Sonya will never cook us another goose, only marmite pie and nut-cutlet. 1987 E. Ronay 9 On behalf of vegetarians we would have liked to see more variety—lentil soup, nut cutlets and omelettes are not the only items vegetarians eat. 1968 W. Safire 296 Nut-cutting, dirty work; a slang allusion to castration... To ‘get down to the nut-cutting’ means to abandon broad policy discussion and deal with hard specifics of patronage and pecking order. 1969 H. S. Thompson Let. 5 Oct. in (2000) 212 I have to get out a two-page mind-bender on local politics—threatening the freaks with mass nut-cutting if they fail to register and vote. 1990 R. Blount 37 I am here to learn about politics, pardon my French, at the nut-cuttin' level. the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > hospital for the mentally ill 1900 C. L. Cullen 129 I'm not speaking of..his failure to land the Melancholy Dane in a nut factory at the wind-up of the play. 1928 J. Callahan (1929) xiii. 156 They should have been in the ‘nut factory’..the insane department. 1966 D. V. Gallery 45 Don't call them mugs at the nut factory cops... Those bughouse keepers are all half-nuts themselves. 1973 ‘A. S.’ Preston & B. G. Cox 168 (glossary) Nut flush, ace-high flush. 1999 27 May ii. 7/5 Phil had K♢ 3♢, the second nut flush draw and nothing else, Tony had a seven to make a low pair and a jack-flush draw. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food prepared from nuts > [noun] 1905 Apr. 105 I will send any readers who wish for it an address where nut-foods can be had guaranteed free of pea-nuts. 1920 19 May 971 Nutter... Fats used in cooking. Mapleton's Nut Food Company, Limited,..Liverpool; food manufacturers. the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > following specific diet > [noun] > vegetarianism or veganism > vegetarian or vegan 1917 N. Douglas x. 142 He will be an anti-vivisectionist, a nut-fooder, costume-maniac.., or a spiritualist into the bargain. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > [noun] > tormentil plant or root a1300 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker (1884) I. 557/44 (MED) Turmentine, i. nutehede. 1952 E. L. Hartley xxii. 736 ‘You should go away to the nut-head house!’ Robin says. 1996 (Nexis) 29 June e2 A few nutheads are threatening to ruin this pleasant pastime. We must not let them. the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > hospital for the mentally ill 1906 C. M'Govern facing p. 32 (caption) Nut house. 1925 J. Dos Passos (1930) 297 Oh Francie they'll be takin us to the nuthouse if we keep this us. 1934 J. T. Farrell 217 Stella, you looney, cra-azy..in de fall, you go to de nut house. 1958 ‘N. Blake’ iii. 42 Miriam drives you into the nut-house. 1998 D. Danvers 321 I'm getting out of this nuthouse. Good-bye, Mom, Sad. It's been real. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > nut > [noun] > nutshell ?c1475 (BL Add. 15562) f. 87v A Nutte husynge, nucleus. 1844 H. Stephens I. 425 The head and handle are forged in one piece.., the latter part being formed into a nut-key. 1985 (Nexis) 20 Sept. (Weekend section) 7 Nut key, a must for getting stubborn chocks out again, about $5. 1991 A. Alvarez in I. Hamilton (1999) 460 The modern hard men are festooned with gear when they hit the rocks: artificial chockstones—called ‘nuts’ and ‘friends’..and other arcane goodies—sticht plates, nut-keys, descendeurs. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food prepared from nuts > [noun] 1931 137 Nut loaf. 1990 Apr. 13/3 Wouldn't it be nice if we were to take along some kind of vegetarian alternative? A nut loaf perhaps? the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > nut > [noun] > kernel the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > nut > [noun] > kernel 1860 Mar. 167/1 ‘I know what it was,’ said Tom, munching a particularly fine nut-meat. 1913 A. B. Emerson 102 The three boys stuck to their work..until there was a great bowl of nutmeats. 1989 C. R. Wilson & W. Ferris 41/1 Because of the high quality of the nut meat..the pecan has become the ‘queen of nuts’. 1918–19 Fall–Winter 385/2 Eaton's Nut Milk Chocolate... Each bar made from fine chocolate, milk and nuts. 1932 R. Lehmann iii. vi. 215 I preferred to spend the afternoon on the schoolroom sofa reading East Lynne and eating nut-milk chocolate. 1960 25 Dec. 13/3 When nut milk chocolate was 2d. a bar. the world > time > period > year > [noun] > specific days of the year 1867 122 380 ‘Nut-Monday’ is still a great occasion in Kendal. the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Myomorpha (mouse, rat, vole, or hamster) > [noun] > family Gliridae > genus Muscardinus (dormouse) 1607 E. Topsell 545 Of the Nut-Mouse, Hasell-Mouse, or Fildburd-Mouse. the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Pelecypoda or Conchifera > [noun] > bivalves 1705 (Royal Soc.) 24 1954 Chama Carolina... This Shell resembles our Nut-Muscle. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > palm trees > [noun] > sago palm or fern-palm the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > edible nuts or nut-trees > [noun] > other nuts 1889 J. H. Maiden 21 ‘Nut Palm’... Employed by the aborigines as food. An excellent farina is obtained from it. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > [noun] > family Sittidae > genus Sitta > sitta europaea (nuthatch) 1553 J. Withals f. 5v/1 A nut pecker, or nut iobber, sitta, tae. 1589 J. Rider 1703 A Nut-pecker, or nut iobber. Sitta. society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > local or municipal taxes or dues > [noun] > other local or municipal dues or taxes > in specific parts of country 1472 in J. C. Hodgson (1921) 45 (MED) Collectio nucum. Et de ij s. ij d. receptis de Nutpennys collectis ibidem ad festum Michaelis de tenentibus vt in precedentibus. 1702 in J. C. Hodgson (1904) VII. 316 The rent called Nutt pennys. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > [noun] > pines and allies 1845 J. C. Frémont 221 A pine tree..which Dr. Torrey has described as a new species, under the name of pinus monophyllus; in popular language, it might be called the nut pine. 1872 R. W. Raymond 11 The Cuyanne Mountain is thickly covered with nut-pine timber. 1969 T. H. Everett 50/2 The piñon or Mexican stone pine (P. cembroides) is small and spreading and, like its variety P. c. edulis, the nut pine, produces delicious edible seeds or ‘nuts’. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > trees or plants bearing stone fruit > plum-tree > grafted to other type of tree 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny I. xv. xiii. 437 Those Plums..that are graffed in Nut-tree stocks..retaine the face and forme still of the mother graffe, but they get the tast of the stocke wherein they are set..: of them both they carrie the name, and are called Nut-plums. 1611 J. Florio at Nocipruna The Nut-plumbe. 1917 F. S. Henry 288 En,—one-half of an em. Owing to the similarity in sound of em and en, the en quad is frequently spoken of as the ‘nut’ quad, and the em as the ‘mutton’ quad. 1970 R. K. Kent 93 Nut quad, an en quadrat. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food prepared from nuts > [noun] 1925 M. Wijey 448 Nut roast. 1982 D. Smith 326 Curried nut roast. This is the perfect recipe to serve anyone who feels that vegetarian food might be boring. 2001 (Nexis) 27 Dec. 32 Christmas is always a bad time for veggies, especially when the family is munching away on turkey and you're left with a dried-out nutroast. society > occupation and work > equipment > screwdrivers, wrenches, spanners > [noun] > spanner or wrench > other spanners or wrenches 1958 R. M. Barnes (ed. 4) xvii. 288 The multiple-spindle air-operated nut runner..is used to tighten all five wheel nuts at once. 1966 Dec. 97/2 Suitable for light duties and often employed with power screwdrivers and nutrunners, another type of torque limiting device utilizes a spring-loaded steel ball. 1987 B. Leatham-Jones v. 119 Powered tools such as grinders, drills and nut runners. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sedges 1843 J. Torrey II. 368 Scleria laxa..Loose-flowered Nut-rush. 1857 C. L. Flint 108 (table) Sessile-spiked Nut-rush. Scleria reticularis... Sandy swamps and borders of ponds. 1990 Sept. 27/2 Spongy soils..give rise to five rare plant species, three of which—the small-fringed gentian.., capillary beakbrush.., and low nut rush (Scleria verticillata)—are endangered in the state. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sedges 1861 A. Wood 746 Scleria, L. Nut Sedge. 1969 20 Feb. 385/1 The world's worst weeds..include purple nut-sedge, Bermuda grass..cogon grass, and lantana. 1988 29 May h1 It [sc. glyphosate] is..valuable in controlling Canada thistle, field bindweed, milkweed, nutsedge, cattails and poison ivy on rural properties. society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > local or municipal taxes or dues > [noun] > other local or municipal dues or taxes > in specific parts of country 1311 in N. Neilson (1898) App. 33 (MED) Idem reddit compotum..de iii s. vii d. ob. de Notesilver. 1569 in J. C. Hodgson (1904) VII. 306 All the tenants pay yearly by ancient custom..Nutsylver. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food prepared from nuts > [noun] 1908 2 Sept. 3/4 High thinking is still nourished upon the banana and the nut-steak. 1922 J. Joyce ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 158 Why do they call that thing they gave me nutsteak? Nutarians. Fruitarians. To give you the idea you are eating rumpsteak. 1966 K. Giles iv. 103 The man..is a vegetarian... He had a nut steak. society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > walnut 1701 C. Wooley 75 They had Needles of Wood, for which Nut-wood was esteemed best. 1840 J. F. Cooper I. i. 15 Of this [lesser] class were the birch,..the quivering aspen, various generous nut-woods, and divers others that resembled the ignoble and vulgar. 1915 xiv. 7 Then more volcanic downs with bauhinia and nutwood for about six miles. 1979 Summer 116 Nutwood or ebony chests and the miscellaneous commodities of the ‘cultured’ crafts..—all attest to this early preoccupation with the refinement of domestic taste. Derivatives 1834 M. R. Mitford iv. ii. 53 My scared comrade in the midst Of the stream turned roaring back, and gained the bank Nutless and wet. 1931 J. S. Huxley i. 28 The plantations [of coconuts]..were reduced to nutless, leafless poles. 1992 (Nexis) 4 Mar. d4 Here's a recipe for a fabulous dessert... I like the nutless version. 2002 Aug. 89/3 The invisible, nutless connector—kind of a high-strength, high-tech molly bolt—was preferable to through-bolting. 1653 W. Basse Pastorals & Other Poems in (1893) 331 Though some sayd he bore a Nut-like fruite, Most voyces held 'twas but a kinde of Mast. 1830 J. Lindley 181 Seeds nut-like. 1910 44 286 Nor is the nut-like character of the seed a constant character, for the nut-pine of Italy is a hard pine. 2001 B. Geddes 240/2 Though acrid-tasting in its raw state, the root has a somewhat nutlike flavor when cooked. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † nutn.2Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Middle Low German nütte , Old High German nuzzī , Old Icelandic nyt (also in sense ‘produce’; usually in plural nytjar ), Old Swedish nyt , nytta , nytte (Swedish nytta ), Old Danish nyt , nyttæ (Danish nytte ) < the Germanic base of note n.1 Swedish and Danish forms with -tt- are perhaps after Middle Low German nütte . Compare nut adj.1, nitte v. Obsolete. the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > advantage, profit, or use eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius (Otho) xxxv. 101 We..woldon ðæt hit wurde to nytte ðam geherendum. OE Wærferð tr. Gregory (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) ii. xxvii. 158 Þæt he ageafe his maniendum þa xii[scillingas] & þone ænne hæfde him to his agenre nytte. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1978) 13428 A he seide þat Bruttes neoren noht to nuttes, ah he seide þat þa Peohtes weoren gode cnihtes. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online December 2020). † nutadj.1Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian nette , Middle Dutch nutte , Old Saxon nutti (Middle Low German nütte ), Old High German nuzzi (Middle High German nütze , German (now rare) nütze ), Old Danish nut , nyt < the Germanic base of nut n.2 Compare unnut adj. Obsolete. the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > [adjective] OE 55 Hu nyt bið þæm men þeh he geornlice gehyre þa word þæs halgan godspelles, gif he þa nel on his heortan habban & healdan? lOE (Laud) anno 1009 Ac we gyt næfdon þa geselða, ne þone wurðscipe þæt seo scipfyrd nytt wære ðisum earde. c1250 in (1935) 70 242 (MED) Þe engles þat deliuerede him, wel heo weren nut. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1978) 9470 Wel is þe man nut [c1300 Otho init], þe sæhtnesse wurcheð. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham (1902) 103 (MED) Þou proud erþe of lompet, Ine felþe þou schelt lygge, Þou ert nauȝt elles neȝt. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022). nutv. Inflections: Present participle nutting; past tense and past participle nutted; Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nut n.1 Etymology: < nut n.1 Compare earlier nutting n.1 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > picking or gathering > [verb (intransitive)] > gather nuts c1670 A. Wood (1891) I. 176 A. W. went to angle with William Staine of Mert. coll. to Wheately bridge and nutted in Shotover by the way. 1799 M. Hays II. x. 193 I was joined in my way by a party of the village-children, who had been nutting, and who hastened to present to me a share of their spoil. 1866 ‘G. Eliot’ I. Introd. 4 Perhaps the urchins were already nutting amongst them [sc. the hedgerows]. 1894 R. Kipling 104 They talked about the Pacific as boys would talk about a wood that they had been nutting in. 1919 49 97 They..wander over the country..nutting from place to place. the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > flatter servilely or curry favour with [verb (transitive)] 1789 [implied in: G. Parker xv. 171 Now another drop genius is planted upon you, to turn you up, as they call it... This is called nutting of you. (at nutting n.1 2)]. 1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in II. 192 Nut, to please a person by any little act of assiduity, by a present, or by flattering words, is called nutting him; as the present, &c., by which you have gratified them is termed a nut. 1823 P. Egan (rev. ed.) Nuts, the cove's nutting the blowen; the man is trying to please the girl. 1846 ‘Lord Chief Baron’ (new ed.) 77 Send I may live, if you arnt a stunner to nuts a mot!] 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ 563 The ends of the abutments are also made of iron, screwed, or nutted, at each of the ends. 1830 308/2 All her feelings..seem to have been screwed down and nutted. 1894 T. Elliston 54 The rack pillars are sometimes screwed into the upper boards and the rackboards nutted up. 1927 4 Nov. 871 You have girders like a set of meccano toys. You will see them coming in ready to be bolted and nutted. 1994 2 Sept. 19/2 The story is nutted and bolted in the crudest way: fancy Mr Rochester dressing up as a fortune-teller! 4. U.S. slang. the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > infertility > infertile [verb (transitive)] > castrate or spay > castrate 1916 H. N. Cary II. 13 Nut,..to castrate. 1918 M. Cowley Let. in (1988) 63 Tell Ellis to go nut himself on a briar bush. 1997 Aug. 64/1 The right of a doggy not to be nutted at the vet's. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with > specifically of a man 1971 E. E. Landy 140 Did you nut her? 1993 8 July 128/1 See, we bag on guys that romance whores... Whores you just nut and you leave. 1994 (Other ways to Masturbate) in alt.sex.masturbation (Usenet newsgroup) 16 June After pulling my dick for a bit, I greased it up with olive oil, and within 30 seconds or so I thought I was going to nut. 2007 W. Clark 2 As soon as he saw I was about to nut he slid them [sc. his fingers] out and told me to finish myself off. 2016 @PoosyChips 13 Nov. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Rafa is the type of person that'll use the same tissue he nutted in to blow his nose with. the mind > mental capacity > thought > think [verb (intransitive)] 1919 W. H. Downing 36 Nut it out, think it out. 1953 K. Tennant iv. 38 Just nut that out. 1965 M. Shadbolt xiii. 112 I haven't nutted out what I'm going to say about the poultry. 1990 15 Mar. 7/2 If you have trouble nutting this maths problem out, the Australian Mathematics Competition is not for you. the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the head 1937 E. Partridge 575/1 Nut,..to punch on the head. 1954 S. Milligan in (1972) 73 Ohhhhh—my nut—ohh—I have been hitted on my bonce—oh, I have been nutted—I was kipping on the grass and suddenly—thud! 1966 D. Skirrow xiv. 61 The tearaway special nowadays is to hug tight, rupture his kidneys and nut him hard. 1971 J. Mandelkau xiii. 145 He took it off and as I was getting out of mine he nutted me in the head. 1985 T. Parker xii. 163 They say when you see a brick coming towards you, you jump up in the air and nut it. 1974 21 Apr. 5/8 A dead man is just said to be ‘away for his tea’, has been ‘nutted’, or is ‘tatey bread’. 1983 5 Jan. 1/7 The reason we're doing this is because of the way we're being treated in here. They're nutting people off. People are dying in the hospital. 1984 E. Fairweather et al. ii. 69 He lives inside the prison now, never sets foot outside the gates. He's hated so much he knows he'd be nutted straight away. 1992 M. Urban xi. 102 Killing touts—‘nutting’ them in IRA slang—had been going on for years. The first had been slain in 1971. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022). > as lemmasNUT society > occupation and work > working > association of employers or employees > [noun] > trade union > other specific trade unions 1889 4 May 634/1 In place of the familiar initials, N.U.E.T. we have the shorter, and let us hope the improved, form of N.U.T... The objects of the N.U.E.T. remain the objects of the N.U.T. 1973 L. Holcombe iii. 39 The National Union of Teachers..was organized in 1870... In 1911 the N.U.T. elected its first woman president. 1999 Mar. 3/2 That anger will not be confined to members of the NUT which is why the union is asking the other teacher unions to join it in holding indicative ballots. < |
