rhubarbn.adj.

Brit.

/ˈruːbɑːb/, U.S.

/ˈruˌbɑrb/

Forms: Middle English rembarbe (probably transmission error), Middle English reuballe (probably transmission error), Middle English reubarb, Middle English reubard, Middle English rubarbi, Middle English rvbarb, Middle English rwbarbe, Middle English–1500s rebarbe, Middle English–1500s rubarde, Middle English–1500s ruberbe, Middle English–1600s reubarbe, Middle English–1600s rewbarbe, Middle English–1600s rubarbe, 1500s reubarde, 1500s reuberbe, 1500s rhewbarbe, 1500s ruibarb, 1500s ruibarbe, 1500s ryobarbe, 1500s–1600s rewbarb, 1500s–1600s rheubarb, 1500s–1600s rheubarbe, 1500s–1600s rubard, 1500s–1700s rubarb, 1500s– rhubarb, 1600s rhebarb, 1600s rhubarbe, 1600s ruberb, 1600s ruybarbe, 1800s rhubard (regional), 1900s– rheeubub (English regional (Yorkshire)), 1900s– rioobub (English regional (Yorkshire)); Scottish pre-1700 reubarb, pre-1700 reubarbe, pre-1700 reuburb, pre-1700 rubarb, pre-1700 rubarbe, pre-1700 ruberb, pre-1700 ruebarb, 1700s– rhubarb, 1800s rhubbarb, 1800s– rooberub, 1800s– roobrub, 1900s– rewburd, 2000s– rhubert; U.S. regional 1900s– rhuberb, 1900s– rhubub, 1900s– rue-bub. See also rhabarb n.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French reubarbe.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French reubarbe, Middle French rubarbe, rebarbe (French rhubarbe ; in Middle French also reu barbare ) rhubarb, plant of the genus Rheum (13th cent. in Old French) < post-classical Latin reubarbarum , rheubarbarum (a636 in Isidore; 13th cent. in British sources; also rubarbera (1480)), probably < Hellenistic Greek ῥῆον βάρβαρον < ῥῆον rhubarb (see Rheum n.²) + ancient Greek βάρβαρον , neuter of βάρβαρος (see barbarous adj.). Compare post-classical Latin reubarbum (13th cent. in British sources; also rybarba (1365)), Old Occitan reubarbe (13th cent.), Catalan ruibarbre (14th cent.; formerly also riubarbre , riubarb , riubarber , riubarbar , riubàrbara , etc.), Spanish ruibarbo (14th cent.; formerly also ruibarbvo ), Portuguese ruibarbo (15th cent.; formerly also reubarbo , rheubarbo ); compare also French and Latin forms cited at rhabarb n. and rhabarbarum n., and also Italian rabarbaro (14th cent. as reubarbaro ; formerly also rabarbero , ribarbaro , ribarbero , riobarbaro , etc.). Compare rhabarbarum n., and also rhapontic n.Compare also Middle Dutch rebarbe , rebarber (Dutch rabarber ; formerly also rhabarber , rubarber , robarber , rubarbe , rhabarbo , etc.), Middle Low German rebarber , rebarbar , reubarber , reubarbar , Middle High German reubarber , rebarbe (early modern German reubarbar , also rhabarbara , rabarber , German Rhabarber ). Forms from Dutch or German are reflected in a number of early modern English texts, e.g.:1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. xciii. R iiij Take Rebarbere [Ger. rebarbara] one dragma.1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. x. 328 Of Reubarbe, or Rhabarba.1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Methodicalle Disc. in Frenche Chirurg. f. 49/1 An ounce of Cassie..with halfe a dragme of Rabarber.1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. lxxxi. 126/2 Rhabarbo [Du. rhabarbo], Manna, and such like costlie Apothecaries ware. In the form rubarbi after the Latin genitive. Sense A. 5 perhaps arose from sense A. 4, although this is not certain. Use in this sense (in Baseball contexts) is often said to have been coined by the U.S. sports writer Garry Schumacher and popularized by the broadcaster Red Barber. Perhaps compare also use in the sense ‘mess, hilarious disturbance’ in the same period. In sense A. 6 perhaps originally a code word.

A. n.

I. Senses relating to plants.

a. Originally: an exotic plant producing the medicinal rootstock known as rhubarb, rhabarbarum, or rhapontic (see sense A. 2a) (later identified as any of several, mainly Chinese, species of the genus Rheum). In later use: any plant of the genus Rheum, comprising rhizomatous herbaceous plants with very large palmate or rounded basal leaves, native esp. to China and other temperate parts of Asia; esp. (more fully common rhubarb, garden rhubarb) any of the kinds grown in gardens or commercially for their edible acidic leaf-stalks, known as R. x hybridum or R. x cultorum (probably hybrids derived from R. rhaponticum) . R. rhaponticum (see rhapontic n. 1) appears to have been the first plant accurately identified by European botanists as a source of the drug, around the beginning of the 17th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Polygonaceae (dock and allies) > [noun] > dock and allies

red dockeOE

dockc1000

rhubarbc1390

docken1423

patience?a1425

round dock1526

Rumex1565

wild patience1578

bloody dock1597

monk's rhubarb1597

Welsh sorrel1640

butterdock1688

mountain rhapontic1728

mountain sorrel1753

Rheum1753

redshank1810

patience dock1816

fiddle-dock1823

canaigre1868

nettle-docken1891

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > Chinese rhubarb

rhubarbc1390

rhabarbarum1533

rhabarb1558

the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > cleansing or expelling medicines > [noun] > purgative > plant-derived

scammonyc1000

lign-aloesc1374

hiera picra1379

rhubarbc1390

aloea1398

cassia fistulaa1398

coloquintidaa1398

senec1400

turpethc1400

coloquintc1420

diagrydium1436

lignum aloes1525

rhabarbarum1533

xylaloes1540

manna1541

scilla1548

hyera?1550

emblic1555

diasenna1562

colocynth1565

tragonce1575

pinyon1577

mechoacan1587

lignum aquilae1600

gamboge1615

dragon-root1621

helleborism1621

diaprune1625

alhandal1630

makinboy1652

luskard1653

diagrydiate1657

physic nut1657

aloetic1661

scammoniate1665

jalap1675

aloedary1683

coloquinto1683

Briançon manna1688

liquorice powder1712

coloquintid1732

castor oil1746

senna-tea1752

higry pigry1773

Turkey rhubarb1789

argel1803

hickery-pickery1816

cathartin1823

aloin1828

croton oil1829

jalapin1832

syrmaea1833

bryonin1836

gambogic acid1837

Podophyllum1844

podophyllin1851

geropiga1852

hicra picra1857

Montpellier turpeth1860

picra1860

tallicoona oil1866

scammonin1868

pharbitisin1873

cascara sagrada1879

senna-draught1879

tambor-oil1890

syrup of figs1897

pharbitin1899

the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > stalk vegetables > [noun] > rhubarb

rha1578

rhubarb1650

tusky1957

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > stalk vegetables > garden rhubarb

rhapontic?c1425

rha1578

Pontic rhubarb1597

rhubarb1650

Indian rhubarb1652

monk's rhubarb1737

pie plant1838

c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) 112 (MED) Columbyne and Charuwe clottes þei creue, With Ruwe and Rubarbe, Ragget ariht.

c1475 tr. Secreta Secret. (Tripolitanus abbrev.) (1977) 362 When the wyne is taken outrageouslye..It causeth the mouth to stynk..he chaungeth his nature as doth an herb callid reubarbe [a1500 Lamb. Reubarb].

1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry f. 41^v Necessarie herbes to growe in the garden for Phisick & bathes not reherst before... 17 Rewe. 18 Rubarb.

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. x. 328 There be diuers sortes of Rha, or as it is nowe called Rheubarbe.

1650 W. Denton Let. to R. Verney 21 Mar. (MS.) I have..sent you 30 small roots of rhubarb. The leaves will be as bige as the burdock..but of a finer green.

1656 C. Irvine Medicina Magnetica ii. 49 Thou mayst also in all diseases of the liver, and the meseraicks use with good successe, an extract of Rhubarb.

a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1654 (1955) III. 110 We went to the Physick Garden... There Grew Canes, Olive Tres, Rhubarb.

1765 J. Hope Let. 24 Sept. in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1766) 55 290 I received from Doctor Mounsey the seeds of the Rheum palmatum, which he assured me were the seeds of the true Rhubarb.

1797 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 206/2 Rheum..1. The Rhaponticum, or common rhubarb... It grows in Thrace and Scythia, but has been long in English gardens... The plant being astringent, its young stalks in spring, being cut and peeled, are used for tarts.

1827 Q. Jrnl. Sci., Lit., & Art July 168 The famous rhubarb, which has of late acquired so much celebrity under the name of Buck's rhubarb;..this sort is the genuine Rheum undulatum.

1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 503 Oxalic acid is copiously formed in both Docks and Rhubarbs.

1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 June 5/2 In most gardens the rhubarbs are considered only in their capacity as food suppliers, but at Kew they are allowed to assume their natural characters.

1934 C. C. Steele Introd. Plant Biochem. iv. xii. 129 In several of the very acid plants, such as Rhubarb and Begonia, it has..been shown that the acids are derived by the elimination of ammonia from, or ‘deamination’ of, amino-acids.

1968 Times 5 Sept. 14/5 Commercial stocks of several varieties of rhubarb are known to be widely infected with various viruses that cause diseases if they infect other plants.

1992 H. Mitchell One Man's Garden iii. 56 The leaves [of hogwort] are a foot or so across, somewhat wrinkled, like a rhubarb or gunnera.

2001 BBC Gardeners' World Feb. 27/4 In the kitchen garden..cover early varieties of rhubarb with forcing jars.

b. The long, fleshy, typically pale-red leaf-stalks of garden rhubarb, which are cooked and eaten when young and tender, usually being treated as a fruit and stewed with sugar, used as an ingredient in pies, made into jams, etc. Frequently attributive (see Compounds 1c).

ΚΠ

?1760 H. Glasse Compl. Confectioner 236 To make rhubarb tarts. Take stalks of English rhubarb..peel and cut it the size of goosberries; sweeten it, and make them as you do goosberry tarts.

1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery xx. 428 Compote of spring fruit.—(Rhubarb.) Take a pound of the stalks... Have ready a quarter-pint of water boiled gently..with five ounces of sugar, or with six should the fruit be very acid; put it in, and simmer it [etc.].

1860 A. Wynter Curiosities of Civilisation 236 Rhubarb is almost wholly furnished by the London market-gardeners. It was first introduced by Mr. Miatt forty years ago, who sent his two sons to the Borough Market with five bunches, of which they only sold three.

1877 Cassell's Dict. Cookery 730/1 Early forced rhubarb, or champagne rhubarb, as it is called, is especially prized for its beautiful colour.

1914 M. Byron Pot-luck xiii. 191 Devon ‘stir-up’ pudding... This pudding is also excellent when made with rhubarb, gooseberries, or any sort of fruit.

1968 M. Pyke Food & Society viii. 104 And then there is rhubarb. Generations of children..have been compelled to eat up this vegetable masquerading as a fruit ‘to do them good’.

2005 Independent 19 Feb. (Mag.) 41/4 Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 15–20 minutes on a fairly high heat, until the rhubarb is soft.

a. The dried rootstock of any of various plants of the genus Rheum, typically imported to Europe from China and used medicinally as a purgative and astringent; spec. (more fully Chinese rhubarb) that of R. palmatum, of north-western China, and (more fully Tibetan rhubarb) that of R. officinale, of western China (including Tibet). Cf. rhabarb n., rhabarbarum n., rhapontic n. 1. Now chiefly historical.Rhubarb from China was also called Russian rhubarb, Turkey rhubarb, and East Indian rhubarb, according to its route of importation. English rhubarb was obtained from R. rhaponticum (see rhapontic n. 1).

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > root > specific roots

zedoaryOE

madderOE

setwall?c1225

liquoricec1275

rhubarba1400

ireosc1400

liquorice-racec1400

sage root14..

maple root1523

liquorice-root1530

rhabarbarum1533

orris1545

turmeric1545

cypressc1550

pyrethrum1562

china1582

China root1588

orris root1598

red squill1629

ginseng1654

ague root1676

poke root1687

cassumunar1693

nettle root1707

valerian root1747

belly-ache-root1775

Indian root1775

Turkey rhubarb1789

sumbul1791

serpentaria1803

Honduras sarsaparilla1818

serpentary1837

sang1843

savanilla1856

manaca1866

gelsemium1875

sanguinaria1875

Indian turmeric1890

a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 182 (MED) Aneuen do þeron poudre of mirabolani citrin [dram] j & of rubarbe.

?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 197^v Rubarbarum, Rubarbe, is a rote h. & d...founden in barbarie, in ynde.

?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 473 (MED) Take ginger, canel, long pepur..rubarbi, reupontici, of ichone nine pennyweight.

1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. bvij Take Rasne and Rubarbe and grynde it to gedre.

a1500 in Englische Studien (1885) 8 281 (MED) A pece of good rebarbe the quantite of a grote is sette alle nyght in a pece with water, the whiche rebarbe maketh an esy laxatife.

a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. H.viii^v The phisicions with a lyttell Rubarb purge many humours of the body.

1535 A. Borde Let. in Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) Foreword 56 I haue sentt to your mastershepp the seedes off reuberbe, the which come owtt off barbary.

1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 317 The best Rubarbe is that which is brought from China fresh and newe... The second in goodnes is that which cometh from Barbarie. The last and woorst from Bosphorus and Pontus.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. iii. 57 What Rubarb, Cyme, or what Purgatiue drugge Would scowre these English hence.

1666 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities 175 We find, that Tamarinds, Rhubarb, Senna, and many other Simples will for divers years, after they have been depriv'd of their former Vegetative Soul, retain their Purgative and other Specifick properties.

1703 Duke of Marlborough Let. 7 June in H. L. Snyder Marlborough–Godolphin Corr. (1975) I. 193 I did in my former letters desire that some more rubarb and licherish might be sent mee.

1789 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) 1 94 Such as is commonly sold in the shops under the name of Turkey or Russia Rhubarb.

1829 J. Togno & E. Durand tr. H. Milne-Edwards & P. Vavasseur Man. Materia Medica x. 399 The Russian rhubarb..is in pieces somewhat flattened,..with a hole in the middle... The Chinese rhubarb is in round pieces,..generally with small holes,..and covered over with a yellowish powder.

1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. 621 English rhubarb is obtained from R[heum] Rhaponticum, and is now extensively employed in the hospitals of this country..but is not so active as the officinal kinds of rhubarb.

1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 243 The East Indian or Chinese rhubarb, which is shipped from Canton to Europe.

1911 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 273/1 Subsequently to the year 1653..Chinese rhubarb reached Europe chiefly by way of Moscow; and in 1704 the rhubarb trade became a monopoly of the Russian government, in consequence of which the term ‘Russian’ or ‘crown’ rhubarb came to be applied to it.

1921 Lancet 30 July 254/2 (title) The use of rhubarb in bacillary dysentery.

1995 M. Fairburn Nearly Out of Heart & Hope viii. 131 He fought the diarrhoea by drinking a combination of whisky, port and brandy, or (less often) a concoction called Turkey Rhubarb.

2007 D. Robin et al. Encycl. Women in Renaissance 265/1 Those who could afford them included expensive imported extravagances in certain remedies, including sugar, saffron, Tibetan rhubarb, and even ground pearls.

†b. figurative. Sourness; bitterness. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [noun] > bitterness or acridity

gallc1175

smartnessa1425

rhubarba1529

acrimony1542

acridity1547

amaritude1599

acerbity1608

acrity1619

asperity1620

acritude1650

acridness1702

bitterishness1702

crabbedness1715

acerbitude1727

amarulence1727

bitterness-

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Giii^v Nowe must I make you a lectuary softe... With rubarbe of repentaunce in you for to rest.

1591 J. Harington Briefe Apol. Poetrie in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso sig. ¶ivj^v In verse is both goodnesse and sweetnesse, Rubarb and Sugarcandie, the pleasaunt and the profitable.

1613 G. Chapman Reuenge Bussy D'Ambois iii. sig. F1^v Since tis such Ruberb to you, Ile therefore search no more.

1631 Foxe's Actes & Monuments (ed. 7) III. Contin. sig. B The conscience..ceaseth not to retaine a scruple or dramme of Rubarb mingled heerewith.

3. Any of various plants resembling those of the genus Rheum, esp. in the purgative property of their root or the size of their leaves. Usually with distinguishing word.bastard, meadow, monk's, prickly rhubarb, etc.: see the first element.

ΚΠ

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xxx. 42 The first great Thalietron or Bastard Rewbarbe.

1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum ii. iii. 154 Garden Patience is a Docke bearing the name of Rhubarbe, for some small purging quality therein.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. vi. §xxv. 102 Butter Dock, or Rubarbe,..having a large crumpled leaf..with long stalks.

1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Lapathum Round-leav'd Alpine Dock, by some call'd Monks Rhubarb.

?1795 W. A. Osbaldiston Universal Sportsman 270/2 Make him [sc. a horse] eat root of bastard rhubarb, or the herb patience, which grows almost in all countries and is a kind of wild sorrel.

1802 A. F. M. Willich Domest. Encycl. III. (at cited word) Common Meadow-rue, Spurious Rhubarb, or Rue-weed.

1849 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. §992 Begonia obliqua is said to have purgative roots, and is sometimes called wild rhubarb.

1900 Cent. Bk. Gardening 98/2 Gunneras are called ‘Prickly Rhubarbs’, and the big leaves are not unlike those of a large Rhubarb.

1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xiii. 222 Connie looked at the great grey leaves of burdock... The people call it Robin Hood's Rhubarb.

1983 I. Garrard & D. Streeter Wild Flowers of Brit. Isles 251/1 Rumex alpinus L. Monk's-rhubarb... It was originally introduced into northern Britain as a pot-herb.

2006 A. Clevely Water Garden (2007) iv. 94 (caption) Water- and bog-plants display some of the most dramatically varied foliage, from the intricate symmetry of fern fronds.., to..the arresting extravagance of prickly rhubarb (Gunnera manicata).

II. Other senses.

a. A murmurous background noise, an indistinct conversation, esp. the repetition of the word ‘rhubarb’ by actors to represent such a conversation or the noise of a crowd. Usually reduplicated.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > unintelligible language, gibberish > [noun] > meaningless repetition

lip-labour?1548

lip-labouring1549

hibber-gibber1593

lip-work1631

echolalia1885

parrotese1889

rhubarb1919

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > words spoken by actors > types of

cue1553

anteloquy1623

aside1728

catchword1755

side soliloquy1842

gag1847

gravy1864

fluff1891

laugh line1913

rhubarb1919

curtain line1939

walla1949

1919 Motion Picture Mag. Feb. 37/1 He didn't carry a spear in this dramatic masterpiece, probably because there were no spears to carry, but he did grumble, ‘Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb’ off stage to make up the angry mob.

1934 A. P. Herbert Holy Deadlock 194 The chorus excitedly rushed about and muttered ‘Rhubarb!’

1952 Radio Times 17 Oct. 11/3 The unemployed actors had a wonderful time. We'd huddle together in a corner and repeat ‘Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb’ or ‘My fiddle, my fiddle, my fiddle’—and it sounded like a big scene from some mammoth production.

1958 Observer 7 Dec. 18/5 Actors, who shout ‘rhubarb—rhubarb—rhubarb’ to give the impression of a distant riot.

1960 J. Betjeman Summoned by Bells ix. 105 And in the next-door room is heard the tramp And ‘rhubarb, rhubarb’ as the crowd rehearse A one-act play in verse.

1972 P. Dickinson Lizard in Cup xi. 174 The conversation..was meaningless; they might just as well have been muttering ‘rhubarb, rhubarb’.

1976 Gramophone June 71/2 I wondered if the chorus would have made a better effect had the words been less clearly articulated (like actors in a crowd scene muttering ‘rhubarb’).

2007 K. Foxlee Anat. of Wings 142 When we saw her we put our heads down and pretended to be in a very interesting conversation. ‘Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb’, said Angela. ‘Is that her?’

b. slang. Nonsense; worthless stuff.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun]

magged talea1387

moonshine1468

trumperyc1485

foolishness1531

trash1542

baggage1545

flim-flam1570

gear1570

rubbisha1576

fiddle-faddle1577

stuff1579

fible-fable1581

balductum1593

pill1608

nonsense1612

skimble-skamble1619

porridge1642

mataeology1656

fiddle-come-faddle1663

apple sauce1672

balderdash1674

flummery1749

slang1762

all my eye1763

diddle-daddle1778

(all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781

twaddle1782

blancmange1790

fudge1791

twiddle-twaddle1798

bothering1803

fee-faw-fum1811

slip-slop1811

nash-gab1816

flitter-tripe1822

effutiation1823

bladderdash1826

ráiméis1828

fiddlededee1843

pickles1846

rot1846

kelter1847

bosh1850

flummadiddle1850

poppycock1852

Barnum1856

fribble-frabble1859

kibosh1860

skittle1864

cod1866

Collyweston1867

punk1869

slush1869

stupidness1873

bilge-water1878

flapdoodle1878

tommyrot1880

ruck1882

piffle1884

flamdoodle1888

razzmatazz1888

balls1889

pop1890

narrischkeit1892

tosh1892

footle1894

tripe1895

crap1898

bunk1900

junk1906

quatsch1907

bilge1908

B.S.1912

bellywash1913

jazz1913

wash1913

bullshit?1915

kid-stakes1916

hokum1917

bollock1919

bullsh1919

bushwa1920

noise1920

bish-bosh1922

malarkey1923

posh1923

hooey1924

shit1924

heifer dust1927

madam1927

baloney1928

horse feathers1928

phonus-bolonus1929

rhubarb1929

spinach1929

toffeea1930

tomtit1930

hockey1931

phoney baloney1933

moody1934

cockalorum1936

cock1937

mess1937

waffle1937

berley1941

bull dust1943

crud1943

globaloney1943

hubba-hubba1944

pish1944

phooey1946

asswipe1947

chickenshit1947

slag1948

batshit1950

goop1950

slop1952

cack1954

doo-doo1954

cobbler1955

horse shit1955

nyamps1955

pony1956

horse manure1957

waffling1958

bird shit1959

codswallop1959

how's your father1959

dog shit1963

cods1965

shmegegge1968

pucky1970

taradiddle1970

mouthwash1971

wank1974

gobshite1977

mince1985

toss1990

arse1993

1929 Rock Valley (Iowa) Bee 22 Feb. 14/5 Clemenceau said in a recent interview:..I want to tell you that I am through with politics... I will tell you what it is, politics. It is rhubarb.

1963 Radio Times 3 Oct. 17/1 Dig this Rhubarb..a new kind of television entertainment... There is no shortage of writers for television so long as you are not particular about whether they are still alive or not.

1976 Telegraph (Brisbane) 6 July 12/2 They gave me some rhubarb about violating the firework zone.

1979 Times 22 Feb. 5/7 We should look at the individual... Whether he or she went to the right school..that's rhubarb.

1989 S. Armitage Zoom (BNC) 54 Poetry was rhubarb. Books were for eggheads.

5. U.S. slang (originally Baseball). A heated dispute, a row.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > [noun] > noisy or angry quarrel > instance of

ganglinga1387

altercation1410

brawla1500

heat1549

wranglea1555

brabble1566

paroxysm1578

wrangling1580

brangle1600

branglement1617

rixation1623

row1746

skimmington1753

mêlée1765

breeze1785

squeal1788

hash1789

rook1808

blow-up1809

blowout1825

scena1826

reerie1832

catfight1854

barney1855

wigs on the green1856

bull and cow1859

scrap1890

slanging match1896

snap1897

up-and-downer1927

brannigan1941

rhubarb1941

bitch fight1949

punch-up1958

shout-up1965

shouting match1970

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [noun] > disturbance or argument on field

rhubarb1941

1941 N.Y. Times 19 May 20/6 There was what the boys call ‘a bit of a rhubarb’ in the eighth when Cavarretta tried to steal home... In the ensuing run-down, the Cubs charged Phil's progress was illegally blocked by Lavagetto.

1943 Baseballing Jan. 369/3 A ‘rhubarb’, which has become Brooklynese for a heated verbal run-in, especially between players and umpires.

1949 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 17 Jan. 3/2 The citizen waiting for a streetcar yesterday was of several minds about the ‘rhubarb’ between the Virginia Transit Company and its drivers.

1959 Washington Post 11 Feb. c5/1 Among those who had bets on Dorothy's Best in Monday's false start rhubarb,..most were back to racing's cold war.

1976 National Observer (U.S.) 3 July 15/3 To be conned? Now that always starts a rhubarb, and in this week's hand it started when a defender fell for a pseudo end-play.

2004 Sporting News 25 Oct. 60 After Nascar's fine of $2,500 per letter for a four-letter expletive,..couldn't baseball get rich by hiring the Lip Readers Association of America to monitor rhubarbs at home plate?

6. Military slang. A low-level flight for opportunistic strafing. Now historical.

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society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > [noun] > air operation > type of

stooge1942

rhubarb1943

rhubarbing1943

shuttle raid1943

1943 Time 22 Mar. 51/1 When a fighter pilot flies low over France, strafing whatever he finds—trains, troops, airdromes—he is ‘on a rhubarb’.

1945 C. H. Ward-Jackson It's a Piece of Cake (new ed.) 51 Rhubarb.., a ground-strafing, go-for-anything-you-see worthwhile sortie.

1956 J. E. Johnson Wing Leader vi. 80 Usually our Rhubarb efforts yielded little more than a staff car.

1958 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 9 Sept. 3/1 It took some little time to fathom that a ‘rhubarb’ was a swift sortie by two Spitfires sweeping at ‘nought feet’ over enemy territory, strafing anything military looking in sight.

1987 Aviation News 6–19 Mar. 1040/3 The squadron..initially..flew ‘rhubarbs’ and also began flying fighter escort for bomb-carrying Typhoons.

1995 Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.) 9 Nov. t1 His plane from Squadron 430 had been shot down on a ‘rhubarb’ over France. In pilots' lingo, this meant there was no target, no plan that day. Just climb into your machines, lads, and see what trouble you can cause.

2005 Joint Force Q. No. 39. 102/2 XII Air Systems Command and British P-51s participated in newly implemented daylight intrusion raids known as Rhubarbs.

†B. adj.

1. figurative. Sour, tart; bitter. Obsolete. rare.

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the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [adjective] > bitter

baskc1175

to do amerec1400

fell?c1425

gallyc1530

rhubarba1586

bitterish1605

acrimonious1617

acrid1633

rodent1633

absinthiana1635

gallish1648

acroamare1657

absinthiala1857

absinthine1862

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) 6 Haue I not paine enough my friend,..But with your rubarbe wordes you must contend, To greeue me worse.

1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. H Too much gall dyd that wormwood of Gibeline wits put in his inke, who ingraued that rubarbe Epitaph on this excellent Poets tombstone.

2. Of the colour of rhubarb; yellowish-brown (as of medicinal rhubarb root) or pale red (as of garden rhubarb).

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the world > matter > colour > named colours > brown or brownness > [adjective] > yellowish brown

yellow-dun1593

honey-coloured1603

cinnamon-coloured1679

cinnamon1685

lurid1767

rhubarb1792

tombac-brown1794

sherry-bay1856

khaki1863

khaki coloured1879

golden oak1883

rhubarby1885

crotal1901

brown-gold1909

Sahara1923

safari1934

1792 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 297 Stem solid, spongy, pinky brown upwards, yellow brown below, tapering downwards... Flesh fine rhubarb yellow.

1792 J. P. Wade Nature & Effects Emetics in Disorders Bengal 27 Yesterday took the emetic tartar and lime-juice; eight or ten times backwards, thin, colour rhubarb mixt.

1840 Med. Examiner 5 Dec. 780/1 These evacuations are sometimes of a rhubarb colour; more generally of the colour of yolk of egg.

1862 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia III. xiv. iii. 649 Ill-built Neapolitan, complexion rhubarb.

1877 Stray Feathers June 89 The irides were ‘red, mostly deep red or rhubarb-red, in a few light red’.

1895 E. J. Simcox Autobiogr. of Shirtmaker Nov. in C. M. Fulmer & M. E. Barfield Monument to Memory of George Eliot (1998) 277 The cloth she had embroidered, which was sent to be died old gold, had come back:..it was rhubarb and sal:polychroite:colour.

1903 J. O. Braithwaite Year-bk. Pharmacy 238 Tannoglucoside..is the ‘rhubarb red’ of some authors.

2004 K. Haedrich Pie 64 Adding a couple of drops of red food coloring to the pie will give it a more rhubarb red color.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

a. (In sense A. 1a.)

rhubarb juice n.

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1847 J. F. Royle Materia Medica 506 He..obtained specimens of genuine Extract of Rhubarb ossareh-rewund, or Rhubarb-juice.

1920 Science 16 Jan. 70/2 Scurvy may be relieved and cured by introducing into the diet solid rhubarb, raw rhubarb juice, or rhubarb juice which has been boiled for fifteen minutes.

2008 L. Eicher & K. Williams Amish Cook at Home i. 19 Cook until the rhubarb is soft. Pour through a strainer and catch the rhubarb juice.

rhubarb leaf n.

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1790 Ladies' Libr. II. 421 Cut the thick stem of the rhubarb leaf into pieces the size of a gooseberry.

1911 J. M. Barrie Peter & Wendy i. 12 She believed to her last day in old-fashioned remedies like rhubarb leaf, and made sounds of contempt over all this new-fangled talk about germs.

2003 Hairflair Jan.–Feb. 87/2 After that I experimented with vegetable dyes from marigolds, indigo and rhubarb leaves. I also continued to develop new techniques such as skull lights, slicing, marbling and tortoiseshell.

rhubarb plant n.

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1715 J. Stevens tr. Hist. Persia xxii. 106 The Rhubarb Plant, is like the Turnip, consisting of a short Stalk, with small Leaves, rising but little.

1825 Times 30 Nov. 4 (advt.) Raspberry canes, superior rhubarb plants, strawberry plants, sweet briars, etc. which will be put in lots suitable for the trade and others.

1997 J. Moore Never eat your Heart Out 105 From the rhubarb plant's fist-size heart, red-veined green leaves unfurled out of membranous sheaths.

rhubarb root n.

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1671 J. Ogilby tr. O. Dapper et al. Atlas Chinensis 680 One Wagon full of Rhubarb Roots which is full of moisture, costs one Scudo and a half.

1779 H. D. Steel Portable Instr. purchasing Drugs & Spices 68 Sometimes the rhubarb-root is cut down the middle, and afterwards divided into pieces of four or five inches in length, which appear flat, and dry better than the round.

1895 Gardening Illustr. 19 Oct. 517/2 Please say..the best time for lifting Rhubarb roots for forcing.

1991 Gardener Jan. 54/2 Forcing chicory, seakale and rhubarb roots in succession.

b. (In sense A. 2a.)

rhubarb powder n. now rare

ΚΠ

1671 J. Sharp Midwives Bk. v. x. 299 If choller persist, Rhubarb powder in conserve of Roses is very good.

1784 J. Woodforde Diary 9 Mar. (1926) II. 121 Mr. Thorne left..a Rhubarb Powder to take to Morrow.

1899 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 76 ii. 75 Detection of turmeric in rhubarb powder.

1998 P. J. Houghton & A. Raman Lab. Handbk. Fractionation Nat. Extracts x. 171 Carry out..the semi-specific tests for anthracene-derivative glycosides..on a small sample of the rhubarb powder.

rhubarb purge n. now historical

ΚΠ

1710 J. Floyer Pulse Watch II. xxii. 160 For diarræa, give Diaphoretics, and Laudanum Morning and Night, after a Rhubarb purge.

1854 G. R. Shepherd in Med. Examiner 10 New Ser. 126 After prescribing a dose of calomel and opium, followed by a rhubarb purge, to cleanse away irritating matter, I prescribed iodide of potassium.

2001 E. L. Furdell Royal Doctors 1485–1714 vii. 212 He recommended first neutralizing the acidity with powdered oyster shell, followed by a rhubarb purge to rid the body of abnormal elements.

c. (In sense A. 1b.) Designating items of food or drink with the sense ‘made of rhubarb, flavoured with rhubarb’.

rhubarb crumble n.

ΚΠ

1952 A. W. Troelstrup Consumer Probl. vi. 131 Oatmeal Rhubarb Crumble.

2004 S. Sansegundo Great Restaurants of Hamptons 190 The rhubarb crumble contrasts a sharp, tart filling with a sweet crumble and ice cream.

rhubarb fritter n. (chiefly in plural).

ΚΠ

1860 E. Acton Mod. Cookery, for Private Families xix. 383 Rhubarb Fritters. The rhubarb for these should be of a good sort, quickly grown, and tender.

1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers (1994) vi. 150 ‘Now what business had you to be making rhubarb fritters’, he said to her, ‘when you've no time?’

2004 T. Weisblat Pudding Hollow Cookbk. 43 Remove the rhubarb fritters with a slotted spoon.

rhubarb jam n.

ΚΠ

1823 Monthly Mag. June 456/1 A correspondent suggests the following means of making rhubarb jam.

1931 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 220 30 This species was isolated at Ardeer from mouldy rhubarb jam.

2001 R. Kroetsch Hornbooks Rita K 69 He finds in the cellar her jars of canned plums and mustard pickles and rhubarb jam.

rhubarb pie n.

ΚΠ

1808 D. Macdonald New London Family Cook 62 Gooseberry Pie. Plover's Eggs. Rhubarb Pie.

1894 Harper's Mag. May 931/2 There is one old soul who especially loves rhubarb pies.

a1957 L. I. Wilder These Happy Golden Years (1963) (U.K. ed.) xxi. 191 They baked fresh bread, a rhubarb [1943 pieplant] pie, and a two-egg cake.

2002 K. Haedrich Apple Pie Perfect iii. 86 I do like a mixed-fruit rhubarb pie.

rhubarb pudding n.

ΚΠ

1823 M. Eaton Cook & Housekeeper's Dict. 308/1 Rhubarb Pudding. Put four dozen clean sticks of rhubarb into a stewpan, with the peel of a lemon, [etc.].

1946 Farmhouse Fare (Farmers Weekly) 135 Rhubarb pudding..flour..dates..syrup..milk..cocoa..margarine..rhubarb... Bake in hot oven.

2000 S. Vitt & M. Hickman Rhubarb 43 Hot Rhubarb Pudding. Makes 8 servings.

rhubarb tart n.

ΚΠ

?1760Rhubarb tart [see sense A. 1b].

1867 J. Ashburner Notes & Stud. Philos. Animal Magnetism & Spiritualism xv. 289 They should avoid acid fruits, beer, cyder, and rhubarb tarts, and numerous other articles of food that tend to produce nettle rash.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 151 Rhubarb tart with liberal fillings, rich fruit interior.

2007 1001 Foods to die For viii. 726/1 The queen of desserts must be a rhubarb tart with fresh cream.

d. (In sense A. 4.)

rhubarb noise n.

ΚΠ

1958 D. Wallace Forty Years On v. 63 There was an uproar. From the general rhubarb noise the Dean could be heard.

1977 Gramophone Aug. 340/1 There is almost no theatrical production, sound-effects or ‘rhubarb’ noises.

C2. Objective (in sense A. 2a).

† rhubarb-chewer n. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. 147 Your perpetual rhubarb-chewers of vanity get a canine appetite.

C3.

rhubarb agaric n. Obsolete rare a yellow agaric, Pholiota flammans.

ΚΠ

1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 214 [Agaricus rheoides]... The whole plant both within and without is nearly the colour of Rhubarb.]

1830 Withering's Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 7) IV. 197 Ag. rheoides... Yellow-curtained Rhubarb Agaric.

1836 M. J. Berkeley Fungi 92 Agaricus flammans,..rhubarb-Agaric.

rhubarb beer n. †(a) a medicinal tincture of rhubarb root in beer (obsolete); (b) beer flavoured with rhubarb (rare).

ΚΠ

1789 M. Underwood Treat. Dis. Children (rev. ed.) I. 255 Sydenham's rhubarb-beer.

1792 T. Holcroft Anna St. Ives II. xxv. 84 Concoct hiera picra, rhubarb beer, and oil of charity; and sympathize over sprains, whitloes, and broken shins.

1998 M. Tabberer Maggie ii. 17 When Ron was home on leave he convinced my father he had the best way to use up that bloody rhubarb. He would make rhubarb beer.

rhubarb chard n. (more fully rhubarb Swiss chard) a variety of Swiss chard, Beta vulgaris var. cicla, with red leaf-stalks and midribs, grown for culinary use or ornament.

ΚΠ

1940 Burpee's Seed Catal. for 1941 1/2 (heading) Burpee's New Rhubarb Chard... Rhubarb Chard Leaf Stalks Fried in Batter Make Good Fritters... Rhubarb Chard Greens.

1981 M. Cunningham & J. Laber Fannie Farmer Cookbk. (1988) 412 Rhubarb Swiss chard has thick, reddish stems.

2006 Gardens Monthly Apr. 46/1 Swiss chard is pure white, ruby or rhubarb chard is bright scarlet, but for the most colour, I'd recommend the mixture ‘Bright Lights’, which has pink, yellow and orange, as well as red and white stems.

rhubarb colour n. = sense B. 2.

ΚΠ

1810 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 23 249 I recommend..unirritating and undebilitating doses of mercury to be taken every second or third night, till the stools become of a rhubarb colour.

1943 W. C. Coker & A. H. Beers Boletaceae N. Carolina 63 Varying from dull yellow with mottlings or reddish, the red sometimes in streaks, to rhubarb color all over.

rhubarb-coloured adj. = sense B. 2.

ΚΠ

1802 G. Colman Poor Gentleman (new ed.) i. ii. 16 A rhubarb-colour'd lapelle.

1892 A. Lang Library iii. 100 Books printed on coloured paper—green, blue, yellow, rhubarb-coloured, and the like.

1994 A. Bailey Coast of Summer 152 It's a good-looking 40-foot yawl with unusual rhubarb-colored topsides.

rhubarb disease n. now rare crown rot of rhubarb, usually attributed either to fungal infection or the bacterium Erwinia rhapontici.

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the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > fungal > associated with crop or food plants > fruit or fruit plants

leaf curl1850

fly-speck1855

vine-mildew1855

vine-fungus1857

leaf blister1858

blister1864

peach-blister1866

charbon1882

crown rot1888

melanose1888

plum pocket1888

peach leaf curl1890

brown rot1894

mummy1902

sooty blotch1909

rhubarb disease1911

spur blight1915

red core1936

sclerotinia1950

Sigatoka1958

1911 Exper. Station Rec. (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 24 Index 881 Rhubarb disease, new, description.

1924 W. A. Millard in Bull. Agric. Dept., Univ. of Leeds cxxxiv. 6 Although many minor diseases attack the Rhubarb crop, none is of any importance in Yorkshire excepting that which has thus come to be known simply as ‘Rhubarb Disease’. This disease would be better described as Rhubarb Crown Rot, for it is the crown of the plant which is most generally attacked.

rhubarb drink n. [compare German Rhabarbertrank] †(a) = rhubarb beer n. (a) (obsolete rare); (b) a soft drink flavoured with rhubarb.

ΚΠ

1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. iv. v. 320 I..purged him with Rhubarb-drink.

1891 Newcastle Weekly Courant 12 Sept. 6/7 Rhubarb Drink is made by boiling a few sticks of rhubarb in water to cover it freely, straining off the juice, and sweetening to taste.

2001 D. T. Long Tastes of Minnesota vi. 98 For something truly different, try this tangy, pink, and pretty rhubarb drink. It's certain to become a summer tradition.

rhubarb triangle n. British colloquial a roughly triangular area of West Yorkshire noted for the forced rhubarb grown there; cf. forced adj. 5.The ‘points’ of the triangle are usually given as Wakefield, Leeds, and Bradford, although sometimes other nearby places are substituted. In 2010 forced rhubarb from the area was granted Protected Designation of Origin status by the European Union (under the name Yorkshire forced rhubarb).

ΚΠ

1965 H. Robinson Geogr. for Business Stud. 128 In pre-war days ‘rhubarb specials’ used to run from the West Riding rhubarb triangle to London.

1986 Guardian 7 Feb. 21/1 The small area of the West Riding bounded roughly by Leeds, Bradford, Meltham and Wakefield is sometimes known as the rhubarb triangle.

2010 Independent (Nexis) 13 Mar. (Mag.) 13 Of the hundreds of growers who once thrived in the county's ‘Rhubarb Triangle’, there are only a dozen left, but their chances of survival have been enhanced with the award of special legal protection from the EU.

rhubarb wine n. †(a) a medicinal tincture of rhubarb rootstock in wine (obsolete); (b) wine made with rhubarb leaf-stalks.

ΚΠ

1769 J. Ball New Compend. Dispensatory 223 Take six ounces of rhubarb wine; steel wine, one ounce; tincture of black hellebore, and syrup of saffron, each half an ounce.

1788 T. Healde tr. New Pharmacopoeia Index 337 Rhubarb-Wine.

1835 Brit. Cycl. Arts & Sci. II. 510/1 To prepare rhubarb wine, take of rhubarb, sliced, two ounces [etc.].

1897 Daily News 31 Aug. 6/3 He had been a staunch teetotaler for five or six years but ‘broke loose’ on Saturday by drinking an enormous quantity of rhubarb wine, with which he became mad drunk.

1931 Bull. School Oriental Stud. 6 512 That the juice pressed from the wild rhubarb can be turned into wine by means of fermentation is adequately proved by the rhubarb wine.

1997 Farmers Guardian 19 Sept. 19/3 Liqueur and wine classes showed an increase with such tempters as blackberry rum liqueur, citrus liqueur and rhubarb wine.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	rhubarb
释义	rhubarbn.adj. Brit. /ˈruːbɑːb/, U.S. /ˈruˌbɑrb/ Forms: Middle English rembarbe (probably transmission error), Middle English reuballe (probably transmission error), Middle English reubarb, Middle English reubard, Middle English rubarbi, Middle English rvbarb, Middle English rwbarbe, Middle English–1500s rebarbe, Middle English–1500s rubarde, Middle English–1500s ruberbe, Middle English–1600s reubarbe, Middle English–1600s rewbarbe, Middle English–1600s rubarbe, 1500s reubarde, 1500s reuberbe, 1500s rhewbarbe, 1500s ruibarb, 1500s ruibarbe, 1500s ryobarbe, 1500s–1600s rewbarb, 1500s–1600s rheubarb, 1500s–1600s rheubarbe, 1500s–1600s rubard, 1500s–1700s rubarb, 1500s– rhubarb, 1600s rhebarb, 1600s rhubarbe, 1600s ruberb, 1600s ruybarbe, 1800s rhubard (regional), 1900s– rheeubub (English regional (Yorkshire)), 1900s– rioobub (English regional (Yorkshire)); Scottish pre-1700 reubarb, pre-1700 reubarbe, pre-1700 reuburb, pre-1700 rubarb, pre-1700 rubarbe, pre-1700 ruberb, pre-1700 ruebarb, 1700s– rhubarb, 1800s rhubbarb, 1800s– rooberub, 1800s– roobrub, 1900s– rewburd, 2000s– rhubert; U.S. regional 1900s– rhuberb, 1900s– rhubub, 1900s– rue-bub. See also rhabarb n. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French reubarbe. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French reubarbe, Middle French rubarbe, rebarbe (French rhubarbe ; in Middle French also reu barbare ) rhubarb, plant of the genus Rheum (13th cent. in Old French) < post-classical Latin reubarbarum , rheubarbarum (a636 in Isidore; 13th cent. in British sources; also rubarbera (1480)), probably < Hellenistic Greek ῥῆον βάρβαρον < ῥῆον rhubarb (see Rheum n.²) + ancient Greek βάρβαρον , neuter of βάρβαρος (see barbarous adj.). Compare post-classical Latin reubarbum (13th cent. in British sources; also rybarba (1365)), Old Occitan reubarbe (13th cent.), Catalan ruibarbre (14th cent.; formerly also riubarbre , riubarb , riubarber , riubarbar , riubàrbara , etc.), Spanish ruibarbo (14th cent.; formerly also ruibarbvo ), Portuguese ruibarbo (15th cent.; formerly also reubarbo , rheubarbo ); compare also French and Latin forms cited at rhabarb n. and rhabarbarum n., and also Italian rabarbaro (14th cent. as reubarbaro ; formerly also rabarbero , ribarbaro , ribarbero , riobarbaro , etc.). Compare rhabarbarum n., and also rhapontic n.Compare also Middle Dutch rebarbe , rebarber (Dutch rabarber ; formerly also rhabarber , rubarber , robarber , rubarbe , rhabarbo , etc.), Middle Low German rebarber , rebarbar , reubarber , reubarbar , Middle High German reubarber , rebarbe (early modern German reubarbar , also rhabarbara , rabarber , German Rhabarber ). Forms from Dutch or German are reflected in a number of early modern English texts, e.g.:1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. xciii. R iiij Take Rebarbere [Ger. rebarbara] one dragma.1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. x. 328 Of Reubarbe, or Rhabarba.1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Methodicalle Disc. in Frenche Chirurg. f. 49/1 An ounce of Cassie..with halfe a dragme of Rabarber.1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. lxxxi. 126/2 Rhabarbo [Du. rhabarbo], Manna, and such like costlie Apothecaries ware. In the form rubarbi after the Latin genitive. Sense A. 5 perhaps arose from sense A. 4, although this is not certain. Use in this sense (in Baseball contexts) is often said to have been coined by the U.S. sports writer Garry Schumacher and popularized by the broadcaster Red Barber. Perhaps compare also use in the sense ‘mess, hilarious disturbance’ in the same period. In sense A. 6 perhaps originally a code word. A. n. I. Senses relating to plants. 1. a. Originally: an exotic plant producing the medicinal rootstock known as rhubarb, rhabarbarum, or rhapontic (see sense A. 2a) (later identified as any of several, mainly Chinese, species of the genus Rheum). In later use: any plant of the genus Rheum, comprising rhizomatous herbaceous plants with very large palmate or rounded basal leaves, native esp. to China and other temperate parts of Asia; esp. (more fully common rhubarb, garden rhubarb) any of the kinds grown in gardens or commercially for their edible acidic leaf-stalks, known as R. x hybridum or R. x cultorum (probably hybrids derived from R. rhaponticum) . R. rhaponticum (see rhapontic n. 1) appears to have been the first plant accurately identified by European botanists as a source of the drug, around the beginning of the 17th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Polygonaceae (dock and allies) > [noun] > dock and allies red dockeOE dockc1000 rhubarbc1390 docken1423 patience?a1425 round dock1526 Rumex1565 wild patience1578 bloody dock1597 monk's rhubarb1597 Welsh sorrel1640 butterdock1688 mountain rhapontic1728 mountain sorrel1753 Rheum1753 redshank1810 patience dock1816 fiddle-dock1823 canaigre1868 nettle-docken1891 the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > Chinese rhubarb rhubarbc1390 rhabarbarum1533 rhabarb1558 the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > cleansing or expelling medicines > [noun] > purgative > plant-derived scammonyc1000 lign-aloesc1374 hiera picra1379 rhubarbc1390 aloea1398 cassia fistulaa1398 coloquintidaa1398 senec1400 turpethc1400 coloquintc1420 diagrydium1436 lignum aloes1525 rhabarbarum1533 xylaloes1540 manna1541 scilla1548 hyera?1550 emblic1555 diasenna1562 colocynth1565 tragonce1575 pinyon1577 mechoacan1587 lignum aquilae1600 gamboge1615 dragon-root1621 helleborism1621 diaprune1625 alhandal1630 makinboy1652 luskard1653 diagrydiate1657 physic nut1657 aloetic1661 scammoniate1665 jalap1675 aloedary1683 coloquinto1683 Briançon manna1688 liquorice powder1712 coloquintid1732 castor oil1746 senna-tea1752 higry pigry1773 Turkey rhubarb1789 argel1803 hickery-pickery1816 cathartin1823 aloin1828 croton oil1829 jalapin1832 syrmaea1833 bryonin1836 gambogic acid1837 Podophyllum1844 podophyllin1851 geropiga1852 hicra picra1857 Montpellier turpeth1860 picra1860 tallicoona oil1866 scammonin1868 pharbitisin1873 cascara sagrada1879 senna-draught1879 tambor-oil1890 syrup of figs1897 pharbitin1899 the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > stalk vegetables > [noun] > rhubarb rha1578 rhubarb1650 tusky1957 the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > stalk vegetables > garden rhubarb rhapontic?c1425 rha1578 Pontic rhubarb1597 rhubarb1650 Indian rhubarb1652 monk's rhubarb1737 pie plant1838 c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) 112 (MED) Columbyne and Charuwe clottes þei creue, With Ruwe and Rubarbe, Ragget ariht. c1475 tr. Secreta Secret. (Tripolitanus abbrev.) (1977) 362 When the wyne is taken outrageouslye..It causeth the mouth to stynk..he chaungeth his nature as doth an herb callid reubarbe [a1500 Lamb. Reubarb]. 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry f. 41^v Necessarie herbes to growe in the garden for Phisick & bathes not reherst before... 17 Rewe. 18 Rubarb. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. x. 328 There be diuers sortes of Rha, or as it is nowe called Rheubarbe. 1650 W. Denton Let. to R. Verney 21 Mar. (MS.) I have..sent you 30 small roots of rhubarb. The leaves will be as bige as the burdock..but of a finer green. 1656 C. Irvine Medicina Magnetica ii. 49 Thou mayst also in all diseases of the liver, and the meseraicks use with good successe, an extract of Rhubarb. a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1654 (1955) III. 110 We went to the Physick Garden... There Grew Canes, Olive Tres, Rhubarb. 1765 J. Hope Let. 24 Sept. in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1766) 55 290 I received from Doctor Mounsey the seeds of the Rheum palmatum, which he assured me were the seeds of the true Rhubarb. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 206/2 Rheum..1. The Rhaponticum, or common rhubarb... It grows in Thrace and Scythia, but has been long in English gardens... The plant being astringent, its young stalks in spring, being cut and peeled, are used for tarts. 1827 Q. Jrnl. Sci., Lit., & Art July 168 The famous rhubarb, which has of late acquired so much celebrity under the name of Buck's rhubarb;..this sort is the genuine Rheum undulatum. 1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 503 Oxalic acid is copiously formed in both Docks and Rhubarbs. 1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 June 5/2 In most gardens the rhubarbs are considered only in their capacity as food suppliers, but at Kew they are allowed to assume their natural characters. 1934 C. C. Steele Introd. Plant Biochem. iv. xii. 129 In several of the very acid plants, such as Rhubarb and Begonia, it has..been shown that the acids are derived by the elimination of ammonia from, or ‘deamination’ of, amino-acids. 1968 Times 5 Sept. 14/5 Commercial stocks of several varieties of rhubarb are known to be widely infected with various viruses that cause diseases if they infect other plants. 1992 H. Mitchell One Man's Garden iii. 56 The leaves [of hogwort] are a foot or so across, somewhat wrinkled, like a rhubarb or gunnera. 2001 BBC Gardeners' World Feb. 27/4 In the kitchen garden..cover early varieties of rhubarb with forcing jars. b. The long, fleshy, typically pale-red leaf-stalks of garden rhubarb, which are cooked and eaten when young and tender, usually being treated as a fruit and stewed with sugar, used as an ingredient in pies, made into jams, etc. Frequently attributive (see Compounds 1c). ΚΠ ?1760 H. Glasse Compl. Confectioner 236 To make rhubarb tarts. Take stalks of English rhubarb..peel and cut it the size of goosberries; sweeten it, and make them as you do goosberry tarts. 1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery xx. 428 Compote of spring fruit.—(Rhubarb.) Take a pound of the stalks... Have ready a quarter-pint of water boiled gently..with five ounces of sugar, or with six should the fruit be very acid; put it in, and simmer it [etc.]. 1860 A. Wynter Curiosities of Civilisation 236 Rhubarb is almost wholly furnished by the London market-gardeners. It was first introduced by Mr. Miatt forty years ago, who sent his two sons to the Borough Market with five bunches, of which they only sold three. 1877 Cassell's Dict. Cookery 730/1 Early forced rhubarb, or champagne rhubarb, as it is called, is especially prized for its beautiful colour. 1914 M. Byron Pot-luck xiii. 191 Devon ‘stir-up’ pudding... This pudding is also excellent when made with rhubarb, gooseberries, or any sort of fruit. 1968 M. Pyke Food & Society viii. 104 And then there is rhubarb. Generations of children..have been compelled to eat up this vegetable masquerading as a fruit ‘to do them good’. 2005 Independent 19 Feb. (Mag.) 41/4 Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 15–20 minutes on a fairly high heat, until the rhubarb is soft. 2. a. The dried rootstock of any of various plants of the genus Rheum, typically imported to Europe from China and used medicinally as a purgative and astringent; spec. (more fully Chinese rhubarb) that of R. palmatum, of north-western China, and (more fully Tibetan rhubarb) that of R. officinale, of western China (including Tibet). Cf. rhabarb n., rhabarbarum n., rhapontic n. 1. Now chiefly historical.Rhubarb from China was also called Russian rhubarb, Turkey rhubarb, and East Indian rhubarb, according to its route of importation. English rhubarb was obtained from R. rhaponticum (see rhapontic n. 1). ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > root > specific roots zedoaryOE madderOE setwall?c1225 liquoricec1275 rhubarba1400 ireosc1400 liquorice-racec1400 sage root14.. maple root1523 liquorice-root1530 rhabarbarum1533 orris1545 turmeric1545 cypressc1550 pyrethrum1562 china1582 China root1588 orris root1598 red squill1629 ginseng1654 ague root1676 poke root1687 cassumunar1693 nettle root1707 valerian root1747 belly-ache-root1775 Indian root1775 Turkey rhubarb1789 sumbul1791 serpentaria1803 Honduras sarsaparilla1818 serpentary1837 sang1843 savanilla1856 manaca1866 gelsemium1875 sanguinaria1875 Indian turmeric1890 a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 182 (MED) Aneuen do þeron poudre of mirabolani citrin [dram] j & of rubarbe. ?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 197^v Rubarbarum, Rubarbe, is a rote h. & d...founden in barbarie, in ynde. ?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 473 (MED) Take ginger, canel, long pepur..rubarbi, reupontici, of ichone nine pennyweight. 1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. bvij Take Rasne and Rubarbe and grynde it to gedre. a1500 in Englische Studien (1885) 8 281 (MED) A pece of good rebarbe the quantite of a grote is sette alle nyght in a pece with water, the whiche rebarbe maketh an esy laxatife. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. H.viii^v The phisicions with a lyttell Rubarb purge many humours of the body. 1535 A. Borde Let. in Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) Foreword 56 I haue sentt to your mastershepp the seedes off reuberbe, the which come owtt off barbary. 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 317 The best Rubarbe is that which is brought from China fresh and newe... The second in goodnes is that which cometh from Barbarie. The last and woorst from Bosphorus and Pontus. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. iii. 57 What Rubarb, Cyme, or what Purgatiue drugge Would scowre these English hence. 1666 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities 175 We find, that Tamarinds, Rhubarb, Senna, and many other Simples will for divers years, after they have been depriv'd of their former Vegetative Soul, retain their Purgative and other Specifick properties. 1703 Duke of Marlborough Let. 7 June in H. L. Snyder Marlborough–Godolphin Corr. (1975) I. 193 I did in my former letters desire that some more rubarb and licherish might be sent mee. 1789 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) 1 94 Such as is commonly sold in the shops under the name of Turkey or Russia Rhubarb. 1829 J. Togno & E. Durand tr. H. Milne-Edwards & P. Vavasseur Man. Materia Medica x. 399 The Russian rhubarb..is in pieces somewhat flattened,..with a hole in the middle... The Chinese rhubarb is in round pieces,..generally with small holes,..and covered over with a yellowish powder. 1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. 621 English rhubarb is obtained from R[heum] Rhaponticum, and is now extensively employed in the hospitals of this country..but is not so active as the officinal kinds of rhubarb. 1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 243 The East Indian or Chinese rhubarb, which is shipped from Canton to Europe. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 273/1 Subsequently to the year 1653..Chinese rhubarb reached Europe chiefly by way of Moscow; and in 1704 the rhubarb trade became a monopoly of the Russian government, in consequence of which the term ‘Russian’ or ‘crown’ rhubarb came to be applied to it. 1921 Lancet 30 July 254/2 (title) The use of rhubarb in bacillary dysentery. 1995 M. Fairburn Nearly Out of Heart & Hope viii. 131 He fought the diarrhoea by drinking a combination of whisky, port and brandy, or (less often) a concoction called Turkey Rhubarb. 2007 D. Robin et al. Encycl. Women in Renaissance 265/1 Those who could afford them included expensive imported extravagances in certain remedies, including sugar, saffron, Tibetan rhubarb, and even ground pearls. †b. figurative. Sourness; bitterness. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [noun] > bitterness or acridity gallc1175 smartnessa1425 rhubarba1529 acrimony1542 acridity1547 amaritude1599 acerbity1608 acrity1619 asperity1620 acritude1650 acridness1702 bitterishness1702 crabbedness1715 acerbitude1727 amarulence1727 bitterness- a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Giii^v Nowe must I make you a lectuary softe... With rubarbe of repentaunce in you for to rest. 1591 J. Harington Briefe Apol. Poetrie in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso sig. ¶ivj^v In verse is both goodnesse and sweetnesse, Rubarb and Sugarcandie, the pleasaunt and the profitable. 1613 G. Chapman Reuenge Bussy D'Ambois iii. sig. F1^v Since tis such Ruberb to you, Ile therefore search no more. 1631 Foxe's Actes & Monuments (ed. 7) III. Contin. sig. B The conscience..ceaseth not to retaine a scruple or dramme of Rubarb mingled heerewith. 3. Any of various plants resembling those of the genus Rheum, esp. in the purgative property of their root or the size of their leaves. Usually with distinguishing word.bastard, meadow, monk's, prickly rhubarb, etc.: see the first element. ΚΠ 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xxx. 42 The first great Thalietron or Bastard Rewbarbe. 1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum ii. iii. 154 Garden Patience is a Docke bearing the name of Rhubarbe, for some small purging quality therein. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. vi. §xxv. 102 Butter Dock, or Rubarbe,..having a large crumpled leaf..with long stalks. 1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Lapathum Round-leav'd Alpine Dock, by some call'd Monks Rhubarb. ?1795 W. A. Osbaldiston Universal Sportsman 270/2 Make him [sc. a horse] eat root of bastard rhubarb, or the herb patience, which grows almost in all countries and is a kind of wild sorrel. 1802 A. F. M. Willich Domest. Encycl. III. (at cited word) Common Meadow-rue, Spurious Rhubarb, or Rue-weed. 1849 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. §992 Begonia obliqua is said to have purgative roots, and is sometimes called wild rhubarb. 1900 Cent. Bk. Gardening 98/2 Gunneras are called ‘Prickly Rhubarbs’, and the big leaves are not unlike those of a large Rhubarb. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xiii. 222 Connie looked at the great grey leaves of burdock... The people call it Robin Hood's Rhubarb. 1983 I. Garrard & D. Streeter Wild Flowers of Brit. Isles 251/1 Rumex alpinus L. Monk's-rhubarb... It was originally introduced into northern Britain as a pot-herb. 2006 A. Clevely Water Garden (2007) iv. 94 (caption) Water- and bog-plants display some of the most dramatically varied foliage, from the intricate symmetry of fern fronds.., to..the arresting extravagance of prickly rhubarb (Gunnera manicata). II. Other senses. 4. a. A murmurous background noise, an indistinct conversation, esp. the repetition of the word ‘rhubarb’ by actors to represent such a conversation or the noise of a crowd. Usually reduplicated. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > unintelligible language, gibberish > [noun] > meaningless repetition lip-labour?1548 lip-labouring1549 hibber-gibber1593 lip-work1631 echolalia1885 parrotese1889 rhubarb1919 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > words spoken by actors > types of cue1553 anteloquy1623 aside1728 catchword1755 side soliloquy1842 gag1847 gravy1864 fluff1891 laugh line1913 rhubarb1919 curtain line1939 walla1949 1919 Motion Picture Mag. Feb. 37/1 He didn't carry a spear in this dramatic masterpiece, probably because there were no spears to carry, but he did grumble, ‘Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb’ off stage to make up the angry mob. 1934 A. P. Herbert Holy Deadlock 194 The chorus excitedly rushed about and muttered ‘Rhubarb!’ 1952 Radio Times 17 Oct. 11/3 The unemployed actors had a wonderful time. We'd huddle together in a corner and repeat ‘Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb’ or ‘My fiddle, my fiddle, my fiddle’—and it sounded like a big scene from some mammoth production. 1958 Observer 7 Dec. 18/5 Actors, who shout ‘rhubarb—rhubarb—rhubarb’ to give the impression of a distant riot. 1960 J. Betjeman Summoned by Bells ix. 105 And in the next-door room is heard the tramp And ‘rhubarb, rhubarb’ as the crowd rehearse A one-act play in verse. 1972 P. Dickinson Lizard in Cup xi. 174 The conversation..was meaningless; they might just as well have been muttering ‘rhubarb, rhubarb’. 1976 Gramophone June 71/2 I wondered if the chorus would have made a better effect had the words been less clearly articulated (like actors in a crowd scene muttering ‘rhubarb’). 2007 K. Foxlee Anat. of Wings 142 When we saw her we put our heads down and pretended to be in a very interesting conversation. ‘Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb’, said Angela. ‘Is that her?’ b. slang. Nonsense; worthless stuff. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun] magged talea1387 moonshine1468 trumperyc1485 foolishness1531 trash1542 baggage1545 flim-flam1570 gear1570 rubbisha1576 fiddle-faddle1577 stuff1579 fible-fable1581 balductum1593 pill1608 nonsense1612 skimble-skamble1619 porridge1642 mataeology1656 fiddle-come-faddle1663 apple sauce1672 balderdash1674 flummery1749 slang1762 all my eye1763 diddle-daddle1778 (all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781 twaddle1782 blancmange1790 fudge1791 twiddle-twaddle1798 bothering1803 fee-faw-fum1811 slip-slop1811 nash-gab1816 flitter-tripe1822 effutiation1823 bladderdash1826 ráiméis1828 fiddlededee1843 pickles1846 rot1846 kelter1847 bosh1850 flummadiddle1850 poppycock1852 Barnum1856 fribble-frabble1859 kibosh1860 skittle1864 cod1866 Collyweston1867 punk1869 slush1869 stupidness1873 bilge-water1878 flapdoodle1878 tommyrot1880 ruck1882 piffle1884 flamdoodle1888 razzmatazz1888 balls1889 pop1890 narrischkeit1892 tosh1892 footle1894 tripe1895 crap1898 bunk1900 junk1906 quatsch1907 bilge1908 B.S.1912 bellywash1913 jazz1913 wash1913 bullshit?1915 kid-stakes1916 hokum1917 bollock1919 bullsh1919 bushwa1920 noise1920 bish-bosh1922 malarkey1923 posh1923 hooey1924 shit1924 heifer dust1927 madam1927 baloney1928 horse feathers1928 phonus-bolonus1929 rhubarb1929 spinach1929 toffeea1930 tomtit1930 hockey1931 phoney baloney1933 moody1934 cockalorum1936 cock1937 mess1937 waffle1937 berley1941 bull dust1943 crud1943 globaloney1943 hubba-hubba1944 pish1944 phooey1946 asswipe1947 chickenshit1947 slag1948 batshit1950 goop1950 slop1952 cack1954 doo-doo1954 cobbler1955 horse shit1955 nyamps1955 pony1956 horse manure1957 waffling1958 bird shit1959 codswallop1959 how's your father1959 dog shit1963 cods1965 shmegegge1968 pucky1970 taradiddle1970 mouthwash1971 wank1974 gobshite1977 mince1985 toss1990 arse1993 1929 Rock Valley (Iowa) Bee 22 Feb. 14/5 Clemenceau said in a recent interview:..I want to tell you that I am through with politics... I will tell you what it is, politics. It is rhubarb. 1963 Radio Times 3 Oct. 17/1 Dig this Rhubarb..a new kind of television entertainment... There is no shortage of writers for television so long as you are not particular about whether they are still alive or not. 1976 Telegraph (Brisbane) 6 July 12/2 They gave me some rhubarb about violating the firework zone. 1979 Times 22 Feb. 5/7 We should look at the individual... Whether he or she went to the right school..that's rhubarb. 1989 S. Armitage Zoom (BNC) 54 Poetry was rhubarb. Books were for eggheads. 5. U.S. slang (originally Baseball). A heated dispute, a row. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > [noun] > noisy or angry quarrel > instance of ganglinga1387 altercation1410 brawla1500 heat1549 wranglea1555 brabble1566 paroxysm1578 wrangling1580 brangle1600 branglement1617 rixation1623 row1746 skimmington1753 mêlée1765 breeze1785 squeal1788 hash1789 rook1808 blow-up1809 blowout1825 scena1826 reerie1832 catfight1854 barney1855 wigs on the green1856 bull and cow1859 scrap1890 slanging match1896 snap1897 up-and-downer1927 brannigan1941 rhubarb1941 bitch fight1949 punch-up1958 shout-up1965 shouting match1970 society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [noun] > disturbance or argument on field rhubarb1941 1941 N.Y. Times 19 May 20/6 There was what the boys call ‘a bit of a rhubarb’ in the eighth when Cavarretta tried to steal home... In the ensuing run-down, the Cubs charged Phil's progress was illegally blocked by Lavagetto. 1943 Baseballing Jan. 369/3 A ‘rhubarb’, which has become Brooklynese for a heated verbal run-in, especially between players and umpires. 1949 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 17 Jan. 3/2 The citizen waiting for a streetcar yesterday was of several minds about the ‘rhubarb’ between the Virginia Transit Company and its drivers. 1959 Washington Post 11 Feb. c5/1 Among those who had bets on Dorothy's Best in Monday's false start rhubarb,..most were back to racing's cold war. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 3 July 15/3 To be conned? Now that always starts a rhubarb, and in this week's hand it started when a defender fell for a pseudo end-play. 2004 Sporting News 25 Oct. 60 After Nascar's fine of $2,500 per letter for a four-letter expletive,..couldn't baseball get rich by hiring the Lip Readers Association of America to monitor rhubarbs at home plate? 6. Military slang. A low-level flight for opportunistic strafing. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > [noun] > air operation > type of stooge1942 rhubarb1943 rhubarbing1943 shuttle raid1943 1943 Time 22 Mar. 51/1 When a fighter pilot flies low over France, strafing whatever he finds—trains, troops, airdromes—he is ‘on a rhubarb’. 1945 C. H. Ward-Jackson It's a Piece of Cake (new ed.) 51 Rhubarb.., a ground-strafing, go-for-anything-you-see worthwhile sortie. 1956 J. E. Johnson Wing Leader vi. 80 Usually our Rhubarb efforts yielded little more than a staff car. 1958 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 9 Sept. 3/1 It took some little time to fathom that a ‘rhubarb’ was a swift sortie by two Spitfires sweeping at ‘nought feet’ over enemy territory, strafing anything military looking in sight. 1987 Aviation News 6–19 Mar. 1040/3 The squadron..initially..flew ‘rhubarbs’ and also began flying fighter escort for bomb-carrying Typhoons. 1995 Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.) 9 Nov. t1 His plane from Squadron 430 had been shot down on a ‘rhubarb’ over France. In pilots' lingo, this meant there was no target, no plan that day. Just climb into your machines, lads, and see what trouble you can cause. 2005 Joint Force Q. No. 39. 102/2 XII Air Systems Command and British P-51s participated in newly implemented daylight intrusion raids known as Rhubarbs. †B. adj. 1. figurative. Sour, tart; bitter. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [adjective] > bitter baskc1175 to do amerec1400 fell?c1425 gallyc1530 rhubarba1586 bitterish1605 acrimonious1617 acrid1633 rodent1633 absinthiana1635 gallish1648 acroamare1657 absinthiala1857 absinthine1862 a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) 6 Haue I not paine enough my friend,..But with your rubarbe wordes you must contend, To greeue me worse. 1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. H Too much gall dyd that wormwood of Gibeline wits put in his inke, who ingraued that rubarbe Epitaph on this excellent Poets tombstone. 2. Of the colour of rhubarb; yellowish-brown (as of medicinal rhubarb root) or pale red (as of garden rhubarb). ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > named colours > brown or brownness > [adjective] > yellowish brown yellow-dun1593 honey-coloured1603 cinnamon-coloured1679 cinnamon1685 lurid1767 rhubarb1792 tombac-brown1794 sherry-bay1856 khaki1863 khaki coloured1879 golden oak1883 rhubarby1885 crotal1901 brown-gold1909 Sahara1923 safari1934 1792 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 297 Stem solid, spongy, pinky brown upwards, yellow brown below, tapering downwards... Flesh fine rhubarb yellow. 1792 J. P. Wade Nature & Effects Emetics in Disorders Bengal 27 Yesterday took the emetic tartar and lime-juice; eight or ten times backwards, thin, colour rhubarb mixt. 1840 Med. Examiner 5 Dec. 780/1 These evacuations are sometimes of a rhubarb colour; more generally of the colour of yolk of egg. 1862 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia III. xiv. iii. 649 Ill-built Neapolitan, complexion rhubarb. 1877 Stray Feathers June 89 The irides were ‘red, mostly deep red or rhubarb-red, in a few light red’. 1895 E. J. Simcox Autobiogr. of Shirtmaker Nov. in C. M. Fulmer & M. E. Barfield Monument to Memory of George Eliot (1998) 277 The cloth she had embroidered, which was sent to be died old gold, had come back:..it was rhubarb and sal:polychroite:colour. 1903 J. O. Braithwaite Year-bk. Pharmacy 238 Tannoglucoside..is the ‘rhubarb red’ of some authors. 2004 K. Haedrich Pie 64 Adding a couple of drops of red food coloring to the pie will give it a more rhubarb red color. Compounds C1. General attributive. a. (In sense A. 1a.) rhubarb juice n. ΚΠ 1847 J. F. Royle Materia Medica 506 He..obtained specimens of genuine Extract of Rhubarb ossareh-rewund, or Rhubarb-juice. 1920 Science 16 Jan. 70/2 Scurvy may be relieved and cured by introducing into the diet solid rhubarb, raw rhubarb juice, or rhubarb juice which has been boiled for fifteen minutes. 2008 L. Eicher & K. Williams Amish Cook at Home i. 19 Cook until the rhubarb is soft. Pour through a strainer and catch the rhubarb juice. rhubarb leaf n. ΚΠ 1790 Ladies' Libr. II. 421 Cut the thick stem of the rhubarb leaf into pieces the size of a gooseberry. 1911 J. M. Barrie Peter & Wendy i. 12 She believed to her last day in old-fashioned remedies like rhubarb leaf, and made sounds of contempt over all this new-fangled talk about germs. 2003 Hairflair Jan.–Feb. 87/2 After that I experimented with vegetable dyes from marigolds, indigo and rhubarb leaves. I also continued to develop new techniques such as skull lights, slicing, marbling and tortoiseshell. rhubarb plant n. ΚΠ 1715 J. Stevens tr. Hist. Persia xxii. 106 The Rhubarb Plant, is like the Turnip, consisting of a short Stalk, with small Leaves, rising but little. 1825 Times 30 Nov. 4 (advt.) Raspberry canes, superior rhubarb plants, strawberry plants, sweet briars, etc. which will be put in lots suitable for the trade and others. 1997 J. Moore Never eat your Heart Out 105 From the rhubarb plant's fist-size heart, red-veined green leaves unfurled out of membranous sheaths. rhubarb root n. ΚΠ 1671 J. Ogilby tr. O. Dapper et al. Atlas Chinensis 680 One Wagon full of Rhubarb Roots which is full of moisture, costs one Scudo and a half. 1779 H. D. Steel Portable Instr. purchasing Drugs & Spices 68 Sometimes the rhubarb-root is cut down the middle, and afterwards divided into pieces of four or five inches in length, which appear flat, and dry better than the round. 1895 Gardening Illustr. 19 Oct. 517/2 Please say..the best time for lifting Rhubarb roots for forcing. 1991 Gardener Jan. 54/2 Forcing chicory, seakale and rhubarb roots in succession. b. (In sense A. 2a.) rhubarb powder n. now rare ΚΠ 1671 J. Sharp Midwives Bk. v. x. 299 If choller persist, Rhubarb powder in conserve of Roses is very good. 1784 J. Woodforde Diary 9 Mar. (1926) II. 121 Mr. Thorne left..a Rhubarb Powder to take to Morrow. 1899 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 76 ii. 75 Detection of turmeric in rhubarb powder. 1998 P. J. Houghton & A. Raman Lab. Handbk. Fractionation Nat. Extracts x. 171 Carry out..the semi-specific tests for anthracene-derivative glycosides..on a small sample of the rhubarb powder. rhubarb purge n. now historical ΚΠ 1710 J. Floyer Pulse Watch II. xxii. 160 For diarræa, give Diaphoretics, and Laudanum Morning and Night, after a Rhubarb purge. 1854 G. R. Shepherd in Med. Examiner 10 New Ser. 126 After prescribing a dose of calomel and opium, followed by a rhubarb purge, to cleanse away irritating matter, I prescribed iodide of potassium. 2001 E. L. Furdell Royal Doctors 1485–1714 vii. 212 He recommended first neutralizing the acidity with powdered oyster shell, followed by a rhubarb purge to rid the body of abnormal elements. c. (In sense A. 1b.) Designating items of food or drink with the sense ‘made of rhubarb, flavoured with rhubarb’. rhubarb crumble n. ΚΠ 1952 A. W. Troelstrup Consumer Probl. vi. 131 Oatmeal Rhubarb Crumble. 2004 S. Sansegundo Great Restaurants of Hamptons 190 The rhubarb crumble contrasts a sharp, tart filling with a sweet crumble and ice cream. rhubarb fritter n. (chiefly in plural). ΚΠ 1860 E. Acton Mod. Cookery, for Private Families xix. 383 Rhubarb Fritters. The rhubarb for these should be of a good sort, quickly grown, and tender. 1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers (1994) vi. 150 ‘Now what business had you to be making rhubarb fritters’, he said to her, ‘when you've no time?’ 2004 T. Weisblat Pudding Hollow Cookbk. 43 Remove the rhubarb fritters with a slotted spoon. rhubarb jam n. ΚΠ 1823 Monthly Mag. June 456/1 A correspondent suggests the following means of making rhubarb jam. 1931 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 220 30 This species was isolated at Ardeer from mouldy rhubarb jam. 2001 R. Kroetsch Hornbooks Rita K 69 He finds in the cellar her jars of canned plums and mustard pickles and rhubarb jam. rhubarb pie n. ΚΠ 1808 D. Macdonald New London Family Cook 62 Gooseberry Pie. Plover's Eggs. Rhubarb Pie. 1894 Harper's Mag. May 931/2 There is one old soul who especially loves rhubarb pies. a1957 L. I. Wilder These Happy Golden Years (1963) (U.K. ed.) xxi. 191 They baked fresh bread, a rhubarb [1943 pieplant] pie, and a two-egg cake. 2002 K. Haedrich Apple Pie Perfect iii. 86 I do like a mixed-fruit rhubarb pie. rhubarb pudding n. ΚΠ 1823 M. Eaton Cook & Housekeeper's Dict. 308/1 Rhubarb Pudding. Put four dozen clean sticks of rhubarb into a stewpan, with the peel of a lemon, [etc.]. 1946 Farmhouse Fare (Farmers Weekly) 135 Rhubarb pudding..flour..dates..syrup..milk..cocoa..margarine..rhubarb... Bake in hot oven. 2000 S. Vitt & M. Hickman Rhubarb 43 Hot Rhubarb Pudding. Makes 8 servings. rhubarb tart n. ΚΠ ?1760Rhubarb tart [see sense A. 1b]. 1867 J. Ashburner Notes & Stud. Philos. Animal Magnetism & Spiritualism xv. 289 They should avoid acid fruits, beer, cyder, and rhubarb tarts, and numerous other articles of food that tend to produce nettle rash. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 151 Rhubarb tart with liberal fillings, rich fruit interior. 2007 1001 Foods to die For viii. 726/1 The queen of desserts must be a rhubarb tart with fresh cream. d. (In sense A. 4.) rhubarb noise n. ΚΠ 1958 D. Wallace Forty Years On v. 63 There was an uproar. From the general rhubarb noise the Dean could be heard. 1977 Gramophone Aug. 340/1 There is almost no theatrical production, sound-effects or ‘rhubarb’ noises. C2. Objective (in sense A. 2a). † rhubarb-chewer n. Obsolete rare ΚΠ 1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. 147 Your perpetual rhubarb-chewers of vanity get a canine appetite. C3. rhubarb agaric n. Obsolete rare a yellow agaric, Pholiota flammans. ΚΠ 1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 214 [Agaricus rheoides]... The whole plant both within and without is nearly the colour of Rhubarb.] 1830 Withering's Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 7) IV. 197 Ag. rheoides... Yellow-curtained Rhubarb Agaric. 1836 M. J. Berkeley Fungi 92 Agaricus flammans,..rhubarb-Agaric. rhubarb beer n. †(a) a medicinal tincture of rhubarb root in beer (obsolete); (b) beer flavoured with rhubarb (rare). ΚΠ 1789 M. Underwood Treat. Dis. Children (rev. ed.) I. 255 Sydenham's rhubarb-beer. 1792 T. Holcroft Anna St. Ives II. xxv. 84 Concoct hiera picra, rhubarb beer, and oil of charity; and sympathize over sprains, whitloes, and broken shins. 1998 M. Tabberer Maggie ii. 17 When Ron was home on leave he convinced my father he had the best way to use up that bloody rhubarb. He would make rhubarb beer. rhubarb chard n. (more fully rhubarb Swiss chard) a variety of Swiss chard, Beta vulgaris var. cicla, with red leaf-stalks and midribs, grown for culinary use or ornament. ΚΠ 1940 Burpee's Seed Catal. for 1941 1/2 (heading) Burpee's New Rhubarb Chard... Rhubarb Chard Leaf Stalks Fried in Batter Make Good Fritters... Rhubarb Chard Greens. 1981 M. Cunningham & J. Laber Fannie Farmer Cookbk. (1988) 412 Rhubarb Swiss chard has thick, reddish stems. 2006 Gardens Monthly Apr. 46/1 Swiss chard is pure white, ruby or rhubarb chard is bright scarlet, but for the most colour, I'd recommend the mixture ‘Bright Lights’, which has pink, yellow and orange, as well as red and white stems. rhubarb colour n. = sense B. 2. ΚΠ 1810 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 23 249 I recommend..unirritating and undebilitating doses of mercury to be taken every second or third night, till the stools become of a rhubarb colour. 1943 W. C. Coker & A. H. Beers Boletaceae N. Carolina 63 Varying from dull yellow with mottlings or reddish, the red sometimes in streaks, to rhubarb color all over. rhubarb-coloured adj. = sense B. 2. ΚΠ 1802 G. Colman Poor Gentleman (new ed.) i. ii. 16 A rhubarb-colour'd lapelle. 1892 A. Lang Library iii. 100 Books printed on coloured paper—green, blue, yellow, rhubarb-coloured, and the like. 1994 A. Bailey Coast of Summer 152 It's a good-looking 40-foot yawl with unusual rhubarb-colored topsides. rhubarb disease n. now rare crown rot of rhubarb, usually attributed either to fungal infection or the bacterium Erwinia rhapontici. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > fungal > associated with crop or food plants > fruit or fruit plants leaf curl1850 fly-speck1855 vine-mildew1855 vine-fungus1857 leaf blister1858 blister1864 peach-blister1866 charbon1882 crown rot1888 melanose1888 plum pocket1888 peach leaf curl1890 brown rot1894 mummy1902 sooty blotch1909 rhubarb disease1911 spur blight1915 red core1936 sclerotinia1950 Sigatoka1958 1911 Exper. Station Rec. (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 24 Index 881 Rhubarb disease, new, description. 1924 W. A. Millard in Bull. Agric. Dept., Univ. of Leeds cxxxiv. 6 Although many minor diseases attack the Rhubarb crop, none is of any importance in Yorkshire excepting that which has thus come to be known simply as ‘Rhubarb Disease’. This disease would be better described as Rhubarb Crown Rot, for it is the crown of the plant which is most generally attacked. rhubarb drink n. [compare German Rhabarbertrank] †(a) = rhubarb beer n. (a) (obsolete rare); (b) a soft drink flavoured with rhubarb. ΚΠ 1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. iv. v. 320 I..purged him with Rhubarb-drink. 1891 Newcastle Weekly Courant 12 Sept. 6/7 Rhubarb Drink is made by boiling a few sticks of rhubarb in water to cover it freely, straining off the juice, and sweetening to taste. 2001 D. T. Long Tastes of Minnesota vi. 98 For something truly different, try this tangy, pink, and pretty rhubarb drink. It's certain to become a summer tradition. rhubarb triangle n. British colloquial a roughly triangular area of West Yorkshire noted for the forced rhubarb grown there; cf. forced adj. 5.The ‘points’ of the triangle are usually given as Wakefield, Leeds, and Bradford, although sometimes other nearby places are substituted. In 2010 forced rhubarb from the area was granted Protected Designation of Origin status by the European Union (under the name Yorkshire forced rhubarb). ΚΠ 1965 H. Robinson Geogr. for Business Stud. 128 In pre-war days ‘rhubarb specials’ used to run from the West Riding rhubarb triangle to London. 1986 Guardian 7 Feb. 21/1 The small area of the West Riding bounded roughly by Leeds, Bradford, Meltham and Wakefield is sometimes known as the rhubarb triangle. 2010 Independent (Nexis) 13 Mar. (Mag.) 13 Of the hundreds of growers who once thrived in the county's ‘Rhubarb Triangle’, there are only a dozen left, but their chances of survival have been enhanced with the award of special legal protection from the EU. rhubarb wine n. †(a) a medicinal tincture of rhubarb rootstock in wine (obsolete); (b) wine made with rhubarb leaf-stalks. ΚΠ 1769 J. Ball New Compend. Dispensatory 223 Take six ounces of rhubarb wine; steel wine, one ounce; tincture of black hellebore, and syrup of saffron, each half an ounce. 1788 T. Healde tr. New Pharmacopoeia Index 337 Rhubarb-Wine. 1835 Brit. Cycl. Arts & Sci. II. 510/1 To prepare rhubarb wine, take of rhubarb, sliced, two ounces [etc.]. 1897 Daily News 31 Aug. 6/3 He had been a staunch teetotaler for five or six years but ‘broke loose’ on Saturday by drinking an enormous quantity of rhubarb wine, with which he became mad drunk. 1931 Bull. School Oriental Stud. 6 512 That the juice pressed from the wild rhubarb can be turned into wine by means of fermentation is adequately proved by the rhubarb wine. 1997 Farmers Guardian 19 Sept. 19/3 Liqueur and wine classes showed an increase with such tempters as blackberry rum liqueur, citrus liqueur and rhubarb wine. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022). rhubarbv. Brit. /ˈruːbɑːb/, U.S. /ˈruˌbɑrb/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: rhubarb n. Etymology: < rhubarb n. Compare earlier rhubarber n., and also rhubarbing n. slang. 1. transitive. Air Force. To strafe (a target) opportunistically. Cf. rhubarb n. 6. rare. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > attack with aircraft [verb (transitive)] > attack from low level strafe1917 rhubarb1943 1943 Amer. Mag. May 27/3 Butch and I rhubarbed a French freight train bound for a Channel port. 2. transitive. To mumble (words or phrases) in the manner of actors in a crowd scene (see sense 3). Also: to mumble (one's way) through something.Occasionally reduplicated: see quot. 1958 and rhubarb n. 4a. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > say in a particular manner [verb (transitive)] > mutter or mumble muttera1425 mumblec1450 murmurc1460 blabber?a1513 palter?1548 fumble1555 flummer1563 chaw1570 buzz1583 mumpa1586 demurmurate1641 loll1655 muttera1690 swallowa1791 sough1821 hummera1860 lip1887 mum-mumble1917 potato-mouth1937 rhubarb1958 1958 Spectator 11 July 47/1 ‘Hear, hear,’ they rhubarb-rhubarbed. 1967 D. Skirrow I was following this Girl xxxv. 210 I listened hard and rhubarbed my way through, trying to make any sort of sense of what I was hearing. 1976 Tempo No. 117. 36 Spoken phrases rhubarbed by an angry crowd. 3. intransitive. Originally Theatre. Of an actor or actors: to repeat the word ‘rhubarb’ so as to represent an indistinct conversation or the noise of a crowd. Also more generally: to make a murmurous background noise; to converse indistinctly, to mumble.Occasionally reduplicated: see quot. 2011 and rhubarb n. 4a. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > unintelligible language, gibberish > express unintelligibly [verb (transitive)] rabblec1430 jabber1532 gabble1566 gibberish1577 cant1592 garble1879 misspeak1890 rhubarb1962 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > unintelligible language, gibberish > talk gibberish [verb (intransitive)] > with repetition parrot1596 rhubarb1962 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)] > mumble to represent crowd rhubarb1962 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (transitive)] > mumble to represent crowd rhubarb1962 1962 Stage 1 Nov. 13/5 A two-handed scene designed to bring out important plot or character points is completely drowned by..half a dozen walk-ons rhubarbing away in the background. 1973 J. Richards Visions of Yesterday i. vii. 112/2 Cedric Hardwicke as a Blimpish general rhubarbing into his lunch about the evils of bottled horse-radish. 1976 Daily Tel. 21 Sept. 11/2 Livia faced the Roman mob, all seven of them, rhubarbing at the Palace back door. 1996 Shakespeare Surv. 49 252/1 It was disastrous to have them, as Hall did, rhubarbing away, mouthing comments to each other at the start. 2004 H. Sawler One Single Hour viii. 45 The chatter rhubarbed and overlapped. 2011 S. D. Breen Cuckoo viii. 145 The crowd started fraying at the edges, bits broke off and wandered away, rhubarb-rhubarbing. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.adj.c1390v.1943
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rhubarbn.adj.

Compounds

rhubarbv.