单词 | toy |
释义 | toyn. 1. Amorous behaviour or sexual activity, caressing; dalliance, flirtation. Also: an act or instance of this. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > action of caressing > [noun] > instance of caressing toya1400 endearing1622 fondling1640 caressa1657 endearment1702 fondle1750 woo1937 love-up1953 the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > [noun] > amorous play tugging?c1225 love-lakec1330 toya1400 toying1559 love-sport1598 a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 7891 Whedyr hyt be yn a womman handlyng, Or yn any oþer lusty þyng..Amendeþ ȝow, pur charyte, And makeþ nat a-mys þe toye, Þat þe fende of ȝou haue Ioye. c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 164 (MED) To wrappe me in a sepulture Me sittith bet, as wisly god me saue, Then in myn armes a newe ladi haue. Now bi my soth that were a worthi toy. c1525 Bk. Mayd Emlyn sig. B.ii She was full ranke..In Venus toyes Was all her Ioyes. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vi. sig. R7 A foe of folly and immodest toy. 1594 Willobie his Auisa xlvii. f. 43v Though coy at first she seeme.., These toyes in tyme will make her yielde. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 1034 So said he, and forbore not glance or toy Of amorous intent, well understood Of Eve. View more context for this quotation 1668 G. Etherege She wou'd if she Cou'd ii. ii. 29 Her toy was such, that every touch Would make a Lover madder. ?1765 Turnip-Sack Garland 3 The Supper being over, For Bed he did repair, To meet his amorous Lover, Who waited for him there; With newest Toys, and bleasant [sic] Joys, They pass'd away the Night. 2. a. A trivial or frivolous speech or piece of writing; an absurd or fictitious story; a light or humorous remark or composition; a jest, a joke, a pun. Obsolete (archaic in later use). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > of little importance or trivial gnatc1000 ball play?c1225 smalla1250 triflec1290 fly1297 child's gamec1380 motec1390 mitec1400 child's playc1405 trufferyc1429 toyc1450 curiosity1474 fly-winga1500 neither mass nor matins1528 boys' play1538 nugament1543 knack?1544 fable1552 nincety-fincety1566 mouse1584 molehill1590 coot1594 scoff1594 nidgery1611 pin matter1611 triviality1611 minuity1612 feathera1616 fillip1621 rattle1622 fiddlesticka1625 apex1625 rush candle1628 punctilio1631 rushlight1635 notchet1637 peppercorn1638 petty John1640 emptiness1646 fool-fangle1647 nonny-no1652 crepundian1655 fly-biting1659 pushpin1660 whinny-whanny1673 whiffle1680 straw1692 two and a plack1692 fiddle1695 trivial1715 barley-strawa1721 nothingism1742 curse1763 nihility1765 minutia1782 bee's knee1797 minutiae1797 niff-naff1808 playwork1824 floccinaucity1829 trivialism1830 chicken feed1834 nonsensical1842 meemaw1862 infinitesimality1867 pinfall1868 fidfad1875 flummadiddle1882 quantité négligeable1885 quotidian1902 pipsqueak1905 hickey1909 piddle1910 cream puff1920 squat1934 administrivia1937 chickenshit1938 cream puff1938 diddly-squat1963 non-issue1965 Tinkertoy1972 society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [noun] > light or facetious toyc1450 facetiosity1822 the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > one who or that which is comical comedy1535 toy1542 jest1602 joke1670 comic1674 high comedy1707 humorous1753 comicality1796 funny1852 funniosity1871 hot sketch1917 pisser1918 riot1919 panic1921 cocasserie1934 yell1938 mess1952 crack-up1961 c1450 (c1405) Mum & Sothsegger (BL Add. 41666) (1936) l. 120 (MED) Þe poure peuple hath prece of þaym many Forto telle þaym þaire toyes twyes a woke. 1510 A. Chertsey tr. Floure Commaundementes of God (de Worde) i. xxii. f. xlixv/1 They shall take away the herynge whan a man shall speke of the trouthe, and they shall approche to here fables, toyes, and mockeryes. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. Diogenes §79 Nothyng but a toye, in daliyng with the affinitee and similitude of woordes. 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 3 I neuer may beleeue These antique fables, nor these Fairy toyes . View more context for this quotation 1621 J. Molle tr. P. Camerarius Liuing Libr. iii. xx. 215 They gaue credit to all these foolish toies. 1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth I. 126 Fye George, she crys, these Words are but Toys. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. iv. 101 Think of what that arch-knave Shakespeare says—a plague on him, his toys come into my head when I should think of other matter. 1905 R. Garnett William Shakespeare Pedagogue & Poacher 104 She hath heard A little toy of thine, a comedy ('Tis called, I think, The Taming of a Shrew). b. A light, frivolous, or lively tune. In later use spec.: a melodic phrase in the song of a linnet or other songbird. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > type of piece > [noun] > light or lively piece toy1584 air1597 capriccio1696 port1721 divertimento1823 humoresque1869 bagatelle1880 caprice1880 the world > animals > birds > sound or bird defined by > [noun] > song > part of notec1400 trillo1651 trilla1704 toy1727 roll1886 subsong1925 1584 G. Peele Araygnem. Paris i. v. sig. Bij Beginne some Toy, that I can play vpon this pipe of mine. 1592 R. Greene Thirde Pt. Conny-catching sig. C4v In the time of ceissing betweene the seuerall toyes and fancies hee plaied. 1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. 267 One would have a grave Pavane, another a nimbler Galliard, a third some frisking toy or Jigg. 1727 A. Philips in Whartoniana I. 46 Like the Linnet in the Bush, To the Mother Linnet's Note, Modelling her slender Throat. Chirping forth her petty Joys, Wanton in the Change of Toys. 1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 14/2 There are four-and-twenty changes in a linnet's song... It sings ‘toys’, as we call them. 1871 Cassell's Househ. Guide III. 231/2 At the present time but few possess good song-birds; if they possessed them, they would know but little of their properties and toys. 3. A playful or frisky movement; an odd, foolish, or capricious act or practice; an antic. Also: a piece of fun, an amusement or entertainment. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [noun] > antic toy?1518 antics1570 murlimewes1583 monkey trick1653 dido1807 monkey work1830 monkeyshinec1832 monkey business1835 rannygazoo1896 ?1518 A. Barclay tr. D. Mancinus Myrrour Good Maners sig. F.iiiv One alway loude laughyng, at euery toy and iest Maketh his hyd folly, playne euydent to be. 1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 9 Somtyme croweth he like a cocke, somtyme barketh he like a dogge, and many such foolish toyes vseth he. c1575 Perfect Bk. Kepinge Sparhawkes (1886) 15 Lest she get a toye of flinginge her head. c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) v. 1948 Are apish tricks & toies, which vse to bring Men in dirision, sportes to breed delight? 1777–8 R. Wight Horæ Subsecivæ (MS Bodl. Eng. lang. d.66) 437 [Devon] He hath taken a Toy to scratch his Head, when he is speaking to a Gentleman. 1869 Cornell Univ.: Acct. Proc. Inauguration 7 Oct. 1868 18 This is no place for children's tricks and toys, for exploits which only excite the wonderment of boarding school misses. 4. a. A matter or thing of little or no value or importance, a trifle; a foolish or senseless affair, subject, etc.; (in plural) nonsense, trumpery, rubbish. Also (with allusion to senses 6a and 7a): something which is superficially attractive or draws a person's attention, but is of little or no intrinsic or spiritual value. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > of little worth ivy-leafc1000 needle?c1225 sloec1250 peasea1275 strawc1290 bean1297 nutc1300 buttonc1330 leekc1330 trifle1375 cress1377 goose-wing1377 sop1377 niflec1395 vetcha1400 a pin's head (also point)c1450 trump1513 plack1530 toy1530 blue point1532 grey groat1546 cherry-stone1607 jiggalorum1613 candle-enda1625 peppercorn1638 sponge1671 sneeshing1686 snottera1689 catchpenny1705 potato1757 snuff1809 pinhead1828 traneen1837 a hill of beans1863 gubbins1918 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement iii. f. lxxv/1 Toy a tryfell, truffe, friuolle. 1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Carion Thre Bks. Cronicles ii. f. lxxviiiv A tempest..whose vehemency shoulde be so greate, that all these slaughters and discomfitures whiche Grece had suffered of the Perses..compared to it, might be called but a triful & toie. 1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. vi. 171/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I To stand vpon such toies would spend much time. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. iii. 93 From this instant, There's nothing serious in Mortalitie: All is but Toyes . View more context for this quotation 1664 H. More Apol. in Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity 554 If they leave not off their animosities and asperities of mind about toys and trifles. 1707 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs ii. 109 Look, how we grovel here below, And hug these trifling Toys. 1764 R. Lloyd Capricious Lovers iii. ii. 48 What's all the pomp of gaudy courts, But vain delights, and tinsel toys. 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) ix. 74 But a title and a coach and four are toys more precious than happiness in Vanity Fair. 1866 A. M. Hall Way of World ii. 43 Amongst flowers, and books, and essences, and all the toys and trifles of a Parisian table. 1924 J. O'Neill Souls in Hell xv. 200 He wondered..why human beings should waste their lives seeking and fighting for the puerilities of existence; the things of a day, the things of little worth, the toys and baubles of ordinary life, when they could—if only they would—get nearer to the fundamentals of life. b. spec. (derogatory). A religious practice, ceremony, object, etc., regarded as meaningless, worthless, or superstitious. Obsolete (rare in later use).Frequently used during the Reformation period by Protestant writers to refer to religious practices and objects associated with Roman Catholicism.In later use perhaps influenced by sense 7a. ΚΠ 1531 W. Tyndale Answere Mores Dialoge f. v We heare but voyces with out significacion..and wonder at disguisinges and toyes wheroff we know no meaninge. ?1550 J. Bale Apol. agaynste Papyst To Rdr. f. viii Thys priesthode requireth neyther oyle nor shauen crown, neyther chalyce nor aulter, neyther myter nor cope, neither vestiment nor crosse, wyth such lyke toyes of Antichrist. 1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes i. §29. 44 Of Popish toyes to pacifie God. 1696 J. Gailhard Disc. about Ceremonies, Church-government & Liturgy 120 He adviseth the Ministers of Poland to keep such Order in the Administration of Sacraments, as differeth most from the Toys and Ceremonies of Papists. 1733 D. Neal Hist. Puritans II. v. 305 The Pope's Legate, gain'd over several of the Gentry..by Presents of little Popish Toys and Pictures. 1852 H. Soames Romish Decalogue 33 One of their most conspicuous features are graven images,..lights about them, incense mounting up above them, [etc.]. Undoubtedly such toys and worship might find admirers in any large community, but not among the more masculine understandings. 5. A foolish, fanciful, or odd notion or conceit; a fancy, whim, caprice. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim fantasya1450 wantonness1531 humour1533 worm?a1534 will1542 toy?1545 whey-worm1548 wild worm1548 freak1563 crotchet1573 fancy1579 whim-wham1580 whirligig1589 caper1592 megrim1593 spleen1594 kicksey-winsey1599 fegary1600 humorousness1604 curiosity1605 conundrum1607 whimsy1607 windmill1612 buzza1616 capriccioa1616 quirka1616 flama1625 maggota1625 fantasticality1631 capruch1634 gimcrack1639 whimseycado1654 caprich1656 excursion1662 frisk1665 caprice1673 fita1680 grub1681 fantasque1697 whim1697 frolic1711 flight1717 whigmaleery1730 vagary1753 maddock1787 kink1803 fizgig1824 fad1834 whimmery1837 fantod1839 brain crack1853 whimsy-whamsy1871 tic1896 tick1900 ?1545 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture sig. Bii Cast not thy eyes to & fro as one that were full of toyes. 1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. x. 225 This people [sc. Tartarres] hath many supersticious toyes. 1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 161 Euen as the toy takes me in the head. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 98 So deadly doth this conceit and toy of his owne braine worke with him. 1699 R. L'Estrange Fables Moralized vii. 5 A New-marry'd Couple had a Toy took them in their Heads, so soon as ever the Office was over, to Shrift one another before they came together. 1828 J. G. Lockhart Life R. Burns in Edinb. Rev. Dec. 302 Who would not sigh over the thin delusions and foolish toys that divide heart from heart, and make man unmerciful to his brother! II. Senses denoting an object, esp. one which is small or inferior, or which is used as a plaything. 6. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > cheap or gaudy > gewgaw or trinket baublec1330 gaudc1430 gayc1475 strincate1489 trim-tram1523 gewgawa1529 trinketa1533 toy1548 gaudy1555 baublery1583 trinkilo1631 jingle-jangle1640 prettiness1649 trinkum1665 knacka1677 knick-knack1682 trinkum-trankum1699 knick-knacket1793 knick-knackery1812 trankum1819 gaw1822 pretty1882 trinklet1897 mathom1954 tchotchke1968 1548 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1911) IX. 269 To the goldsmythes to be maid in ringes, targettis and otherres toyes to be gevyn at the mariage of Ladye Barbara. 1566 L. Wager Life & Repentaunce Marie Magdalene sig. C.iiii By your eares somtimes with pretie tusks & toyes You shall folde your haire like Tomboyes. a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. iii. 67 Heere is the cap... Why 'tis a cockle or a walnut-shell, A knacke, a toy, a tricke, a babies cap. a1656 J. Hales Golden Remains (1659) i. 165 So like one another that one of them must wear a toy in his cap, that so the spectators may distinguish them. 1788 S. Rowson Inquisitor II. 6 They tie beads round the arms of his wife—and ornament her jetty locks with glittering toys. 1854 Ladies' Repository Nov. 161/2 A beautiful lady, who would..permit me to play with the shining toys that hung about her neck. 1880 B. Disraeli Endymion II. xxxii. 332 There was another table covered with trinkets and precious toys: snuff-boxes and patch-boxes beautifully painted, exquisite miniatures, rare fans, cups of agate, [etc.]. b. Something small, flimsy, or inferior compared to others of its kind (often with allusion to sense 7a). Frequently in a toy of a ——. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small > a small thing > thing small of its kind decimo-sexto1594 diminutive1609 toy1665 a shrimp of aa1774 bantam1787 pygmy1838 yarkera1842 baby1847 smidgen1952 1665 T. Clifford Let. 7 Oct. in W. Temple Lett. (1700) II. 414 The East-India Ship that got into the River of Elve, is there unlading, and they are sending the Goods home in little small Vessels, under the Convoy only of a little Toy of eight or ten Guns. 1711 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 139 in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4576–I) XLII. 1 A weak town, haveing noe outward works, but a toy of a pallisade before a litle part of the wall. 1768 Tom Thumb's Folio i. 4 His Father was greatly disconcerted at having such a little tiney Toy of a Child. 1888 W. Black Strange Adventures House-boat xi Perched on the top of a hill was a conspicuous toy of a church. 1992 J. L. Burke Stained White Radiance (2010) ii. 52 A toy of a man stood in the doorway. He looked like a racehorse jockey, except his little body had the rigid lines of a weight lifter's. 2018 States News Service (Nexis) 28 June As big as this is, this is just a toy compared to the main facility. c. English regional (chiefly west midlands). A small manufactured article made of metal or an alloy (esp. steel), such as a hammer, buckle, nail, etc. Now rare and chiefly historical.Often in steel toy. ΚΠ 1732 Country Jrnl. 23 Sept. Fine steel snuffers, and great Variety of Steel Toys. 1747 Gen. Descr. All Trades 18 They principally deal in..all sorts of Tools, smaller Utensils, and Toys, in Iron, Steel, Brass, &c. made at London, and the great trading Towns of Birmingham..and Sheffield. 1760 in Jrnls. House of Commons (1803) 28 883/2 The Demand for Toys in general has been very great, which has laid the other Manufacturers under as many Difficulties as the Buckle-makers, to get their Orders executed. 1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 319 Heavy Steel Toys. By this not very appropriate description the Birmingham manufacturers refer to a class of articles... To enumerate all the ‘toys’ of this class would be to transcribe a large list of miscellaneous cheap and useful wares, from a joiner's hammer to a shoemaker's tack. 1987 Hist. Jrnl. 30 222 A history of domestic outwork and workshops rather than factories, of Birmingham toys and Sheffield cutlery rather than Lancashire cotton. d. Criminals' slang. A watch. Frequently in toy and tackle: a watch and chain. Now rare and dated. ΘΚΠ the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] clock1559 pocket watch?1576 watch1590 munter1594 tattler1688 loge1699 yack1789 thimble1819 ticker1821 toy1826 super1857 kettle1889 1826 Sessions Papers 21 Sept. 546/2 James Boyce..said ‘The b—g—r has got no toy’; I had no watch. 1877 J. W. Horsley Jottings from Jail (1887) i. 17 He was very tricky at getting a poge or a toy, but he would not touch toys because we was afraid of being turned over. 1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 June 2/1 Should he remain in blind ignorance the ‘toy’ and ‘tackle’ are transferred to the handkerchief. 1912 E. Pugh City of World x. 274 He's got to know whether his toy and tackle is a real clock and slang or only a measly Brummagem fake. 1953 L. Gordon Peepshow into Paradise i. i. 18 In the underworld the word has another import, for in thieves' slang a ‘toy and tackle’ means a watch and chain, and a ‘toy getter’ the ancient calling of watch-stealer. e. U.S. slang. Also in form toey. A small tin or jar containing opium. Hence: a quantity of opium (originally the amount held in such a container). Now dated.Recorded earliest in hop toy n. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > [noun] > equipment for taking drugs > equipment for taking opium pipe1779 layout1869 hop toy1881 toy1881 yen hock1882 yen siang1882 hop-pipe1887 yen hop1901 cooker1905 cooking spoon1917 stem1925 the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > medicine chest, bag, etc. > [noun] > tin or jar albarello1873 toy1881 the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > sedatives, antispasmodics, etc. > [noun] > narcotic > plant-derived > specific amount toy1951 1881 Med. Record (N.Y.) 5 Nov. 512/1 I procured a full outfit for smoking [opium]..: A pipe, a small glass lamp,..and a buffalo-horn box (hop toy) for holding the opium. 1915 G. Bronson-Howard God's Man ii. ii. 127 Sonia..dug out the chocolate-colored opium from a little white jar, a ‘toey’, cooking it over a steady flame. 1951 G. Fowler Schnozzola viii. 88 You had six toys at five dollars a toy. 1961 H. J. Anslinger & W. Oursler Murderers ii. 29 All we found were some empty ‘toys’ of opium. 1961 Dissent 8 349 Opium itself is often available. However, it is expensive ($15–20 for a toy, a ball about the size of a large pea). 1989 J. Courtwright et al. Addicts who Survived (2012) i. iii. 83 I smoked a toy a day, same as on the ship. 7. a. An object for children to play with, often a model or miniature replica of something; a plaything. In early use more fully playing toy. Also figurative.Now the most common sense. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > [noun] beaubeletc1205 juelet1340 trifle1375 geara1400 gaudc1430 jape1436 playing thing1440 baublea1475 playock1508 gewgawa1529 toy?1565 gay1577 gambol1579 ruggle1598 frolic1650 playthinga1674 wally1692 sporting-piece1740 playferea1774 play material1897 play-pretty1905 ?1565 A. Hartwell in tr. W. Haddon Sight of Portugall Pearle Ep. Ded. sig. Aivv Whose people blinding plaies & stratagemmes in sowyng of rumors, defaming of the persons, hastninge of prynted papers, myghte not (of reason) so wel lyke them, in that they are but crepitacula, childrens toies. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iv. sig. Nn3v There was neuer poore scholler, that hauing instede of his booke some playing toy about him, did more sodainly cast it from him. 1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man iii. 145 The ruggles and toyes, which children vse to playe with. 1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §xcviii Wee cry for every toye; even that, which may most hurt us. 1672 R. Wild Poetica Licentia in Let. Declar. Liberty Conscience 29 We all know Popes-head-Alley trades in Toyes, Our Merchants come not thither, but our Boys. 1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 148 Men deal with life, as children with their play, Who first misuse, then cast their toys away. 1881 R. L. Stevenson Child's Play in Virginibus Puerisque (1905) 157 Lead soldiers, dolls, all toys, in short, are in the same category. 1918 M. Buchanan City of Trouble i. 6 ‘What is an army for?’..‘Just a toy for Kings and Emperors to play with’. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 106/4 A grand playroom where toys and things can be scattered about without disturbing the serenity of the rest of the house. 2019 Swindon Advertiser (Nexis) 16 Dec. The pair walked to the back of the house, glancing at the brightly-coloured children's toys in the garden. b. Chiefly somewhat depreciative. An object designed for amusement rather than for practical use. Chiefly in a mere toy. ΚΠ 1825 M. Edgeworth Harry & Lucy Concluded III. 271 Another philosopher calls all the ordinary hygrometers mere toys. 1893 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (1907) 14 The very low-priced sets [of photographic apparatus]..are generally mere toys. 2007 M. K. Carson Alexander Graham Bell vii. 68 The Western Union Telegraph Company's president declared Bell's telephone a mere toy and turned down the offer. c. An object, esp. a gadget or vehicle, regarded as providing amusement for an adult (typically a man). Often depreciative.Cf. boy toy n. 1, toys for (the) boys, boys and their toys at Phrases 5. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object thingOE bodya1398 objecta1398 substance1525 cheat1567 solidity1604 article1618 material objecta1651 res extensa1652 extensum1678 businessa1684 animal1729 materiate1755 affair1763 thingy1787 fellow1816 concern1824 jockey1827 toy1895 yoke1910 doojigger1927 bitch1951 the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance > gadget jigger1874 gadget1885 timenoguy1886 toy1895 widget1924 gimmick1926 boondoggle1935 gizmo1943 1895 ‘Ouida’ Toxin xi. 116 ‘The schooner is entirely at your disposition.’..‘Thanks. Yachts are rich men's toys for which I have no use.’ 1908 Motor World 2 Jan. 679/2 He offers his car for sale to a dealer... If the owner thinks his toy is worth anything at all, he will refuse to sell it at..a low figure. 1977 S. Marshak & M. Culbreath Price of Phoenix v. 32 Spock was becoming insufferably tired of the man, his macho mannerisms, his toys. 1989 T. Clancy Clear & Present Danger (1990) 386 The dick-head parked the truck right next to the house... Perhaps he didn't want to take his eyes off his new toy. 2013 Sailplane & Gliding Apr. 44/1 (caption) The exhibition areas were bustling as delegates checked out the latest toys. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > close-fitting > with flaps pinner1575 settee1688 toy1702 toy-mutch1751 1702 Cramond Kirk Session V. 39 in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) William Carle..confessed he drew off the toy from Margaret Coupar's head. 1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (new ed.) I. 17 Their Toys and Mutches were sae clean, They glanced in our Ladses een. 1793 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. IX. 325 The tenants wives wore toys of linen of the coarsest kind, upon their heads, when they went to church, fairs or market. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality x, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 231 The face of Alison..now presented itself, enveloped in a toy. 1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet I. iv. 65 An elderly woman, in a grey stuff gown, with a check apron and toy. 1900 H. G. Graham Social Life Scotl. 18th Cent. (1901) v. vi. 181 Farmers' wives and daughters with ‘toys’ or head-covering of coarse linen. 9. In plural with singular agreement. Winchester College slang. A bureau or desk; a cubicle used as a study. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > desk > [noun] deskc1405 lectern1509 dess1552 book desk1686 prie-dieu1687 bureau1698 secretary1803 toys1816 secretaire1818 consulting-desk1823 slope1833 box-desk1860 roll-top1884 type-desk1901 partners' desk1925 partners' pedestal desk1930 console1944 society > education > place of education > educational buildings > [noun] > college or university buildings > desk or cubicle for study toys1816 1816 Hist. Colleges Winchester, Eton & Westm. (1817) Winchester Coll. 43 Besides his scob, every boy has, in the chamber to which he belongs, another receptacle for his books, with convenience for writing, &c. denominated, in the language of the place, Toys. 1901 Public School Mag. 7 158/1 A series of small compartments, semi-secluded, but answering in their way to private studies. Each of these little dens is known as ‘Toys’. 1974 K. Clark Another Part of Wood ii. 74 We all sat in the same large enclosure, round the walls of which were small partitions (known as toyes) like uncomfortable polling booths, with just enough room for two shelves, one to serve as a seat and the other as a desk. 2014 Insight (Winchester Coll.) 10 Mar. 8 An opening of a cupboard door in one's toys in order to block off the entrance when wanting not to be disturbed. III. Senses denoting a person or animal, in figurative or extended applications of senses in branches I. and II. 10. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > puppet or toy hackneya1500 toy1573 creature1587 puppet1592 motion1602 baublea1616 plaything1680 dummy1866 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of little worth toy1573 puny1579 puisne1592 urchin1593 short-arse1706 rip1781 snip-jack1846 twopence1866 jerk1935 the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun] darlingc888 belamy?c1225 culver?c1225 dearc1230 sweetheartc1290 heartc1300 sweetc1330 honeya1375 dovec1386 jewelc1400 birdc1405 cinnamonc1405 honeycombc1405 lovec1405 wantonc1450 mulling?a1475 daisyc1485 crowdy-mowdy?a1513 honeysop?a1513 powsowdie?a1513 suckler?a1513 foolc1525 buttinga1529 whitinga1529 beautiful1534 turtle-dove1535 soula1538 heartikin1540 bully?1548 turtle1548 lamba1556 nyletc1557 sweet-lovea1560 coz1563 ding-ding1564 pugs1566 golpol1568 sparling1570 lover1573 pug1580 bulkin1582 mopsy1582 chuck1589 bonny1594 chick1594 sweetikin1596 ladybird1597 angel1598 muss1598 pinkany1599 sweetkin1599 duck1600 joy1600 sparrowc1600 sucket1605 nutting1606 chuckaby1607 tickling1607 bagpudding1608 heartling1608 chucking1609 dainty1611 flittermouse1612 honeysuckle1613 fubs1614 bawcocka1616 pretty1616 old thinga1625 bun1627 duckling1630 bulchin1633 bulch?c1640 sweetling1648 friscoa1652 ding-dongs1662 buntinga1668 cocky1680 dearie1681 chucky1683 lovey1684 machree1689 nykin1693 pinkaninny1696 nug1699 hinny1724 puss1753 pet1767 dovey1769 sweetie1778 lovey-dovey1781 lovely1791 ducky1819 toy1822 acushla1825 alanna1825 treat1825 amigo1830 honey child1832 macushla1834 cabbage1840 honey-bunch1874 angel pie1878 m'dear1887 bach1889 honey baby1895 prawn1895 hon1896 so-and-so1897 cariad1899 pumpkin1900 honey-bun1902 pussums1912 snookums1919 treasure1920 wogger1922 amico1929 sugar1930 baby cake1949 angel cake1951 lamb-chop1962 petal1974 bae2006 1573 G. Gascoigne Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 377 Remembre Batte the foolishe blinkeyed boye Whiche was at Rome, thou knowest whome I meane, Remember eke the preatie beardlesse toye, Whereby thou foundst a safe returne to Geane. a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. v. 41 Elues, list your names: Silence you aiery toyes . View more context for this quotation 1631 B. Jonson Divell is Asse iv. vii. 57 in Wks. II I ha' sworne to ha' him by the eares: I feare The toy, wi' not do me right. 1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar iv. ii. 61 O, Vertue! Vertue!..That men should leave thee for that Toy a Woman. 1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) i. ii. 19 Thou idle, gilded, and degraded toy. 1822 T. Mitchell tr. Aristophanes Wasps in tr. Aristophanes Comedies II. 171 Why, Xanthias, my toy, Why, what ails the poor boy! 1888 R. L. Stevenson Black Arrow i. iii. 46 This toy..that's not fit for wounds or warfare. b. A person used by someone else as a plaything. Cf. sense 7a. ΚΠ 1831 O. Moore Staff Officer I. xxix. 310 I was played with as a toy for nearly an hour, during which time we danced, three couple and a half, to Miss Maria's music. 1883 Contemp. Rev. Sept. 317 A Russian..being a mere toy in the hands of the commonest policeman. 1975 G. Rabassa tr. M. Vargas Llosa Conversat. in Cathedral iv. iv. 523 She'd discovered that you didn't love her, that she was just a toy for you. 2019 Scottish Daily Mail (Nexis) 7 Mar. 31 The awful truth is that they [sc. the boys] were just toys to him—playthings which he used and abused and then tossed aside once he had grown bored of them. 11. a. Short for toy pigeon at Compounds 1a(a). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > miscellaneous types of nutmeg pigeon1783 blue pigeon1790 Namaqua dove1801 mountain witch1823 partridge pigeon1823 imperial pigeon1830 toy1831 porcelain1855 toothbill1862 fruit-pigeon1865 orange dove1875 tambourine pigeon1891 topknot pigeon1891 cinnamon dove1895 partridge1936 the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > domestic pigeon > [noun] > other types porcelainc1530 turn-pate1611 light horseman1661 runt1661 smiter1668 helmet1676 mammet1678 Cortbeck1688 turbit1688 turner1688 dragoon1725 finicking1725 Leghorn1725 nun1725 owl1725 petit1725 trumpeter1725 horseman1735 Mahomet1735 barbel1736 turn-tail1736 frill-back1765 blue rock1825 beard1826 ice pigeon1829 toy1831 black1839 skinnum1839 splash1851 whole-feather1851 spangle1854 swallow1854 shield1855 stork pigeon1855 Swabian1855 yellow1855 archangel1867 dragon1867 starling1867 magpie1868 smerle1869 bluette1870 cumulet1876 oriental1876 spot fairy1876 turbiteen1876 blondinette1879 hyacinth1879 Modena pigeon1879 silver-dun1879 silverette1879 silver-mealy1879 swift pigeon1879 Victoria1879 visor1879 ice1881 swallow pigeon1881 velvet fairy1881 priesta1889 frill1890 1831 Genesee (Rochester, N.Y.) Farmer 17 Dec. 396/3 I advise young fanciers, to obtain the finest birds, and not to begin with what are called ‘the Toys’, such as Barbs, Spots, Mawmits, Uplopers, &c. 1855 Poultry Chron. 3 33/2 The pretty Nun is truly a toy, having but one [property], namely, feather. 1969 G. F. Twombly Internat. Pigeon Standard (ed. 15) 104 As is the case with other of the Toys it is a color pigeon and principally bred for color and markings. 2001 Game Bird & Conservationists' Gaz. Aug. 27/1 In the mid 1980s the Southern California German Toy Pigeon Club decided the name ‘German Toy’ was a misnomer and dropped ‘German Toy’. The new name was ‘Southern California Color Pigeon Club’. b. Short for toy dog at Compounds 1a(b). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > toy toy1848 miniature1902 1848 Bell's Life in London 2 Apr. 6/5 A show of toy terriers will take place at Mr Johnson's..this evening, when several first-rate toys will be shown. 1899 Pall Mall Gaz. 3 Oct. 9/1 Ladies' toys were in strong force... Sporting dogs were not numerous. 1903 Daily Chron. 25 May 5/2 The ‘chiens de luxe’, or Toys, are in a roomy and well-warmed ‘pavillon’ by themselves. 2010 E. Adamson et al. Dogs for Dummies v. i. 496 Even the tiniest Toy needs a short daily walk, romp, or play session to stay fit. PhrasesΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > hatred > dislike > [verb (transitive)] mislikea1225 to like illa1350 to have no fancy with1465 mislovec1485 abominec1500 not to look ata1529 to have no will of, (also in)1548 misaffect1586 to have or take a stitch againsta1591 dislike1593 to take (a) toy to (also at)1598 disfavour1599 disgust1601 disaffect1609 mistaste1613 disrelisha1616 dispalate1630 abominate1652 disfancy1657 to have it in for1825 to have a down on1835 to sour on1862 to go off ——1877 derry1896 1598 G. Chapman in C. Marlowe & G. Chapman Hero & Leander (new ed.) v. sig. M To heare [this]..Made the well-spoken Nymph take such a toy, That downe she sunke. a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) v. vi. 66 The hot horse, hot as fire Tooke Toy at this. View more context for this quotation 1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. 277 Common friends many times..take toy at a trifle,..and pick quarrels to desert us. 1697 J. Sergeant Solid Philos. 308 Thence they take a Toy at Metaphysics, and pretend it insuperably hard and mysterious. 1753 Country Gentleman's Compan. II. 48 Make her both familiar with Men, Dogs, and Horses; for, to take Toy or Dislike to any of them, is a Mischief a great deal worse. P2. a. (like) a kid (also child) with a new toy: used to indicate that a person (usually an adult) is delighted with or excited by something, esp. a newly-acquired novelty or device. ΚΠ 1807 M. A. Radcliffe Let. in Memoirs (1810) ii. 25 But, like a child with a new toy, I was delighted with the novelty of the undertaking. 1913 Motor World Wholesale 6 Sept. 31/1 He was like a kid with a new toy... It was..a small, portable, but none the less heavy, blacksmith's forge. 1980 Washington Post (Nexis) 24 June d6 At Wimbledon today... Nastase..saved his greatest routines for the ‘electronic eyes’... He rolled balls at them, and dropped them on the lines to see if he could fool them. He was a kid with a new toy. 2012 D. Kauffman Babycakes 128 Lani had jumped straight into the new project like a kid with a new toy. b. like a kid (also child) in a toy shop: see toy shop n. Phrases. like a kid in a toy store: see toy store n. Phrases. P3. colloquial (chiefly British and Australian). to throw (also chuck) one's toys out of the pram (also cot) and variants: to behave childishly and petulantly; to throw a tantrum; to sulk. ΚΠ 1947 N. Balchin Lord, I was Afraid 180 Jerry's [i.e. the German army] throwing his toys out of the pram. Hard pounding gentlemen. 1989 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 26 Aug. (Great Weekend section) 6/5 The woman was too much. I wanted to throw my toys out of the cot. 2000 Racing Post (Nexis) 12 July 8 The Channel 4 board aren't chucking toys out of the pram, they are genuinely exasperated. 2003 Heat 4 Jan. 113/1 You could help your romantic cause by not throwing your toys out of the pram every time things don't go your way. P4. colloquial (to have) toys in the (also one's) attic and variants: (to be) simple-minded, crazy, or eccentric, esp. in a regressive or childlike manner. Cf. (to have) bats in the belfry at bat n.1 b. ΚΠ 1968 Reporter (Passaic County Bar Assoc.) Feb. 5/2 I think Bill Brennan ought to check up on the old bird to see if he has toys in his attic. It's just too absurd for words. 1977 J. Sayles Union Dues (2006) 316 Another one with toys in the attic... Blends right in with the surroundings. 1986 S. King It 770 That Canal's so polluted nothing could live in it, not even a minnow. And you think you saw Jaws in there. You got toys in the attic, Tommy. 2017 @ADIC33 4 July in twitter.com (accessed 9 Jan. 2020) There's no doubt about it..dude's got toys in the attic for sure! P5. toys for (the) boys: objects such as cars, mechanical and electronic gadgets, etc., regarded (often depreciatively) as providing amusement for men. Similarly boys and their toys, boys with toys, etc.Cf. sense 7c. ΚΠ 1986 Advertiser (Adelaide) 18 Apr. 45 Any fool can make a program about the space shuttle... It's Buck Rogers, rocketships, planes, submarines, toys for the boys. 1986 Toronto Star (Nexis) 17 May l1 Men go for the higher-ticket items. The old saying about boys and their toys is very appropriate here. Men buy expensive cars and boats. 1997 Guardian 6 Dec. d16 (heading) Toys for boys..: Rupert Jones sorts out the weird from the most wonderful of gadgets. 2013 L. S. Caton Cull 102 ‘I like your big new Humvee,’ said Debbie. ‘Toys for the boys.’ Compounds C1. a. (a) As a modifier, designating any of numerous varieties of pigeon bred for the colour or pattern of their plumage (rather than for any other characteristic), or a bird of such a breed, as in toy pigeon, toy variety. Cf. sense 11a. ΚΠ 1765 Treat. Domest. Pigeons 117 They are by far the most pleasing of any of the toy Pigeons whatever. 1868 C. Darwin Variation Animals & Plants I. vi. 187 Those pigeon-fanciers..yet admit that the so-called toy-pigeons, which differ from the rock-pigeon in little except in colour, are descended from this bird. 1877 Pet-stock, Pigeon & Poultry Bull. Feb. 217/1 This beautiful toy variety seem to be more cultivated in Baltimore than elsewhere. 1957 D. Le Roi Pigeons, Doves, & Pigeon-racing i. 15 So called because of the yellow or red crescent-shaped stripe on its breast and wings, the Crescent is a toy pigeon that originated in Saxony. (b) As a modifier, designating any of various breeds of dog of particularly small size, typically kept as house pets, or an animal of such a breed, as in toy breed, toy dog, toy poodle, toy spaniel, toy terrier, etc. Cf. sense 11b.Toy dogs as a class include both small varieties of larger types (such as the toy poodle and the Italian greyhound) and distinct small breeds (such as the Pomeranian and the chihuahua). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [adjective] > toy puppetly1576 Melitan1600 Melitaean1607 toy1806 miniature1903 1806 M. Lewis Jrnl. 1 July in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1993) VIII. 76 They will generally set and bark at you.., their note being much that of the little toy dogs. 1848 Bell's Life in London 2 Apr. 6/5 A show of toy terriers will take place. 1878 J. H. Walsh Dogs Brit. Islands (ed. 3) App. 239 There are..two grand classes of modern poodles—one which is still strictly sporting, and one which should include performing, companion, and toy poodles. 1980 D. F. Tortora Right Dog for You (1983) App. B. 341 All Toy breeds are described as needing little outdoor exercise, primarily because they can get all the exercise they need running around the house or apartment. 2012 J. S. Bell et al. Vet. Med. Guide Dog & Cat Breeds 199/1 Toy Spaniels were used for hunting, and this breed was favored for woodcocks. b. As a modifier, designating a small model or imitation of an ordinary object used as a plaything, as in toy car, toy gun, toy piano, toy train, etc. ΚΠ 1793 Leeds Intelligencer 11 Mar. The pistol she pretended to shoot Mr. B. with, was found to be a toy gun with a tin barrel to it. 1841 Punch 16 Oct. 165/1 A stethescope—a curious instrument, something like a sixpenny toy trumpet with its top knocked off. 1889 P. N. Hasluck Model Engineer's Handybk. 24 The most simple form of toy-engine is that illustrated below. 1897 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 480 The babies had toy-animals on wheels. 1978 N. Freeling Night Lords ii. 11 The bandits..were pathetic imbeciles armed with toy pistols. 2004 A. Hollinghurst Line of Beauty viii. 211 Little Antoine had a remote-controlled toy car, which Wani was encouraging him to crash into..tables and chairs. c. figurative. Chiefly depreciative. As a modifier, designating a thing which is small, flimsy, inferior, or of little importance, as if designed for amusement rather than for practical use. Occasionally also with reference to a person. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > insubstantial thin?c1225 lighta1413 superficiala1425 sleevelessc1450 frivolous1549 frothy1593 windy1593 shallow1594 airy1600 ghostlessa1603 sleazy1648 tenuious1656 wishy-washy1693 gauzy1774 lathery1803 wish-washy1814 tenuousa1817 toy1821 flimsy1827 airy-fairy1857 facile1857 feeblish1882 popcorn1973 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > small of its kind demi1418 young1550 minikin1566 dwarf-like1582 diminutive1602 minitive?1602 diminute1611 pocket1621 Lilliputian1726 duodecimo1780 toy1821 minified1841 junior1860 toy-sized1861 Lilliput1867 toyish1871 mini1963 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. xvi. 332 You go not to your gew-gaw toy-house yonder—you will sleep tonight in better security. 1855 H. Martineau Autobiogr. (1877) I. 437 My surprise at the smallness and toy-character of Abbotsford was extreme. 1895 M. E. Braddon in Westm. Gaz. 6 Nov. 1/3 A very popular writer may launch three of these toy-pinnaces in a year. 1909 Daily Chron. 19 Feb. 3/2 Ruritana was something more than the first toy-kingdom of our modern stage. 2007 Africa News (Nexis) 7 July Ghanaians want a real leader not a toy president, not a ventriloquist! C2. a. As a modifier, with the sense ‘of or for toys’, as in toy box, toy cupboard, toy fair, etc.Now chiefly in sense 7a; in early use also in senses 6a or 6c. ΚΠ 1747 Inventory J. Laurens Estate 12 Sept. in H. Laurens Papers (1968) I. 380 Small Painted Toy boxes. 1756 Authentic Acct. all Fairs Eng. & Wales 60 Hockham, Easter Monday, A small toy fair. 1827 W. Parson & W. White Hist., Directory & Gazetteer Durham & Northumberland I. 32 France William, perfumer and toy warehouse. 1873 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Feb. 379/2 Three double lines of gingerbread-nut and toy stalls led up to the ‘Angel Inn’. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 11 Dec. 12/1 The season for the ransacking of toy-cupboards. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 29 Oct. 1/2 The order..that there shall be no toy-fairs in London this Christmastide deprives the City of..one of its sights. 1965 Overseas Business (U.S. Dept. Commerce) Nov. 3/2 The buying habits of French parents are the most limiting factor in the toy market. Toy sales are much more seasonal than in the United States. 2013 M. Zailckas Mother, Mother (2014) 102 The toy boxes overflowed with decades' worth of Happy Meal toys. b. With participles, agent nouns, or verbal nouns, forming compounds in which toy expresses the object of the underlying verb, as in toy dealer, toy-making, toy retailer, etc.Now chiefly in sense 7a; in early use also in senses 6a or 6c. ΚΠ 1778 Gazetteer & New Daily Advertiser 21 Aug. All the genuine Stock in Trade of Mr. George Bentley,..Hardwareman and Toy Dealer; consisting of variety of London, Sheffield and Birmingham ware. 1779 H. D. Steel Portable Instr. purchasing Drugs & Spices 11 For any purpose but toy-making it [sc. azure] is most valuable the less it has of these variegations. 1830 B. Disraeli Let. 20 Aug. (1982) I. 148 Some travelling toy dealers from Malag. 1959 Times 24 Feb. 13/4 A toy making factory..for the manufacture of fibreglass toys, kiddy cars, and rocking horses. 1993 Model & Collectors Mart Nov. 20/1 No true toy collector can afford to miss the NEC show! 2004 N.Y. Times Mag. 15 Aug. 27/2 Toy retailers who..brought to market G.I. Joe figures that they had customized. c. With past participles, forming compounds with the sense ‘with or by a toy or toys’, as in toy-filled, toy-strewn, etc.Now chiefly in sense 7a; in quot. 1796 probably in sense 4a. ΚΠ 1796 S. T. Coleridge Relig. Musings in Poems Var. Subj. 150 We become An Anarchy of Spirits! Toy-bewitch'd. 1861 G. A. Sala Seven Sons Mammon ii. in Temple Bar Jan. 277 The toy-laden branches of the Christmas-tree. 1980 H. Young What Difference does it make, Danny? ii. 23 Danny was taken firmly to the vast toy-strewn playroom. 2005 S. Sanders et al. Oxf. Handbk. Found. Program (2006) viii. 302 Most departments have a separate children's area with paediatric medical equipment and a separate toy-filled waiting room. C3. See also toy man n., toy shop n., toy store n., toytown n., toywort n. toy block n. one of a set of blocks for children to play with, typically made from wood or plastic, and often with pictures or letters of the alphabet on them. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > other toys > [noun] > toy bricks brick1829 toy block1859 1859 German Reformed Messenger (Chambersburg, Pa.) 6 July 4/2 A fair, delicate boy of four years sat on the parlor carpet, building a house with toy blocks. 2019 Business Mirror (Philippines) (Nexis) 8 June Among traditional toys, toy blocks are the most played with and regarded by many parents as a ‘must-have’ toy. toy book n. chiefly U.S. a children's book. ΘΚΠ society > communication > book > kind of book > [noun] > children's book toy book1797 nursery book1818 juvenile1849 rag book1903 1797 in J. Willison Sacramental Directory (new ed.) (advt.) Children's Toy-books, and Lottery Pictures. 1801 M. L. Weems Let. 10 Mar. in Ford's M. L. Weems: Wks. & Ways (1929) II. 177 I sell the Primers & toy books wholesale at great discount. 1865 (title) Aunt Louisa's Toy Books. 2016 UK Govt. News (Nexis) 5 July Baby gyms; fabric toy books; learning toys; stacking toys. toy cap n. an explosive cap (cap n.1 14b) used in a toy gun. ΚΠ 1872 Terre Haute (Indiana) Gaz. 9 Dec. (advt.) Toy Watches, Bowls and Pitchers, Pistols with real toy caps. 2006 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 21 June (Business section) 1 Toy caps for a child's pistol. toy designer n. a person who designs, creates, or invents toys, esp. as a profession. ΚΠ 1897 Logansport (Indiana) Pharos 28 Dec. The toy designer..says that a common fault of toymakers, but one into which women are less apt to fall than men, is the marketing of too complicated articles. 1989 Smithsonian Dec. 73/1 The life of the modern toy designer is an unending search for the next..Rubik's Cube, the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. 2013 Radio Times 30 Nov. (South/West ed.) 82/3 An overeager toy designer installs state-of-the-art military microchips into a line of action figures. toy drama n. now chiefly historical a play or scene written for or enacted in a toy theatre; drama for a toy theatre. ΚΠ 1862 Dublin Evening Mail 29 Dec. 2/2 Those toy dramas which puzzle and delight the young. 1912 Current Lit. Sept. 334 ‘The Scourge of the Gulph’, one of Yeats's toy dramas. 1931 Notes & Queries 11 Apr. 253/2 Mr. Webb was the principal exhibitor at an exhibition of the toy drama, held at the Faculty of Arts Gallery in August. 2014 M. Root-Bernstein Inventing Imaginary Worlds iii. vii. 104 Stevenson introduced the boy, at this time around twelve years old, to the painting of toy theater scenes and the arranging of toy dramas. toy getter n. Criminals' slang (now rare and dated) a person who steals watches (cf. sense 6d). ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > [noun] > of watches hooker1834 watchmaker1859 thimble-screwer1862 toy getter1879 1879 Macmillan's Mag. Oct. 502/1 The following people used to go in there—toy-getters (watch-stealers), magsmen (confidence-trick men), [etc.]. 1896 A. Morrison Child of Jago 102 Dicky knew the small man for a good toy-getter. 1953 L. Gordon Peepshow into Paradise i. i. 18 In thieves' slang a ‘toy and tackle’ means a watch and chain, and a ‘toy getter’ the ancient calling of watch-stealer. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > [noun] > watches super-screwing1857 toy-getting1887 1887 A. Barrère Argot & Slang 142/1 To steal watches, ‘toy getting’. 1896 A. Morrison Child of Jago xxiv. 239 The gains of the toy-getting trade were poor, except to the fence. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > capricious or whimsical startfulmood?a1300 wildc1350 volage?a1366 gerfulc1374 geryc1386 wild-headeda1400 skittishc1412 gerish1430 shittle1440 shittle-witted1448 runningc1449 volageous1487 glaikit1488 fantasious1490 giggish1523 tickle or light of the sear?1530 fantastical1531 wayward1531 wantona1538 peevish1539 light-headed1549 humoral1573 unstaid1579 shittle-headed1580 toy-headed1581 fangled1587 humorous1589 choiceful1591 toyish1598 tricksy1598 skip-brain1603 capricious1605 humoursome1607 planetary1607 vertiginous1609 whimsieda1625 ingiddied1628 whimsy1637 toysome1638 cocklec1640 mercurial1647 garish1650 maggoty1650 kicksey-winseya1652 freakish1653 humourish1653 planetic1653 whimsical1653 shittle-braineda1655 freaking1663 maggoty-headed1667 maggot-pated1681 hoity-toity1690 maggotish1693 maggot-headeda1695 whimsy-headed1699 fantasque1701 crotchetly1702 quixotic1718 volatile1719 holloweda1734 conundrumical1743 flighty1768 fly-away1775 dizzy1780 whimmy1785 shy1787 whimming1787 quirky1789 notional1791 tricksome1815 vagarish1819 freakful1820 faddy1824 moodish1827 mawky1837 erratic1841 rockety1843 quirkish1848 maggoty-pated1850 crotchetya1854 freaksome1854 faddish1855 vagrom1882 fantasied1883 vagarisome1883 on-and-offish1888 tricksical1889 freaky1891 hobby-horsical1893 quirksome1896 temperamental1907 up and down1960 untogether1969 fanciful- fantastic- 1581 T. Stocker tr. J. Calvin Diuers Serm. f. 161v Euery of vs ought to withdraw his mind from being so fantasticall, and not wittingly, be so toy headed. 1633 T. Adams Comm. 2 Peter (ii. 1) 390 It stickes upon the stomacke of some toy-headed Professours. toy industry n. the branch of commercial activity concerned with the manufacture and sale of toys. ΚΠ 1875 Inter Ocean (Chicago) 16 Jan. 7/5 The Sonneberg toy industry, which arose in the southwestern part of the Thuringian Forest,..dates from the thirteenth century. 1961 Times 22 Dec. 9/7 Since 1938, the British toy industry has increased the worth of toys produced from £500,000 to the present figure of £42m. 2016 J.-P. C. Dyson in H. Lowood & R. Guins Debugging Game Hist. xlvii. 402 For centuries, there have been well-established toy manufacturers and a thriving toy industry. This toy industry grew enormously during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with the rise of a prosperous middle class. toy land n. (a) the world of toys, esp. a fanciful or imaginary realm inhabited by toys; (b) the toy industry; (c) a display of toys, often whimsical or seasonal in nature, typically set up in a toy shop, etc. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > trading place > place where retail transactions made > [noun] > shop > shop selling toys toy shop1681 toy store1822 toy land1853 playshop1889 1853 Observer 25 Dec. 6/1 King Hummingtop and his tiptop army, a fleet of kites, Ambassador Jack-in-the-Box, an other inhabitants of Toyland, successively appear. 1908 Daily Chron. 5 Nov. 7/5 No one realises unless he penetrates into Toyland how much whimsical humour, how much scientific skill and craftsman's ingenuity are devoted to the invention of the playthings for the festive season. 1958 Newsweek 15 Dec. 56/1 Queen Elizabeth II, on her annual visit to a department-store toyland to choose Christmas gifts, intrigued her entourage by stopping in front of the hula hoops. 2016 Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (Nexis) 29 Dec. Spider-Man, one of the best-selling of all Marvel's characters in toy land, should be in-demand. toy library n. a collection of toys or games, from which items may be borrowed or hired by or for children; a place where toys may be borrowed or hired. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > borrowing > [noun] > where things can be borrowed toy library1928 society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > [noun] > collection which may be borrowed toy library1928 1928 Port Adelaide News 26 Oct. 6/7 To enable children to have the right variety she suggests the circulating toy library. 1969 Gravesend Reporter 9 May 3/1 The Thames-side Toy Library, the second of its kind in the country, opened on Saturday. 2020 Hawke's Bay (N.Z.) Today 18 Jan. a2 The toy library is an affordable way to add variety and interest to your child's play. toy line n. now rare (chiefly historical) a small narrow-gauge railway, often originally constructed for industrial purposes, but subsequently carrying tourists or other passengers; = toy railway n. (b). ΘΚΠ society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway > of specific construction > narrow gauge toy railway1852 toy line1865 Decauville1899 1865 London Society Oct. 371/2 We are all waiting for the return of the train which is to take us away along the little toy line to Llandudno. 1878 H. I. Jenkinson Guide N. Wales 271 Leaving the Cambrian train at Mynffordd Junction, the traveller walks up a path to the toy line, and enters one of the little carriages. 1999 A. J. Smith Privatized Infrastructure iv. 51 In July 1864 a British merchant..constructed a toy line about one third of a mile long outside the Hsuen Wu Gate in Peking. toymaker n. a person who or company which makes or manufactures toys.Early examples may refer to a maker of small ornaments and trinkets (cf. senses 6a, 6c), rather than children's toys (the current and predominant sense). ΚΠ 1677 Poor Robins Intelligence 13 Nov. A certain Toy maker coming home a little tipsifyed. 1738 London Daily Post 24 June John Pinchbeck, Chaser and Toy-maker..has, for the better accommodating Gentlemen, Ladies, and Merchants with his Toys in his curious Metal, taken a Shop the Corner of St. Michael's Alley. 1859 Habits Good Society (new ed.) v. 194 Worth all the amusements which a toy-maker could dream of. 2003 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. ix. 1/5 Though full development of a new toy takes months, toymakers and retailers..have been quick off the mark. toy manufacture n. the process or industry of manufacturing toys; (occasionally also) a toy made by hand or machine. ΚΠ 1839 Reading Mercury 9 Mar. Extent of the Toy-Manufacture... It appears that seventeen thousand sacks of sawdust are consumed annually in London for stuffing dolls alone. 1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. ix. iii. 410 Perhaps some readers have..seen the wooden-clock makings, salt-works, toy-manufactures, of those simple people in their slouch-hats. 2011 Times 26 July 47/5 Handler co-founded Mattel, a company that became the biggest name in toy manufacture and introduced two..famous names to the market, Barbie and Hot Wheels. toy manufacturer n. a person who or company which makes or manufactures toys; a toymaker.Early examples may refer to a maker of small ornaments and trinkets (cf. senses 6a, 6c), rather than children's toys (the current and predominant sense). ΚΠ 1787 York Guide 44 Lund John, jun. Toy-Manufacturer, Goodramgate. 1802 Walker's Hibernian Mag. June 381/2 The prince of Hesse recently issued an order, prohibiting toy manufacturers from colouring their wares with any paints in which lead or copper is used, in consequence of the very serious injury which children frequently receive from putting such articles in their mouths. 1958 Economist 29 Nov. 798/1 While the essential elements of the game have provided amusement and diversion for centuries, bingo was named and introduced as a modern parlour game in 1929 by a toy manufacturer. 2002 Independent 1 July 16/7 No sensation ever swept America quite like the Hula Hoop, whose genesis lay in a visit by an Australian toy manufacturer to Wham-O's Los Angeles factory in 1958. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > close-fitting > with flaps pinner1575 settee1688 toy1702 toy-mutch1751 1751 W. Forbes Dominie Deposed (ed. 10) ii. 9 The Toy Mutch maun then gae on, Nae mair bair hair'd. 1837 A. Leighton in Wilson's Hist. Tales Borders III. 326/1 There still sits Janet Smith, in her toy-mutch and check-apron. 1911 J. Stuart Reminiscences i. 35 Nannie wore always a white ‘toy-mutch’,..that is, a cap made of pure white and very clean linen, completely enclosing her head, and standing rather high behind, with a small frill in front, and tied tightly with broad white ribbon under her chin. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > slight madness > crankiness or eccentricity > person fantastical1589 fantastic1598 earwig brain1599 extravagant1627 fanatic1644 energumen1660 original1675 toy-pate1702 gig1777 quiz1780 quoz?1780 rum touch1800 crotcheteer1815 pistol1828 eccentric1832 case1833 originalist1835 cure1856 crotchet-monger1874 curiosity1874 crank1881 crackpot1883 faddist1883 schwärmer1884 hard case1892 finger1899 mad hatter1905 nut1908 numéro1924 screwball1933 wack1938 fruitcake1942 odd bod1942 oddball1943 ghoster1953 raver1959 kook1960 flake1968 woo-woo1972 zonky1972 wacko1977 headbanger1981 1702 W. Penn More Fruits of Solitude §60. 23 He [sc. the wise man] never deals but in Substantial Ware, and leaves the rest for the Toy Pates (or Shops) of the World. toy railway n. (a) a model of a railway, with a train, station, etc., used as an entertainment or plaything; cf. model railway; (b) a small narrow-gauge railway, often originally constructed for industrial purposes, but subsequently usually carrying tourists or other passengers. ΘΚΠ society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway > of specific construction > narrow gauge toy railway1852 toy line1865 Decauville1899 1852 N.-Y. Daily Times 27 Nov. 4/5 (advt.) The children petitioned for Railroads, and Tuttle, No. 345 Broadway, heard them, and has just imported a beautiful assortment of Toy Railways. 1873 C. D. Warner in Scribner's Monthly Jan. 370/2 The southern terrace overlooking the Seine was closed, or I might have amused myself with the toy-railway of the Prince Imperial that ran nearly the whole length of it. 1892 M. J. B. Baddeley N. Wales (ed. 4) 165 No orthodox tourist visits Wales without taking a turn..on the ‘Toy’ railway. 2009 Hindustan Times (Nexis) 18 Apr. The tiny township of Jorhat in those days boasted of a 2 feet gauge toy-railway from the town to Kokilamukh ghat. 2017 National (Scotl.) (Nexis) 14 Dec. Their children..remain enchanted by simple things like toy railways. toy seller n. a person who or (now usually) a company which sells toys.Early examples may refer to a seller of small ornaments and trinkets (cf. senses 6a, 6c). ΚΠ 1704 ‘G. Psalmanazar’ Descr. Formosa 3 Some set up for Merchants, Artificers, or Toy-sellers, others for School-masters..to teach the Natives Children. 1894 R. Lovett James Gilmour & his Boys 265 The toy seller..goes slowly along the street, ‘Bong—Bong—Bonging’ at his gong. 1918 in A. Moore Last Days Mast & Sail (1925) iv. 133 A thing like a floating coffin, the shape of the ships sold by toy sellers. 2018 USA Today (Nexis) 12 Mar. 1 b (heading) If Toys R Us disappears, will other toy sellers be able to fill the void? toy service n. a church service to which members of the congregation bring toys to donate to sick or poor children. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > kinds of rite > with toys > [noun] toy service1885 1885 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 14 Feb. 7/2 Children's Toy Service. An interesting service..was held last Sunday afternoon.., in connection with the Sunday school. 1889 Standard 1 Feb. ‘Toy Services’ which are becoming very popular in some of our churches. 2019 Loughborough Echo (Nexis) 11 Dec. Parishioners gave unwrapped toys at the special Toy Service which will be given to the Great Notts Toy Appeal. toy size adj. (a) adj.(usually hyphenated) that is or appears to be the size of a toy, very small; = toy-sized adj.; (b) n. a size resembling that of a toy, a very small size. ΚΠ 1849 D. G. Rossetti in Let. 18 Oct. (1965) I. 75 Fierce sentinels (toy-size without the stands) Who spit their oaths at you and grind their r's. 1872 Graphic 29 June 13/3 A cylinder..which may be introduced into the barrel of the ordinary rifle whenever it is desired to reduce its calibre to a toy size. 1878 Era Almanack Jan. 49 A fourth musician, who, having thumped a toy-size drum for several minutes.., effects a hasty exit. 2002 C. Copeland et al. Best Hikes with Children in Catskills (ed. 2) 44 The kids..will feel like giants as they watch the toy-size cars racing along the highway below. 2012 J. S. Bell et al. Vet. Med. Guide to Dog & Cat Breeds 145/1 The African hairless dog was taken to China where further breeding reduced the emerging breed to a toy size. toy-sized adj. that is or appears to be the size of a toy, very small; cf. toy size adj. (a). ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > small of its kind demi1418 young1550 minikin1566 dwarf-like1582 diminutive1602 minitive?1602 diminute1611 pocket1621 Lilliputian1726 duodecimo1780 toy1821 minified1841 junior1860 toy-sized1861 Lilliput1867 toyish1871 mini1963 1861 Once a Week 7 Sept. 287/1 Their summits..dotted in that upper distance with toy-sized châlets, and goat-herds, and mice-sized goats. 1895 ‘C. Holland’ My Japanese Wife (ed. 11) 27 Toy-sized cups of tea. 2019 Sunday Times (Nexis) 2 June. (Travel section) 13 Old ladies with toy-sized dogs strolling in the sun. toy soldier n. a small model of a soldier; also figurative (depreciative) a soldier regarded as inferior or insignificant. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > doll > other figures > [noun] > toy soldier toy soldier1828 soldier1878 1828 Mirror Lit., Amusem., & Instr. Suppl. No. 384/2 The groups of Toy Soldiers—and the head pieces of the Cobbler and his Wife—all excellent. 1850 C. Dickens Christmas Tree in Househ. Words 21 Dec. 291/2 The lazy-tongs that used to bear the toy soldiers. 1898 Royal Cornwall Gaz. 10 Mar. 6/7 The more sensible view that Government had adopted lately of looking upon the reserve forces as useful British men, and not merely ‘toy soldiers’. 1922 M. Arlen ‘Piracy’ iii. xi. 232 Poor Hugo..has gone clucking back for to be a toy soldier at Aldershot. 1980 Listener 19 June 796/1 A shopful of toy soldiers cast from the same lead mould. 2020 Agassiz-Harrison (Brit. Columbia) Observer (Nexis) 16 Jan. (Final ed.) (Opinion section) I had about 1,000 toy soldiers, lining them up in battle formations and fighting battles I never heard of, but which my ancestors had fought. toy theatre n. a miniature theatre in which the characters are typically represented by printed pictures mounted on card or wood, or occasionally by models or puppets. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > other toys > [noun] > toy theatre toy theatre1845 1845 Times 4 Aug. Suppl. 12/4 (advt.) Furniture, Clocks, Cabinet Piano, Toy Theatre, Dressing Case. 1850 C. Dickens Christmas Tree in Househ. Words 21 Dec. 292/1 Out of this delight springs the toy theatre,..with its familiar proscenium, and..boxes. 1931 A. C. Ward Found. Eng. Prose iii. 98 Stevenson loved to play with toy-theatres. 1978 A. Miall & P. Miall Victorian Christmas Bk. 30 The toy theatre..was similar to the kind..still being made by Pollocks of London. The printed figures and scenery were cut out and applied to wooden backings. 2017 N.Y. Times 14 June (Final ed.) c6 He sets up a tiny, beautifully illuminated toy theater and enacts a deliciously comic version of Kafka's tale with miniature puppets. toytime n. Winchester College time allocated outside of teaching periods for students to complete schoolwork, esp. to prepare for upcoming lessons; cf. sense 9. ΘΚΠ society > education > learning > study > [noun] > study time toytime1846 1846 C. Wordsworth Christian Boyhood at Public School I. viii. 130 Let the ‘Prefect in course’ in each Chamber preserve the same quiet and order before you retire to rest.., as he is accustomed to do during the longer period of ‘Toy Time’. 1881 W. H. David in C. E. Pascoe Everyday Life in our Public Schools 84 The clock marking 7, each junior retires to his ‘toys’ or bureau, for an hour and a half—during what is known as ‘toy-time’, when the work of the next morning and the week's composition have to be prepared. 1901 Public School Mag. 7 158/1 Thus we find that from seven o'clock to half-past eight is ‘toy-time’. 1933 Country Life 22 July 71/1 The scene is in ‘toytime’, or preparation in the evening, when ‘inferiors’ sit working at their partitioned desks or ‘toys’. 2020 C. Rostron in winchestercollege.org 26 Apr. (accessed 28 Apr. 2020) It's my last term here, too, and I am thinking longingly of Chamber teas; shirt-sleeve order; illicit Meads hours; garden football until the last minute before toytime. toy trade n. the branch of commercial activity concerned with the manufacture and sale of toys; = toy industry n.Early examples may refer to small ornaments and trinkets (cf. senses 6a, 6c), rather than children's toys (the current and predominant sense). ΚΠ 1712 Brit. Mercury 9–12 May (advt.) There is a Shop to be lett in Westminster-hall, fit either for a Bookseller, Milliner, Toy-Trade, or any other Trade. 1838 F. Coghlan Iron Road Bk. 80 In the reign of..Charles II., the toy trade was first cultivated in Birmingham. 1930 Commerce Rep. (U.S. Dept. Commerce) 24 Nov. 480/2 The last Christmas season did not bring the usual sales, and the German toy trade entered the present year with large stocks on hand. 2001 R. B. Browne & P. Browne Guide to U.S. Pop. Culture 848/1 The postwar American toy trade currently categorizes toys as follows. ΚΠ 1815 Wright's Leeds Intelligencer 27 Nov. Witness to the above, Nat. Doughty, Toy-turner, Jubbergate, York. 1893 A. N. Palmer Hist. Wrexham IV. 11 I find mentioned..one toy-turner. 1922 Model Engineer 10 Aug. 125/2 Fig. 1 shows a lathe bed and back rest frame often used by the toy turners before mentioned. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > seller of toys or trinkets hobby-horse man1631 baby-seller1634 toy man1682 toy-woman1688 toy man1860 1688 J. Phillips tr. Du Vignau Turkish Secretary 19 This Toy-woman represented to Gulbeyaz that her Beauty being set off with the Stately Attire and Lustre which these Jewells gave her, she might chance to please the Grand Signior. 1827 W. Scott Jrnl. 2 Oct. (1941) 108 An old Lady, who proved a toy-woman in Edinburgh. 1868 R. N. Carey Nellie's Memories I. vii. 105 The red face of the toy-woman grew redder and redder, and her fat sides fairly shook. Derivatives toylike adj. resembling or characteristic of a toy, esp. with reference to small size (cf. sense 7a). ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > slenderness > [adjective] > and weak or fragile feeble1340 tender1390 lean1578 thread-paper1747 toylike1818 spindly1827 spindling1858 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian i, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 18 The gay glancing of the equipage, its diminished and toy-like appearance at a distance. 1883 Manch. Examiner 26 Nov. 5/3 The Swiss lake steamers are..too toy-like to ensure their passengers against reasonably probable risks. 1960 ‘Miss Read’ Fresh from Country (1962) i. 11 The toy-like dimensions of Mrs Flynn's establishment both fascinated and depressed her. 2003 P. Magrs Aisles 38 I'm still tapping away on this silly, tiny, toylike keyboard. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022). toyv. 1. to toy with ——.Cf. to play with —— 1 at play v. Phrasal verbs 2. a. intransitive. To treat (a person, a person's heart, affections, etc.) with a lack of seriousness or respect, esp. for one's own amusement; to trifle or play with; to tease. Formerly also transitive in †to toy it with.Formerly also to toy at ——: †to mock (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > light-mindedness > treat without seriousness [verb (transitive)] to toy with ——?1499 trifle with1523 dandle1569 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > deride, ridicule, or mock [verb (transitive)] teleeOE laughOE bismerc1000 heascenc1000 hethec1175 scornc1175 hokera1225 betell?c1225 scorn?c1225 forhushc1275 to make scorn at, toc1320 boba1382 bemow1388 lakea1400 bobby14.. triflea1450 japec1450 mock?c1450 mowc1485 to make (a) mock at?a1500 to make mocks at?a1500 scrip?a1513 illude1516 delude1526 deride1530 louta1547 to toy with ——1549–62 flout1551 skirp1568 knack1570 to fart against1574 frump1577 bourd1593 geck?a1600 scout1605 subsannate1606 railly1612 explode1618 subsannea1620 dor1655 monkeya1658 to make an ass of (someone)1680 ridicule1680 banter1682 to run one's rig upon1735 fun1811 to get the run upon1843 play1891 to poke mullock at1901 razz1918 flaunt1923 to get (or give) the razoo1926 to bust (a person's) chops1953 wolf1966 pimp1968 ?1499 J. Skelton Bowge of Courte (de Worde) sig. Biv It was no tyme with him to Jape nor toye. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 758/2 I toye, or tryfell with one, I deale nat substancyally with hym, je me truffe. 1549–62 T. Sternhold & J. Hopkins Whole Bk. Psalms xxxv. 16 Yea abject slaves at me did toy with mocks and cheekes ful stout. 1657 J. Sergeant Schism Dispach't ii. xxiii. 379 Thus Dr. H. toyes it with his Readers, hoping that the greater part of them will be arrant fools. a1754 H. Fielding tr. Ovid Lover's Assistant (1759) 15 The Theatres..will be most fruitful to your Wishes. Here you will find one Object to love, and another to toy with. 1873 Gleason's Monthly Compan. Oct. 492/2 George Villiers..was dreaming his own dreams of winning the pure young heart of Marian Graeme, and, after toying with it idly, as he had toyed with women's hearts before, throw it from him as he would a withered flower. 1997 C. Coulter Maze (e-book ed.) i The sound came again... It seemed to be coming from the small foyer by the front door. Who could be toying with her this way? 2020 Sc. Daily Mail (Nexis) 12 May 22 More secret assignations followed, including a week on holiday, where he toyed with my affections, always dancing one step away, and then later that night kissing me under a dense black summer sky. b. intransitive. To treat or engage with (a task, topic, idea, plan, situation, etc.) frivolously or indifferently; to give one's attention to briefly and without serious consideration.Formerly also †to toy of —— in the same sense, and also without construction, with the sense ‘to act ineffectively or in vain’ (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > be careless or heedless of [verb (transitive)] > perform without accuracy or thoroughness to toy with ——1563 skima1586 slubber1592 slobber1630 huddle1648 to shuffle over, through1656 slobber1765 slattern1781 scuffle1785 slur1857 perfunctorize1866 smatter1881 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes sig. Sss.iii It is a shame that Christen men shuld be so lyght headed, to toy as ruffians do, of such manner speaches. a1576 E. Dering XXVII Lect. Epist. Hebrues (1577) v. 4–6. sig. Cciij They must haue oyle, candels..wine and water,..trifled and toyed with all. 1653 W. Ramesey Astrologia Restaurata 19 I fear I do toy in recording these vain Objections. 1744 J. Armstrong Art of preserving Health ii. 50 Where the stomach, indolently given, Toys with its duty, animate with wine Th' insipid stream. 1868 W. H. Dixon Spiritual Wives I. vii. 75 He toyed with astrology, and had fitful dreams of enjoying the elixir of life. 1939 Fortune Nov. 45/1 Government must stop toying with collectivist schemes and reactionary economic theories, and seriously approach the far more difficult task of building a libertarian system capable of integrating an industrial age. 2019 Financial Times (Nexis) 2 Mar. (Weekend Mag.) I toyed briefly with the idea of re-enacting my first journey there, by train across the Iron Curtain. c. intransitive. To handle or fiddle with (an object), esp. absent-mindedly, restlessly, or nervously; (now frequently) to move (food) around on one's plate without eating it.In quot. 1576 probably: to move or shake (a part of the body) restlessly or nervously. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (transitive)] > touch or handle idly or restlessly finger1546 to toy with ——1576 paddlea1616 nibble1676 twiddle1676 trifle1818 to pick at ——1841 to play off and on with1845 piggle1847 to twiddle with or at1847 1576 T. Newton tr. L. Lemnie Touchstone of Complexions ii. ii. f. 97v They also bewraye theyr owne vnconstancie and vnstayed mynds by much shaking of their heads, and continual playing and toying wyth theyr handes and feete. 1584 T. Lodge Alarum against Vsurers f. 18v Aurelius in his Court seeing certaine Philosophers vsing vnseemely iestures, wagging their heads, toying with theyr garments, expulsed them the court, as vnmeete to be preferred to honours. 1665 W. Winstanley Loyall Martyrol. 147 He that was so nimble and quick in all projects in this nature before, was now like a Sot or a Fool, playing and toying with the straw in the Sledge as he went to Execution. 1708 tr. M. Alemán Life Guzman d’Alfarache I. i. viii. 132 A most charming Nosegay..that Don Alonso had sent her that very Day, as she was toying with it, chanc'd to slip out of her Hand. 1822 W. Irving Bracebridge Hall I. 225 The gallant general took his station..at her side, and toyed with her ladyship's elegantly ornamented work-bag. 1948 W. Clewes Journey into Spring (1953) iii. 58 He sat for an interminable time on a wooden bench, while a girl with a synthetic Bowery accent, a penchant for chewing gum, and no other interest, toyed with his ration book and his identity card. 2006 Evening Standard (Nexis) 8 Sept. (ES Mag.) 34 ‘The agency told me all these things that I had to change about myself,’ she says, toying with the food on her plate. 2. intransitive. To play, amuse oneself; to act or move in a playful manner; to frolic. Also with adverb, as in to toy about, to toy around, etc. Often (esp. in later use) with prepositional complement: to amuse oneself with, on, or †in something. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (intransitive)] playeOE glewc900 gameOE lakec1300 solace1340 bourdc1440 dallyc1440 sporta1450 to make sportc1475 disport1480 to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1509 toy?1521 pastime1523 recreate1589 jest1597 feast1609 deliciate1633 divert1670 carpe diem1817 hobby-horse1819 popjoy1853 that'll be the day1916 to play around1929 loon1969 ?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. b The fole in his bable, hath pleasure for to toye. The clerke in his boke, the marchaunt in richesse The knyght in his horse, harnes and hardynesse. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ix. sig. V8 But other some could not abide to toy, All pleasaunce was to them griefe and annoy. 1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. v. 674 The Sensless Atoms, playing and toying up and down, without any care or thought. 1773 G. White Let. 9 Nov. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 98 Titlarks not only sing sweetly as they sit on trees, but also as they play and toy about on the wing. 1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. v. 257 The hare, unscared, Sported; and toyed familiar with his dog. 1904 Trans. Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists' Soc. 7 369 Two fine Falcons, one of them chased by a cloud of Terns, the other gyrating and toying in the air with some Lesser Black-backed Gulls. 2007 M. Smalley & A. Smalley More than Match v. 67 The next occasion you have some thinking time—toying around on your laptop during a long flight, sitting on a park bench, taking in a sunset—type in or write down some qualities in a potential mate that would be important to you. 3. intransitive. To engage in casual or light-hearted sexual activity or flirtatious behaviour (with a person); to dally, flirt. Cf. toy n. 1. Now rare and merging with sense 1a. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > flirt, philander, or dally [verb (intransitive)] > sport or struggle amorously tuga1225 toyc1530 c1530 A. Barclay Egloges ii. sig. H.iii Yet is it pleasour to handle and to toy With Galatea Licoris or phyllys Neera, Malkyn or lusty Testilis And other damys. a1627 T. Middleton No Wit (1657) v. 99 Not toy, nor bill and imitate House-Pigeons. 1762 T. Brooks Cabinet Choice Jewels ii. 142 Had Joseph been toying, and playing, and sporting with his mistress in a wanton manner, how soon might he have wrapt himself up in the guilt of his mistresses burning lusts. 1865 A. Trollope Can you forgive Her? II. xxv. 193 It was as well that they were not caught toying together in so very public a place. 2007 Washington Post (Nexis) 27 Oct. c1 Dressed as a boy, she woos and toys with Orlando. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > cause to be idle or inactive [verb (transitive)] > occupy oneself triflingly with > waste (time) in trifling activity trifle outa1450 trifle1532 loiter1549 picklea1568 toy1575 trifle1587 rust1604 to idle (time) away1652 fool1657 to dally away1685 dangle1727 to piddle away1743 peddle1866 potter1883 putter1911 gold-brick1918 1575 Abp. M. Parker Let. 18 Feb. in Corr. (1853) (modernized text) 474 I toy out my time, partly with copying of books. 1685 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II I. 134 So fools and fleers on, till he hath toyed and laughed himself out of all sense of Religion. 1749 S. Johnson Irene i. ii. 10 He toys his Hours away. 1874 C. M. Davies Heteredox London II. 204 Junius charged George, Prince of Wales, with quitting the arms of his wife for the endearments of a wanton, with toying away the night in debauchery, and with mocking the sorrows of the people with an ostentatious prodigality. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < |
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