skeletonn.
/ˈskɛlɪtən/ 1.
a. The bones or bony framework of an animal body considered as a whole; also, more generally, the harder (supporting or covering) constituent part of an animal organism.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > skeleton > [noun]
bonesOE
notomy1487
rames1497
charnel1562
skelet1565
skeleton1578
anatomy1591
atomy1597
cadavera1682
bonework1753
osteology1854
scaffolding1886
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > constituent materials > [noun] > skeleton
skeleton1578
osteology1799
α.
β. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Scelete,..a carkasse whereof nothing is left but the bones, which we call a Skelton, or Skeliton.1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §38 By continuall sight of Anatomies, Skeletons, or Cadaverous reliques.1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 30 These poor Wretches look'd like Skeletons.1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 408 At the entrance hangs the skeleton and some other parts of a whale.1832 tr. A. von Humboldt in W. Macgillivray Trav. & Researches A. von Humboldt xix. 279 All the skeletons are bent, and so entire that not a rib or a bone of the fingers or toes is wanting.1845 P. H. Gosse Ocean (1849) ii. 84 Even the muscles [of the crab] becoming detached from skeleton.1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. p. xiv The skeleton or endoskeleton of fishes differs widely in the various orders.figurative.1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. ix. 347 Grammar is not only the skeleton of a language but the very life-blood of it as well.1578 J. Banister Hist. Man Proeme sig. Biiij I haue found some of Galens Sceletons in sundry pointes.
1616 B. Jonson Speeches at Prince Henries Barriers 47 in Wks. I Whose very sceleton boasts so much worth.
1665 R. Hubert Catal. Nat. Rarities (new ed.) 4 A Scelleton of a little Marmoset.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 408/1 The Scaleton of a Man..is the emblem of Mortality.
1713 W. Cheselden Anat. Humane Body i. 36 The Sceleton of a full grown Fœtus.
1713 W. Cheselden Anat. Humane Body i. 36 The Sceleton of an Adult.
b. a skeleton in the closet, a skeleton in the cupboard, etc.: A secret source of shame or pain to a family or person.Brought into literary use by Thackeray, but known to have been current at an earlier date.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun] > something concealed, a secret > unfortunate secret
atalantis1709
a skeleton in the closet1845
family skeleton1850
skeleton1936
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > disgrace or dishonour > [noun] > cause of disgrace > secret
a skeleton in the closet1845
family skeleton1850
1845 W. M. Thackeray Punch in East in Wks. (1886) XXVI. 112 There is a skeleton in every house.
1855 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes II. xvii. 165 Some particulars regarding the Newcome family, which will show us that they have a skeleton or two in their closets, as well as their neighbours.
1859 W. Collins Queen of Hearts I. 182 Our family had a skeleton in the cupboard.
1881 E. J. Worboise Sissie ix She regretted having ever unveiled for her benefit the family skeleton.
1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 51/1 A household that..possessed no closeted skeleton.
c. a skeleton at the feast (or banquet), a reminder of serious or saddening things in the midst of enjoyment; a source of gloom or depression.An allusion to the practice of the ancient Egyptians, as recorded by Plutarch in his Moralia.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [noun] > depressing quality > depressing thing, person, or circumstances
cloudc1430
palla1450
melancholya1475
downdraughta1681
Job's comforter1738
damper1748
killjoy1776
wet blanket1810
down-drag1814
chill1821
dismals1829
shadow1855
down1856
a skeleton at the feast (or banquet)1857
wet blanket1857
depressor1868
dampener1887
sorry-go-round1898
wet smack1927
bringdown1935
droopy drawers1939
big chill1943
party pooper1947
misery1951
party poop1951
grinch1966
downer1969
1857 G. A. Lawrence Guy Livingstone iii. 18 The skeleton of ennui sat at these dreary feasts; and it was not even crowned with roses.
1893 H. Vizetelly Glances Back I. iv. 86 He was..the general skeleton at all banquets.
1896 M. W. Hungerford Lonely Girl xiv To give him leisure to act the skeleton at the feast.
d. Historical. A member of a ‘skeleton army’ (see sense Compounds 3 below).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > salvationism > [noun] > person > collective > group disrupting activities of > member of
skeleton1882
1882 Eastern Post 4 Nov. 3/3 There was nothing to fear from the latest born army; there would be ‘skeletons’ enough in it.
1950 R. Sandall Hist. Salvation Army xxxiii. 196 The police..dispersed the ‘skeletons’.
1981 C. Scott Heavenly Witch viii. 120 The Judge of Assize..condemned the Skeletons as the aggressive party.
2.
a. transferred. A very thin, lean, or emaciated person or animal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [noun] > thin shape > person having
staffc1405
notomy1487
rakea1529
crag1542
scrag1542
sneakbill1546
starveling1546
slim1548
ghost1590
bald-rib1598
bare-bone1598
bow-case1599
atomy1600
sneaksbill1602
thin-gut1602
anatomya1616
sharg1623
skeleton1630
raw-bone1635
living skeleton1650
strammel1706
scarecrow1711
rickle of bones1729
shargar1754
squeeze-crab1785
rack of bones1804
thread-paper1824
bag of bones1838
dry-bones1845
skinnymalink1870
hairpin1879
slim jim1889
skinny1907
underweight1910
asthenic1925
ectomorph1940
skinny-malinky1957
matchstick1959
1630 P. Massinger Picture sig. G Vbaldo. Who haue we heere? What skelliton's this? Ricardo. A ghost! or the image of famine!
1649 J. Taylor Wandering 2 I gave 2s. 6d. for the hire of the Skelliton or Anatomy of a Beast to carry me ten miles.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 65 He came out half starved, a mere Sceleton.
1715 J. Chappelow Right Way to be Rich 55 We are become an Army of meer Skellitons.
1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 213 The sad sense of impending evil..wore him down to a skeleton.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II cii. 170 A mother had not known her son Amidst the skeletons of that gaunt crew.
1847 W. E. Forster in T. W. Reid Life W. E. Forster (1888) I. vi. 193 Men gaunt skeletons; women in cabins too weak to stand.
b. figurative. A mere outline; a thing having a bare, meagre, unattractive character.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [noun] > state of being limited in amount > scantiness or meagreness > that which is meagre
skeleton1607
1607 T. Tomkis Lingua iii. ii Such a Rawbond Skelton as Memory.
1641 R. Greville Disc. Nature Episcopacie Ep. Ded. sig. A3 How much lesse then, when presented only in a bare and naked Sceleton?
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Suppl. to Hist. Own Time (1902) i. 3 He laid all the Scriptures relating to any point together, but it was a skeleton of bones.
1857 J. Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) I. 49 The systems [men] learn are nothing but skeletons to them.
1878 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) III. xx. 376 Scarcely a skeleton of the proceedings of the earlier sessions.
3.
a. The supporting framework of anything, as of buildings, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting framework
cradle1379
cratch1382
frame1388
brandreth1483
scaffold?1523
crate1526
bone1542
framework1578
anatomy1591
scaffoldage1609
brake1623
truss1654
skeletona1658
carcass1663
box frame1693
crib1693
scaffolding1789
staddlea1800
gantry1810
cradling1823
potence1832
ossaturea1878
tower1970
a1658 J. Cleveland Wks. (1687) 32 So by an Abbey's Skeleton of late I heard an Eccho supererogate.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 109/2 Carcase, is (as it were) the Skelleton or Frame of an House new raised.
1759 J. Mills tr. H. L. Duhamel du Monceau Pract. Treat. Husbandry i. iii. 5 The plant would indeed die..: but without earth, not even a skeleton of it would remain.
1792 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 266 The Skeleton or Carpentry of the Dome.
1817 J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 48 We noticed this day the skeleton or frame of a skin canoe.
1857 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. III. xiii. 727 The obvious use of the saline matters is to furnish a skeleton or support for the plant.
1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. iv. 168 The mountain chains which form the skeleton of Europasia.
b. Chemistry. The basic atomic framework of a molecule, disregarding substituents (and sometimes also side chains or bond type).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical structure or stereochemistry > [noun] > atomic framework or arrangement
skeleton1907
hexagonal close-packing1917
1907 J. B. Cohen Org. Chem. Adv. Students I. xiii. 472 It will be at once perceived how very large a number of possible menthadienes can be derived from these two skeleton structures.
1910 Jrnl. Physiol. 41 29 The carbon-skeleton of β-phenylethylamine is..identical with that of adrenine.
1926 [see Compounds 1c]. 1956 I. L. Finar Org. Chem. II. viii. 310 The nature of the sesquiterpene skeleton is also characterised by the number of double bonds present in the molecule.
1975 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. Dalton Trans. 31/1 Internal vibrations of nitrate, the imidazole ligands.., and the ML6 skeleton.
4.
a. The bare outlines or main features, the most necessary elements, of something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] > essential elements > mere essential elements
cage-work1635
bone1647
skeleton1647
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > [noun] > something left incomplete
bosh1726
skeleton1796
torso1825
1647 M. Nedham Case of Kingdom 2 The bare bones, the very Skeleton of a Monarchie.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) i. 2 This bare Sceleton of Time, Place, and Person, must be fleshed with some pleasant passages.
1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius No. 42. 222 They have the skeletons of all the arts or sciences, in which they are to be examined.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 175 Being indeed only the sceleton of the bill.
1796 F. Burney Lett. 10 July What did you write of it here?.. Did you finish any part? or only form the skeleton?
1836 H. Rogers Life J. Howe ii. 27 It may be useful..to look even on the skeleton of the Scriptures.
1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 12 Apr. in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) iii. 164 The sterner features remain; the skeleton of thought.
b. The outlines, plan, or scheme of a sermon.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > speech-making > [noun] > a discourse or lecture > outline, plan, or main points of
skeleton1724
1724 R. Wodrow Life J. Wodrow (1828) 125 He took in the performances he termed skeletons.
c1799 J. Bunting in Life (1859) I. vii. 102 My stock of skeletons is yet so small, that I should find it difficult..to avoid sameness and repetition.
1808 Simeon (title) Helps to Composition: or, Six hundred skeletons of sermons.
5. Military. The small number of men (and officers) representing a regiment which is far short of its full strength. (Cf. Compounds 1c).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > regiment > skeleton of
skeleton1802
cadre1851
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Skeleton,..frequently applied to regiments..extremely reduced in their number of men.
1812 Ann. Reg., Chron. 77 Having on board part of the skeleton of the 16th regiment of foot,..consisting of 10 officers, and 62 rank and file.
1837 Col. Thompson in Barrow Mirr. Parl. III. 1805/2 A fat soldier..said, ‘I am the skeleton of the 101st regiment’.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 628 Skeleton of a Regiment, its principal officers and staff.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 387/2.
6. elliptical.
a. plural. A skeleton suit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > for specific people > for boys
skeleton suit1836
button-up1839
shell suit1860
trouser suit1864
monkey suit1876
skeleton1879
1879 J. H. Ewing Jackanapes (1884) iii. 19 It was when he had just been put into skeletons (frocks never suited him).
b. A skeleton key.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > key > skeleton key or picklock
picklock1567
wrester1591
picklock key1609
gilk1610
gilt1667
ginny1669
dub1699
false key1701
screwa1790
skeleton key1810
twirl1879
skeleton1884
pick1890
twirler1921
1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 24 Oct. 8/1 300 implements for house-breaking,..skeletons and other keys.
c. A skeleton toboggan.
ΚΠ
1904 Field 6 Feb. 204/1 There were sixteen entries on skeletons... Eight skeletons (four gentlemen and four ladies) ran in the second heat.
d. A skeleton forme.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [noun] > forme > skeleton
skeleton forme1888
skeleton1938
1938 F. T. Bowers in Library XIX. 315 When the term skeleton is used it will indicate the imposed cross~bars, furniture, and running-titles of a forme.
1950 Studies in Bibliography III. 246 The first five sheets of the play were printed with three skeletons used in a pattern some~what different from that in Lear.
1978 Stud. Eng. Lit.: Eng. Number (Tokyo) 22 Skeleton II was used for the outer forme of sheets B, C, D.
Compounds
C1. attributive. That is, or has the character of, a skeleton:
a. In sense 1, as skeleton-chief, skeleton-hand, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > skeleton > [adjective]
atomizeda1628
skeleton1811
skeletal1854
skeletonian1879
skeletonic1880
skeletonized1976
1811 P. B. Shelley St. Irvyne ii. 50 Her skeleton form the dead Nun rear'd, Which dripp'd with the chill dew of hell.
1831 W. Howitt Bk. Seasons 371 The plants which waved their broad, white umbels.., like skeleton-trophies of death.
1849 C. Dickens David Copperfield (1850) xv. 156 He was high-shouldered and bony;..and had a long, lank, skeleton hand.
1894 M. Dyan All in Man's Keeping (1899) 82 It was an army of skeletons—a skeleton chief at their head and skeleton horses to bear them onward!
b. In sense 4, as skeleton map, skeleton note, skeleton plan, skeleton sermon (cf. 4b), etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [adjective] > consisting of a rough plan
skeleton1802
society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [adjective] > drawn up in outline
skeletonian1801
skeleton1802
skeletonized1834
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Skeleton plan.
1829 I. Taylor Nat. Hist. Enthusiasm viii. 202 The skeleton-machinery of his individual existence.
1830 J. F. W. Herschel Prelim. Disc. Study Nat. Philos. 134 The circulation of printed skeleton forms, on various subjects.
1856 P. E. Dove Logic Christian Faith iii. §2. 138 Skeleton maps of knowledge.
1864 D. G. Mitchell Seven Stories 35 I have but filled in the little skeleton notes in the musty memoranda of travel.
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. v. 285 A sort of skeleton biographies of the leading men.
1868 A. Helps Realmah (1876) xvii. 475 A series of skeleton sermons.
c. In sense 5, as skeleton battalion, skeleton company, skeleton crew, skeleton regiment, etc. Also, in wider use, applied to any staff, company, etc., of the minimum size for carrying on the work to be done; so skeleton service, a service reduced to a bare minimum.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [adjective] > regiment > skeleton
skeleton1778
skeletonic1880
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [noun] > employee > collectively > minimum
skeleton crew1914
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [noun] > by vehicles regularly plying on a route > service reduced to bare minimum
skeleton service1926
1778 A. Hamilton Let. 18 June in Papers (1961) I. 500 Owing to the skeleton state of our regiments.
1809 A. Henry Trav. & Adventures Canada 183 With my skeleton-battalion, therefore, I proceeded to the fort.
1829 H. D. Best Personal & Lit. Mem. 177 A skeleton regiment, such is the phrase, arrived from the West Indies.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own II. xv. 239 To fill up the skeleton ranks of the different Companies.
1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry ii. 34 The Skeleton Squadron will be composed of non-commissioned officers, or privates, with their coverers representing the flanks of Divisions.
1881 Daily News 21 Jan. 5/6 The brigade depot at Chester, consisting of four skeleton companies of the 22nd Regiment.
1914 in W. S. Churchill World Crisis (1923) I. xix. 445 There is only a skeleton force of patrol vessels available on the East Coast.
1925 Strand Mag. Sept. 255/2 A skeleton staff were working nervously under the direction of a chartered accountant.
1926 Times 6 May 3/1 On the railways skeleton services were run on main and suburban lines, and more trains are promised to-day.
1928 Daily Mail 7 Aug. 2/5 The establishment of skeleton air defence formations on the northern coast.
1937 W. H. S. Smith Let. 23 Jan. in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 53 All my officers have gone out to the mofussil..and all the clerks except 6, a mere skeleton staff to keep the work going.
1938 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Jan. 6/3 A skeleton crew of 125 men will take the ship to Scotland.
1957 P. Kemp Mine were of Trouble ii. 29 Skeleton crews whose task was to train Spaniards in the use of their weapons.
1973 ‘I. Drummond’ Jaws of Watchdog xviii. 255 A skeleton staff was still on duty, juniors, message-takers.
1976 S. Wales Echo 25 Nov. 4/2 Buses will not run in Cardiff for three consecutive days over Christmas despite a last~ditch effort to have a skeleton service on one day.
C2. attributive, as skeleton-gaunt, skeleton-producing, skeleton-strewn adjs.; skeleton-wise adv.
ΚΠ
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) 726 The skeleton-producing cells appear to be derived from the ectoderm.
1888 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 1 382 To have pencil and paper at hand and jot down the dream, at least skeletonwise.
1895 A. I. Shand Life E. B. Hamley I. iv. 94 On the skeleton-strewn plateau.
1929 W. B. Yeats Winding Stair 3 When withered old and skeleton-gaunt.
C3.
a. In miscellaneous uses .
(a)
skeleton ball n.
ΚΠ
1860 Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 125 A new Beacon has been erected.., having a Skeleton Ball at the top.
skeleton beam n.
ΚΠ
1869 W. J. M. Rankine Cycl. Machine & Hand-tools App. 23 The first case explained will be that of a skeleton beam, composed of a framework of slender bars of the simplest possible construction.
skeleton clock n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > other types of clock
watch-clock1592
German clock1598
quarter clocka1631
wheel-clock1671
table clocka1684
month clock1712
astronomical clock1719
musical clock1721
repeater1725
Tompion1727
pulling clock1733
regulator1735
eight-day clock1741
regulator clock1750
French clock1757
repetition clock1765
day clock1766
striker1778
chiming clock1789
cuckoo-clock1789
night clock1823
telltale1827
carriage clock1828
fly-clock1830
steeple clock1830
telltale clock1832
skeleton clock1842
telegraph clock1842
star clock1850
weight-clock1850
prison clock1853
crystal clock1854
pillar scroll top clock1860
sheep's-head clock1872
presentation clock1875
pillar clock1880
stop-clock1881
Waterbury1882
calendar-clock1884
ting-tang clock1884
birdcage clock1886
sheep's head1887
perpetual calendar1892
bracket clock1894
Act of Parliament clock1899
cartel clock1899
banjo-clock1903
master clock1904
lantern clock1913
time clock1919
evolutionary clock1922
lancet clock1922
atomic clock1927
quartz clock1934
clock radio1946
real-time clock1953
organ clock1956
molecular clock1974
travelling clock2014
1842 G. W. Francis Dict. Arts (at cited word) A skeleton clock is one which is without the usual case, and so fitted up, that the interior wheel-work is visible.
1870 M. Bridgman Robert Lynne II. ii. 23 On the mantelpiece was a skeleton-clock.
skeleton dial n.
ΚΠ
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 176 A skeleton dial of cast iron gilt.
skeleton face n.
ΚΠ
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 126 Skeleton face, thin-faced letter used for jobbing purposes.
skeleton frame n.
ΚΠ
1951 A. Koestler Age of Longing iv. 84 Towers of wood and towers of metal, towers which had merely a skeleton-frame and towers that were panelled in from all sides.
skeleton framework n.
ΚΠ
1897 Building Construction (new ed.) i. 17 The combination of columns and girders which form the ‘skeleton’ framework.
skeleton key n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > key > skeleton key or picklock
picklock1567
wrester1591
picklock key1609
gilk1610
gilt1667
ginny1669
dub1699
false key1701
screwa1790
skeleton key1810
twirl1879
skeleton1884
pick1890
twirler1921
1810 Ann. Reg. 296 The locks might have been picked with skeleton-keys.
1842 G. W. Francis Dict. Arts (at cited word) Skeleton keys are thin light keys, with almost the whole substance of the bits filed away.
skeleton leaf n.
ΚΠ
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 172 Distinct..as is the skeleton leaf Whose green hath fretted off its fibrous frame.
1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. i. iii. 147 This double layer..is readily seen in what are called skeleton leaves, namely, those in which the parenchyma between the veins has been destroyed.
skeleton movement n.
ΚΠ
1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (new ed.) 29 A bar movement is sometimes called a ‘skeleton’ movement.
skeleton pack n.
ΚΠ
1803 Sporting Mag. 21 327 Skeleton packs are made by taking three or four cards out of the pack.
skeleton platform n.
ΚΠ
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 493 A skeleton platform which is filled in with withies and made flat.
skelteton roof n.
ΚΠ
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §766 A skeleton roof..is formed of long poles [etc.].
(b) Applied to a vehicle or other conveyance of basic or light construction.
skeleton bob n. [bob n.1 2e.]
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > tobogganing > [noun] > toboggan or luge
toboggan1829
bobsleigh1841
bob1856
coaster1869
bobsled1886
bobsleigh1894
luge1905
boblet1914
saucer sled1951
skeleton bob1954
1954 R. Martin Your Ski Holiday xiii. 91 Racing on the ‘skeleton bob’ is a very different affair... The ‘skeleton bob’ is a steel chassis with two steel runners, about 3 feet long and about 13 inches apart. On this chassis is a sliding seat.
1963 I. Fleming On Her Majesty's Secret Service xii. 133 A little ‘garage’ that housed the bob-sleighs and one-man skeleton-bobs.
skeleton brake n.
ΚΠ
1898 Carriage Builders' Jrnl. Nov. p. viii/2 (advt.) Wanted, Pair-horse Skeleton Brake.
1935 Automobile & Carriage Builders' Jrnl. Apr. 68/2 The skeleton brake has a high driving seat with the fore and hind carriages connected by a perch only.
skeleton break n. [break n.2]
ΚΠ
1974 S. Walrond Encycl. Driving 237 Skeleton Break... This vehicle..was used for breaking and training when a youngster would be put in alongside an older school~master.
skeleton car n.
ΚΠ
1936 ‘ABC’ Brit. Columbia Lumber Trade Directory 73 Elco Logging Co. Ltd... Three High Leads;..45 Skeleton Cars.
1942 R. L. Haig-Brown Timber 253 Skeleton car, a railroad car made up of two sets of four wheels joined by a heavy timber across which the steel bunks are set to carry the logs.
skeleton gig n.
ΚΠ
1867 ‘T. Lackland’ Homespun ii. 181 At all hours of the day..a fly, a sulky, or a skeleton gig could be seen somewhere about the yard.
1974 S. Walrond Encycl. Driving 238 Skeleton gig, a light gig with a curved open stick-back seat which is suspended by iron stays on two side and one cross-spring. The shafts run outside the bootless body.
skeleton sleigh n.
ΚΠ
1902 Hub Aug. 172/1 The skeleton sleigh as seen last winter had a black body, cream gear and black irons.
1955 E. A. Collard Canad. Yesterdays 232 Next comes a stunner—a skeleton sleigh, red as fire, drawn by a trotter black as coal.
skeleton wagon n.
ΚΠ
1868 H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster Trotting Horse Amer. x. 112 If the race is to be run in harness, it will be advisable to change the sulky for a skeleton wagon occasionally.
1974 S. Walrond Encycl. Driving 238 Skeleton waggon, an American four-wheeled single-seat vehicle which was built for racing.
b.
skeleton army n. Historical a group of people attempting to disrupt the activities of the Salvation Army or Church Army.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > salvationism > [noun] > person > collective > group disrupting activities of
skeleton army1881
1881 War Cry Christmas No. 6/2 The chief officers of ‘The Skeleton Army’, raised to oppose us at Exeter, were converted.
1888 C. M. Yonge Beechcroft at Rockstone I. iii. 64 The Salvation Army was marching that way, and..yells and cat-calls behind showed that the Skeleton Army was on its way to meet them.
1920 H. Begbie Life W. Booth I. xxix. 482 ‘Skeleton Armies’..set themselves up to break up the processions of the Salvation Army.
1950 R. Sandall Hist. Salvation Army xxxiii. 196 These skeleton armies carried flags usually bearing a skull and crossbones device.
1980 F. K. Prochaska Women & Philanthropy vi. 193 A ‘Skeleton Army’ of rowdies often shadowed volunteers of the Church Army and..pelted them.
skeleton brass n. a memorial brass representing a skeleton.
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the world > life > death > obsequies > monument > [noun] > tablet > brass
brass1613
heart brass1872
shroud-brass1890
skeleton brass1890
1890 H. W. Macklin Monumental Brasses i. 17 Shroud and skeleton brasses came into general use.
1956 A. C. Bouquet Church Brasses vii. 147 There is a skeleton brass at Weybridge, Surrey, with three effigies.
1972 R. le Strange Compl. Descriptive Guide Brit. Monumental Brasses 9 Between the two, the shroud and skeleton brasses, lay the cadavers.
skeleton construction n. (see quot. 1891).
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society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > [noun] > manner of construction > specific
post and pan1517
superedification1610
superstructing1654
trabeation1831
post and petrail1867
post and tan1890
skeleton construction1891
flat-slab construction1906
unit construction1909
prefabrication1932
site assembly1941
sandwich construction1944
post and panel1954
prefabbing1954
post and beam1958
jettying1963
system building1964
biotecture1966
timber-framing1967
post and plaster1997
Passivhaus1998
1891 Archit. Record Oct.–Dec. 228 Within the past three or four years a new method of constructing very high buildings in New York has come into vogue. It is known as the skeleton construction and consists in the use of iron or steel columns, with thin curtain walls between, in place of solid thick brick walls.
skeleton drill n. Military infantry drill for the instruction of officers, in which a small number of men represents a battalion; also figurative.
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society > armed hostility > drill or training > [noun] > type of drill or training
sham fight1598
field exercise1616
martinet1677
field evolutions1789
foot drill1795
goose-step1806
war-game1828
rope drill1833
field training1836
repetition training1859
skeleton drill1876
drill-down1889
Beast Barracks1896
basic training1898
monkey motion1909
assault course1915
TEWT1942
workup1971
Taceval1977
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 387/2 Skeleton drill, which is a method of instructing officers and non-commissioned officers in drill, when a sufficient number of men cannot be collected to form a battalion in single rank.
1897 T. Hardy Well-beloved iii. v. 278 Pierston..could consider and practise thoroughly a species of skeleton-drill in receiving visitors when the pair should announce themselves as married.
skeleton flashing n. (flashing n.2)
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1875 Building Constr. i. 159 Another plan is to form a side gutter along the wall,..securing the upturned lead in a stepped raglet, or covering it by an apron all in one piece cut to fit the steps. Note, Sometimes called a Skeleton Flashing.
skeleton forme n. (see quot. 1972).
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society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [noun] > forme > skeleton
skeleton forme1888
skeleton1938
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 126 Skeleton forme, a special forme—usually of a broken and open nature.
1964 F. Bowers Bibliogr. & Textual Crit. i. i. 10 An examination of the running-titles..discloses that the text of the play in sheet B was imposed in two different skeleton-formes.
1972 P. Gaskell New Introd. Bibliogr. 109 All these re-usable parts, the typographical parts which left their mark upon the paper, and the chase, quoins, and furniture which did not, are known collectively today as the ‘skeleton forme’.
skeleton girder n. (see quot.).
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1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Skeleton Girder, an open-webbed girder, or lattice girder.
skeleton larva n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1854 B. Powell Pereira's Lect. Polarized Light (ed. 2) 156 The aquatic larvæ of a gnat, commonly called skeleton larvæ, form a very amusing exhibition.
skeleton-pattern n. (see quot.).
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1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Skeleton Pattern, an open frame pattern, that is, one which is not precisely like its casting, but whose outlines or bounding edges alone are given.
skeleton-plough n. one in which certain parts are in skeleton form.
skeleton shrimp n. (see quot.).
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1882 Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 212 The popular name of Spectre, or Skeleton Shrimp, seems very appropriate to Caprella.
skeleton suit n. (see quots.).
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > for specific people > for boys
skeleton suit1836
button-up1839
shell suit1860
trouser suit1864
monkey suit1876
skeleton1879
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 99 A patched and much-soiled little skeleton suit—one of those strait blue cloth cases in which small boys used to be confined.
1852 Househ. Words 5 190/1 Those premier pantaloons were snuff-coloured, buttoning over the jacket, and forming, with an extensive shirt frill, what was then called a ‘skeleton suit’.
skeleton weed n. a perennial herb, Chondrilla juncea, of the family Compositæ, native to the Mediterranean region and naturalized in Australia, where it is a troublesome weed of cereal crops.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > weed > [noun] > skeleton weed
gum-succory1548
skeleton weed1935
1935 Ross & Taylor in Agric. Gaz. New S. Wales XLVI. 16/1 Skeleton weed is well liked by sheep, especially when it is in the young stages.
1965 Austral. Encycl. IX. 225/2 Skeleton weed..is a close relative of the dandelion and chicory, having a spindly habit of growth.
Draft additions 1993
Hence used elliptically, without mention of a closet or cupboard.
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the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun] > something concealed, a secret > unfortunate secret
atalantis1709
a skeleton in the closet1845
family skeleton1850
skeleton1936
1936 G. B. Shaw Simpleton ii. 67 When you mention..the Day of Judgment..the pious ones—think we have come to dig up all the skeletons and put them through one of their shocking criminal trials.
1965 ‘P. Quentin’ (title) Family skeletons.
1976 A. Price War Game (1979) i. i. 34 If he'd been fair.., they might have felt a tiny bit inhibited about putting his skeletons on display so prominently.
1984 N.Y. Times 5 Mar. b8/3 Fraser and Califano and I know where all the skeletons are buried... We created the problem in the first place.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
skeletonv.
1. transitive. To outline or mark after the manner of a skeleton.
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the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)] > give outline to
to quarter out1600
outline1817
profile1823
skeleton1861
1861 Athenæum 23 Feb. 262/1 The swarthy wood-marge, skeleton'd with snow.
1897 Daily News 23 June 15/4 The..thirty miles of shipping will be skeletoned in lights.
2. To construct in outline.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > draw up plan of composition
laya1616
skeletonize1865
skeleton1880
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxii. 210 The true Black Forest novel, if it is ever written, will be skeletoned somewhat in this way.
1883 Pall Mall Gaz. 26 Nov. 6/2 He skeletons his act, then clothes it with language.
3. To convert into a skeleton.
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the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [verb (transitive)] > dissection
anatomize?1541
discarve?1541
dissect1611
dissecate1615
skeletonize1644
skeleton1888
1888 Sci. Amer. LVIII. 203 A recipe for skeletoning and bleaching leaves.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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