splat1
/splat
/noun
A piece of thin wood in the centre of a chair back.The set is represented by four side chairs and the splat of a fifth....
- The splat on the chair in Plate III is significantly thinner than the one on the chair in Plate II, and it is about three-quarters of an inch narrower across the cusps.
- In the other set, represented by the chair in Plate III, the splat is noticeably thinner and a simple half round decorates the base.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from obsolete splat 'split up'; related to split.
Rhymes
splat2
/splat/informal
noun
A sound of something soft and wet or heavy striking a surface: the goblin makes a huge splat as he hits the ground...
- The minute we drove down into the arid plains, swarms of locusts began hitting our windshield with heavy, wet splats.
- And then there was a splat; the sound of someone undoubtedly dropping their cheese on toast on the carpet.
- There was a soft splat as he saw the ball speed off the bat face.
adverb
With a splat: he lands splat on his right elbow...
- There she goes splat on the asphalt!
- I thought I could make it but me being a short ass I didn't make it so fell splat on the concrete.
- And rather than catching it, she just let it go splat on the floor.
verb (splats, splatting, splatted) [with object]
1Crush or squash with a splat: he was splatting a bug...
- There's some new bug out there, and I want to splat it and get out of here.
- Zipped up in a full-body Velcro suit, eighth-grader Alla Kocheryan volunteered to demonstrate the concept of inertia by splatting herself against a Velcro wall.
- One one topical site, MPs’ heads bob up and down in a virtual House of Commons and you are invited to splat them with an egg before they disappear.
1.1 [no object] Land or be squashed with a splat: the cuckoo will roll out the eggs and watch them splat on the ground...
- If the miner falls more than his own height, he splats into the ground, his messy remains covered by his helmet.
- It splatted white and yellow just to the right of me.
- They throw them hard enough to splat against the wall, so if they were to hit you, it would definitely make you close that door, which is what they want you to do.
Origin
Late 19th century: abbreviation of splatter.