boiln.1
/bɔɪl/, U.S. /bɔɪl/ 1.
a. A hard inflamed suppurating tumour; a furuncle.Bile or Byle, in nearly all the dialect glossaries.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > suppuration > [noun] > a suppuration > abscess > boil
boila1000
kyle1340
botcha1387
anthraxa1398
bealc1400
carbuncle?a1425
froncle1543
knub1563
anthracosis?1587
nail1600
big1601
ouche1612
bubuklea1616
bolwaie1628
coal1665
furuncle1676
Natal sore1851
gurry sore1897
α.
β. 1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys i. f. v One that hath but a pore boyle vppon hys fynger.1611 Bible (King James) 2 Kings xx. 7 They tooke and layd it on the boile, and he recouered. View more context for this quotation1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Bile, this is generally spelt boil; but, I think, less properly.1773 J. Priestley Inst. Relig. II. 267 The boils..are expressly said to have been upon..Pharaoh.1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. vii. iv. 209 The maddest boil..does at length burst, and become an abscess.a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 5 Furunculus, byl.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 224 Goutes and beles.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. xxviii. 27 Smyit the Lord with the byil of Egipt.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. xxviii. 35 The moost yuel biel in knees.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xvi. 21 Houndis camen, and lickiden his bylis.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xxiii. 84 Bules [v.r. byles, belis, boilus] and bocches.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6011 Bile, and blister, bolnand sare.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 57/2 Ful of botchis, beelis and blaynes.
1562 W. Bullein Bk. Simples f. 39, in Bulwarke of Defence Painfull sores, Biles and pusshes.
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice vii. 71 They rise betweene his Chaps like a huge Bile.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. v. 2 You Shames of Rome: you Heard of Byles and Plagues Plaister you o're. View more context for this quotation
1737 J. Hervey Life & Lett. (1772) 212 Holy Job healed of his biles.
1748 tr. Vegetius Of Distempers Horses 62 He will have ..small Biles in his Back.
b. A swelling [= Middle Dutch bûle] .
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > [noun] > distension > swelling or swollenness > a swollen thing or part
swellingOE
boil1481
tumour?1541
tympany1580
tuberosity1611
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 81 And with his feet made two grete bules aboute his eres.
c. transferred. A swelling on a painted surface resembling a boil; a blister.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [noun] > formation of blisters > blister
blister1597
boil1841
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge lxiv. 311 The paint on the houses..crackled up..swelling into boils.
2. figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > [noun] > corruption > a morbid moral condition
rusteOE
maladyc1385
disease1509
lepry1526
boil1537
leprosy?1555
imposthume1565
gangrene1588
ulcer1592
diseasedness1614
lesion1640
unwholesomeness1881
1537 in State Papers Henry VIII (1834) II. 410 The chief soare bile and hinderance of his obedience.
1579 J. Stubbs Discouerie Gaping Gulf sig. Ciij A politique bile enflaming the peace of a settled and euen state.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. vii. 397 The Rebellion..which from a small pustle might have proved a painfull bile.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
boiln.2
/bɔɪl/, U.S. /bɔɪl/ 1. An act of boiling. spec. in New Zealand, the act of making tea in a billy. Cf. boil v. 4c and boil-up n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > [noun] > an act of
walmOE
boilc1440
qualm1599
boil-up1727
wobble1733
the world > food and drink > drink > preparation of drinks > [noun] > preparation of tea
tea-making1826
teabag1886
drum-up1919
boil1940
brew-up1944
c1440 Anc. Cookery in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 470 Gif hom but a boyle.
1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Apricock Give 'em seven or eight smart Boils.
1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery ii. 67 Give the sauce a minute's boil.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) II. 655 The extrication of gas called the boil, which accompanies the fusion of crown-glass.
1940 W. S. Gilkison Peaks, Packs 82 The best part of a tramp on the home hills is the mid~day ‘boil’.
1953 B. Stronach Musterer on Molesworth iv. 26 We had a boil and then started the ascent.
2.
a. The state of boiling or being at boiling point; also transferred and figurative a state of agitation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > [noun] > specifically of liquids or air
troublingc1340
walming?1527
sedition1635
boil1813
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > [noun] > state of being boiling (of liquid)
seethingc1300
boilingc1380
playing?c1425
ebullition1792
boil1813
1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake iii. 316 The next [moment] nor ship nor shadow was there, But a boil that arose from the deep below.
1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. II. vii. 341 As soon as the liquor comes to a boil.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations I. iv. 44 The pudding was already on the boil.
1870 Daily News 30 Dec. The coffee was near the boil.
b. boil-off n. the evaporative loss from liquefied natural gases, esp. methane; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > hydrocarbons > [noun] > alkanes > methane evaporation
boil-off1956
1956 Trans. Inst. Gas Engin. 1955–6 986 Storage tanks for liquid methane... The heat losses from the spherical tanks were found to be lower than anticipated and the measured rate of ‘boil off’ was equivalent to 0·23 per cent per day of the tank content.
1956 Trans. Inst. Gas Engin. 1955–6 988 A vapour connexion to carry away the ‘boil off’ gas.
1960 Times 8 Mar. 17/3 It [sc. liquid methane] has been kept in special containers, the ‘boil-off’ being pumped to the board's Romford works.
3. That which is boiled, a boiling preparation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > [noun] > that which is boiling or boiled
seething1382
boiling1674
boil1756
1756 Philos. Trans. 1755 (Royal Soc.) 49 159 I put the linen..into a boil of soap.
4. U.S. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > movement of waves > [noun] > surging, rolling, or heaving
walteringc1400
washing?1473
rolling1485
walterc1540
surging1585
boil1805
welteringa1807
seethe1816
ride1822
whelm1842
welter1849
washing in1877
wash1883
1805 W. Clark Jrnl. 24 Oct. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1988) V. 328 In those narrows the water was agitated in a most Shocking manner boils Swells & whorl pools, we passed with great risque.
1826 T. Flint Recoll. Last Ten Years 87 The Mississippi..is full of singular boils, where the water rises with a strong circular motion.
1853 Putnam's Monthly Aug. 188/2 These ‘boils’, as the boatmen call them, are immense upheavings of the moving waters [of the Mississippi].
1875 ‘M. Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly Mar. 289/2 Those tumbling ‘boils’ show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there.
5. Angling. A sudden bold rise of a fish at a fly. (Cf. boil v. 11.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [noun] > sudden rise at fly
boil1893
1893 Field 17 June 894/3 A fish had made a boil at my fly.
1894 Daily News 22 Aug. 5/1 The only hopeful sign is when salmon now and then break the surface of the water with a ‘boil’, a movement like the rise of a trout.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
boilv.
/bɔɪl/, U.S. /bɔɪl/ 1. intransitive.
a. Of a liquid: To bubble up in agitation through the action of heat causing the lowest portions of the liquid to pass into the gaseous form and escape; to roll about under the influence of heat; also said of the vessel containing the liquid. Also with up and figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil [verb (intransitive)] > boil up
boilc1612
estuate1620
rise1648
c1612 W. Strachey Dict. Indian Lang. in Hist. Trav. Virginia (1953) ii. 177/1 To boyle vp, Potopotawh tawh.
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery ix. 94 Let it boil up till it is thorough hot.
1818 W. Tucker Family Dyer & Scourer (ed. 2) 61 When this has boiled up, cool down your copper.
1871 L. W. M. Lockhart Fair to See (1872) II. xiii. 62 Just as things were boiling up very satisfactorily to a climax, in came Mrs M'Killop..and cleared them off.
1871 L. W. M. Lockhart Fair to See (1872) III. xxxv. 150 All this time Mrs M'Killop..had been bridling and boiling up on her sofa, waiting for recognition.
b. To reach the boiling point, to turn from the liquid into the gaseous state. to boil over: to bubble up so as to run over the side of the vessel; also said of the vessel. Cf. to run over 1b at run v. Phrasal verbs 1, overflow v. 2a, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil [verb (intransitive)]
wallc1000
well?a1200
boila1225
seethea1400
ebulliate1599
qualm1599
walm1610
ebullate1623
wamble1636
wobble1725
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil [verb (intransitive)] > boil over
to boil overc1440
to seethe over1541
a1225 Juliana 172 Þis maide isei þis led boili.
a1225 St. Margarete 247 He let hete water oð seoþinge & þo hit boillede faste.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 32 Which hath ever his pottes hote Of love boilend on the fire.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11886 Þai fild a lede o pik and oyle, And fast þai did it for to boile.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 43 Boylyn ouyr, as pottys on þe fyre, ebullio.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. lxiv. 2 The fire causeth the waters to boyle . View more context for this quotation
1813 Domestic Cookery 249 Room (for the liquor) to boil as quick as possible, without boiling over.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. §24. 356 Water deprived of its air will not boil at 212° Fahr.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 53 Putting in anything that we like while the pot is boiling.
2. transferred.
a. To move with an agitation like that of boiling water; to bubble, to seethe. Also said of that from which something gushes tumultuously: To overflow with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > move irregularly or be agitated [verb (intransitive)]
whirlc1290
boilc1300
balterc1400
worka1535
turmoil1547
jumble1568
swash1583
commotion1599
stimmer1616
belk1648
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > go or come out [verb (intransitive)] > copiously or continuously
flowc825
outfloweOE
outstreama1275
streama1300
boilc1300
welta1400
buschc1400
waltc1400
outwellc1443
pour1538
outgush1558
gush1577
outpour1581
spew1670
well1812
sluice1859
c1300 K. Alis. 2464 Me myghte y-seo..Heorten blede, braynes boyle.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job xli. 22 He shal make the depthe of the se to boilen as a pot.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. ix. 9 Wormes buyliden out of the body of the vnpyteous man.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xvi. 20 It bigan to buyle with wormes, and it was rotun.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. gvii Mighty newe wyne..boyleth vpwarde, as though it wolde brast the vessell.
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) v. 2061 When the poyson boylde In every veine.
1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon ii. vi. 253 His blood boiling in great quantities out of his mouth.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey I. iii. 357 The storm thickens, and the billows boil.
1820 R. Southey Lodore 93 Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling.
b. To undulate like a boiling fluid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (intransitive)] > undulate
roll1565
billow1628
undulate1664
wave1667
pother1817
boil1882
1882 Observatory V. 355 The Sun's limb was boiling all about it.
3. figurative.
a. Said of passions, persons under the influence of passion, their words, etc. Also to boil over. Cf. the blood boils at sense 10b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > be or become affected with passion [verb (intransitive)] > (be ready to) burst out
anburstc1275
boilc1386
to fly outc1400
flamea1591
flush1601
overboil1611
burst1633
bust1705
outblazea1711
explode1834
the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > become ardent or fervent [verb (intransitive)] > burn with passion
forburnc893
burnc1000
wallOE
blaze?c1225
flame1377
boilc1386
fry1568
broil1600
glow1623
the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > become ardent or fervent [verb (intransitive)] > burn (of passion)
burnc825
blaze?c1225
boilc1386
fry1563
flamea1591
glow1623
the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (intransitive)] > burn or boil with anger
burnc1000
broil1561
boil1577
emboil1590
the blood boils1675
flame1681
c1386 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale ⁋272 The brennyng of lecchery boylid in al his body.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 294 So boilen up the foule sawes.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xii. f. 58 Whan his herte thus boiled.
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Evagrius Scholasticus v. xviii, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 499 The people..boyled with anger.
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth i. 104 O-Neal..boyled in hatred against the English.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 16 His dire attempt, which nigh the birth Now rowling, boiles in his tumultuous brest. View more context for this quotation
1761–2 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) IV. li. 60 Resentment was boiling in his sullen, unsociable mind.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 47 He cannot chafe or boil or get into a state of righteous indignation.
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xvii. 288 The political frenzy was now boiling over.
b. transitive. to boil forth: to give forth in a boiling or agitated manner.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > copiousness > express copiously [verb (transitive)] > pour out or multiply (words, etc.)
multiply1340
lash1529
to boil forth1610
1610 Bible (Douay) II. Prov. xv. 2 The mouth of fooles boyleth forth follie.
4.
a. transitive. To cause (a liquid) to bubble with heat (see sense 1); to bring to the boiling point: esp. said of food, wholly or partly liquid, in the process of cooking; also of the containing vessel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil or cause to boil [verb (transitive)]
welleOE
seethec1000
wallc1310
play?c1450
boila1475
siede1481
ebulliate1599
elixate1623
tottlea1774
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 11 Boyle hit and sture lest hit brenne.
a1500 Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 34 Sume byllyd mettayl.
1692 London Gaz. No. 2800/4 The Copper boyls betwixt 15 and 16 Hogsheads at a time.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. ix. 68/1 As kind housewives..were boiling their husbands' kettles.
b. intransitive (for reflexive). Cf. eat v. 5, cut v. 13a, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > undergo cooking [verb (intransitive)] > undergo boiling > be capable of boiling
boil1845
1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery xxi. 586 The fruit should be finely flavoured, and..should boil easily.
c. to boil up: absol. to boil or wash clothes. U.S. and New Zealand colloquial. Also (Canadian and New Zealand), to make tea. Also to boil the billy, to make tea (Australian and New Zealand colloquial).
ΚΠ
1839 J. Heberley Reminiscences (Alexander Turnbull Libr., Wellington, N.Z.) 87 [We] boiled the Billy and made some Tea out of tawa bark.
1881 Cheq. Career 361 To cook dampers..and boil a ‘billy’ are works of art.
1891 Argus (Melbourne) 7 Nov. 13/5 When you've boiled your billy and cooked your damper you put out the fire and move..on to camp.
1902 B. Baynton in W. Murdoch & H. Drake-Brockman Austral. Short Stories (1951) 42 Blest if I evven fergot t' bile th' billy.
1911 W. H. Koebel In Maoriland Bush x. 150 When you boil the ‘billy’, you make tea, voila tout.
1929 Amer. Speech 4 338 Boil up, to wash your clothes.
1933 E. Merrick True North 30 At three we boiled up again.
1947 P. Newton Wayleggo (1949) iii. 34 Musterers..carry billies..and ‘boil-up’..when circumstances permit.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > ardent or fervent [verb (transitive)] > inflame (with) passion
annealeOE
ontendeOE
anheatOE
atend1006
tindc1175
firec1225
heat?c1225
inlowa1300
inflamea1340
eschaufec1374
flamec1380
kindlec1390
chafe1393
achafea1400
to set a firec1400
lighta1413
incense1435
scaldc1480
embrase1483
incend?1504
to set on fire?1526
enkindle1561
enfire1596
flush1633
boil1649
calenturea1657
infirea1661
1649 Εἰκων Βασιλικη 115 Let no fire of affliction boil over my passion to any impatience.
a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 237 Wrath boils thy breast!
a1704 T. Brown On Duke of Ormond's Recovery in Wks. (1707) I. i. 71 What Lust of Power, or what nefarious Charms, Ferments your Blood and boyl you into Arms..?
6. To act upon (anything) by continued immersion in boiling liquid; to subject to heat in boiling water.
a. To cook (solid articles) in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > cook [verb (transitive)] > boil
seethec1000
boilc1405
decoctc1420
upboilc1440
play?c1450
coct1607
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 382 A Cook they hadde..To boille the chiknes with the Marybones... He koude rooste and seethe and broille & frye.
1611 Bible (King James) Ezek. xlvi. 20 The place where the Priests shall boyle the trespasse offring. View more context for this quotation
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper ii. 107 He is..a Kid..boyled in his Mothers milk.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 57 Some steep their Seed, and some in Cauldrons boil . View more context for this quotation
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind i. 4 Modes of making fire and boiling food.
b. To cleanse (clothes, etc.) by immersion in boiling water.
ΚΠ
1696 London Gaz. No. 3145/4 A silver-hilted Sword..was lately Boiled, and the Handle gilt.
c. To prepare, make, or produce by boiling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil or cause to boil [verb (transitive)] > prepare or produce by boiling
boilc1325
seethe?a1500
digest1600
c1325 Coer de L. 2831 In watyr we baylyd the blood.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 232 The important improvement of boiling sugar in vacuo.
d. To put to death by boiling.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > execute [verb (transitive)] > boil
scalda1536
boil1556
to make white broth of1645
1556 in J. G. Nichols Chron. Grey Friars (1852) 45 The x. day of March was a mayde boyllyd in Smythfelde for poysynyng of dyvers persons.
1842 Ld. Tennyson St. Simeon Stylites in Poems (new ed.) II. 55 Martyrs..were stoned, or crucified, Or burn'd in fire, or boil'd in oil.
7. intransitive. To undergo the action produced by immersion in boiling liquid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil [verb (intransitive)] > by immersion in boiling liquid
wallc1000
boil1633
1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island i. lvii. 15 Boyling in sulphur, and hot-bubbling pitch.
1813 Dom. Cookery viii. 185 Set it [rice] to boil in milk.
8. to boil away (intr.): to evaporate in boiling. to boil down: to lessen the bulk of (anything) by boiling; figurative to condense, epitomize.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > reduce in size or extent [verb (transitive)] > boil down
defervec1420
decocta1552
to boil down1845
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil or cause to boil [verb (transitive)] > reduce by boiling
defervec1420
decocta1552
to boil down1845
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > put concisely or briefly [verb (transitive)] > condense
condensate1555
contract1604
to shut up1622
compress1746
condense1805
pemmican1837
pemmicanize1845
to boil down1880
bovrilize1900
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > summary or epitome > summarize or abridge [verb (transitive)]
abrevya1325
comprehendc1369
abridgec1384
shorta1390
suma1398
abbreviate?a1475
shorten1530
to cut short?1542
curtail1553
to knit up1553
to wind up1583
clip1598
epitomize1599
brief1601
contract1604
to shut up1622
decurt1631
to sum up1642
breviate1663
curtilate1665
compendize1693
epitomate1702
to gather up1782
summarize1808
scissor1829
précis1856
to cut down1857
to boil down1880
synopsize1882
essence1888
résumé1888
short copy1891
bovrilize1900
pot1927
summate1951
capsulize1958
profile1970
1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery xxi. 553 For jams and jellies it [sc. fruit] cannot be too soon boiled down.
1880 Sat. Rev. No. 1288. 28 It is surprising to see how much research Mr. S. has sometimes contrived to boil down into a single line.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > undutifulness > betrayal > betray [verb (transitive)]
sellc950
forredea1000
belewec1000
trechec1230
betrayc1275
trayc1275
wrayc1275
traise1320
trechetc1330
betradec1375
betraisec1386
bewray1535
betrantc1540
boil1602
reveal1640
peacha1689
bridge1819
to go back on (also upon)1859
to sell (a person) down the river1921
1602 S. Rowlands Greenes Ghost 16 His cloyer or follower forthwith boyles him, that is, bewrayes him.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. Lv Wee are smoakt..Wee are boyl'd, pox on her.
10. Phrases.
a. to boil the pot: to supply one's livelihood. So to keep the pot boiling: also = to keep anything going. Cf. pot n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue doing or keep going in a course of action [verb (intransitive)] > keep anything going
to keep the ball up1693
to keep the ball rolling1770
to keep the pot boiling1808
the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply [verb (intransitive)] > provide immediate necessities of life
to boil the pot1808
potboil1867
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (intransitive)] > provide one's livelihood
to keep the pot boiling1661
to boil the pot1808
1808 J. Wolcot One more Peep at Royal Acad. 5 I think this piece will help to boil thy pot.
1837 F. Marryat Snarleyyow (ed. 2) I. ix. 111 Huzza, my lads! we'll keep the pot boiling.
b. the blood boils: phrase expressing strong emotion, esp. of anger or indignation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (intransitive)] > burn or boil with anger
burnc1000
broil1561
boil1577
emboil1590
the blood boils1675
flame1681
1675 T. Otway Alcibiades iv. ii. 38 I am impatient, and my blood boyls high.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 230 The thought of such intervention made the blood, even of the Cavaliers, boil in their veins.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany xv. 248 A sight which made his blood boil.
1915 J. Turner Let. July in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 18 My blood boils sometimes.
11. Angling. Of a fish: to rise boldly at a fly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [verb (intransitive)] > rise at or feed on insects
smut1889
boil1898
smutter1899
nymph1972
1898 J. A. Gibbs Cotswold Village viii. 164 I see one [sc. a trout] boil up just above that mess of weed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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