kill the fatted calf

To celebrate or welcome lavishly or extravagantly

mottled calf

A light-coloured bookbinding, decorated by sprinkling drops of acid on its surface

smooth calf

A binding in plain or undecorated calf leather

tree calf

A bright brown calf bookbinding, stained by acids with a pattern resembling the trunk and branches of a tree

fat¹ /fat/

adjective (fattˈer; fattˈest)

1. Plump, fleshy
2. Well filled out
3. Thick, full-bodied (as of printing types)
4. Corpulent
5. Obese
6. Having much, or of the nature of, adipose tissue or the substance it contains
7. Oily
8. Fruitful or profitable
9. (of a theatrical role) yielding rich opportunities for displaying one's talent
10. Rich in some important constituent
11. Gross
12. Fulsome

noun

1. A substance found in adipose tissue
2. Solid animal or vegetable oil
3. Any member of a group of naturally occurring substances consisting of the glycerides of higher fatty acids, eg palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid (chem)
4. The richest part of anything
5. A piece of work offering more than usual profit for effort
6. A role or passage that enables an actor or musician to show his or her talent
7. Inclination to corpulence
8. A fat animal
9. Money (slang)

adverb

(in golf) striking the ground before the ball

transitive verb (fattˈing; fattˈed)

To make fat

intransitive verb

To grow fat

fatˈling noun

A young animal fattened for slaughter

adjective

Small and fat

fatˈly adverb

1. Grossly
2. Lumberingly

fatˈness noun

1. Quality or state of being fat
2. Fullness of flesh
3. Richness
4. Fertility
5. That which makes something fertile

fattˈed adjective see kill the fatted calf below

fattˈen transitive verb

1. To make fat or fleshy
2. To enrich
3. To make fertile

intransitive verb

To grow fat

fattˈener noun

fattˈening noun (also adjective)

fattˈiness noun

fattˈish adjective

Somewhat fat

fattˈism noun

Discrimination against fat people

fattˈist noun and adjective

fattˈy adjective

1. Containing fat
2. Having (some of) the qualities of fat

noun (derogatory)

A fat person

fatˈback noun (US)

Fatty meat from the upper part of a side of pork, usu dried and cured with salt

fat body noun

An area of fatty tissue in the body of an animal, esp an insect, in which energy is stored

fatˈbrained adjective (Shakespeare)

Stupid

fat camp noun (US)

A residential slimming camp for overweight children

fat cat noun (orig US sl)

A wealthy, prosperous person, esp one who is thought to have gained excessive rewards

fatˈ-cat adjective

fat city noun (also with caps; US sl)

Easy circumstances, prosperous conditions

fatˈ-face or fat-facedˈ adjective

Having a fat or broad face

fat-fingˈer adjective (informal)

Denoting a computer error caused by the clumsiness of the person inputting the data

fatˈ-free adjective

(of food) containing virtually no fat

fatˈhead noun (informal)

A stupid, dim-witted person

fat-headˈed adjective

fat hen noun

Any one of various thick-leaved plants, esp of the goosefoot family

fatˈ-lute noun

A mixture of pipe-clay and linseed oil, for filling joints in wood, esp in shipbuilding

fat mouse noun

Any of several kinds of mouse of the genus Steatomys, found in dry regions of Africa, that store fat and are eaten as a delicacy

fat stock or fatˈstock noun

Livestock fattened for market

fat suit noun

A padded costume worn by an actor to make him or her seem fatter than they really are

fatˈ-tailed adjective

Having much fat in the tail, as do certain Asiatic and African sheep

fatty acids plural noun

Acids which with glycerine form fats, some of which (essential fatty acids) cannot be synthesized by the body and must be supplied in the diet

fatty degeneration noun

Morbid deposition of fat

fatty heart, etc noun

Fatty degeneration of the heart, etc

fatty oils same as fixed oils (see under fix).

fatˈ-witted adjective

Dull-witted, stupid

(a) fat chance (slang)

Little or no opportunity or prospect

a fat lot (slang)

Not much

kill the fatted calf see under calf¹

live off the fat of the land

To live in luxury

the fat is in the fire

A critical act has precipitated the trouble

kill¹ /kil/

transitive verb

1. To put to death, to murder or execute
2. To deprive of life
3. To destroy
4. To nullify or neutralize, to make inactive, to weaken or dilute
5. To reject, discard, defeat
6. To overwhelm with amazement, admiration, laughter, etc (informal)
7. To injure seriously (Irish)
8. To spoil
9. To muffle or still
10. To extinguish (a light, etc) (informal)
11. To stop the flow of oil in (a well) by pumping in mud or other liquid (oil)
12. To cause to stop, to turn off (machinery, etc)
13. To exhaust, to overexert (informal)
14. To cause severe pain to (informal)
15. To consume completely (informal)
16. To mark for cancellation, to cut (printing)
17. To cancel or suppress (a story) (press)
18. To bring (a loose ball) under control (football, etc)
19. To play (a shot) so hard that one's opponent cannot play it back again (tennis, etc)

intransitive verb

To commit murder or manslaughter

noun

1. An act or instance of killing, etc
2. Prey or game killed
3. An act or instance of destroying an enemy plane, tank, etc
4. The plane, tank, etc so destroyed
5. A shot impossible to return (tennis, etc)

killˈer noun

1. A person, creature, organism, chemical, etc that kills
2. Someone who murders readily or habitually
3. An instrument for killing
4. A neutralizing agent
5. An animal intended for slaughter (Aust and NZ informal)
6. A gruelling task or activity (informal)

adjective (slang)

Spectacularly impressive, stupendous

killˈing adjective

1. Depriving of life
2. Destructive
3. Deadly, irresistible
4. Exhausting
5. Fascinating
6. Irresistibly funny (informal)

noun

1. The act of causing death, slaughter
2. A large financial gain, esp sudden (informal)
3. A severe handling

killˈingly adverb

kill-courtˈesy noun (Shakespeare)

A discourteous person

killˈcow noun (obsolete)

A bully, a swaggerer

killer cell noun (immunology)

A lymphocyte that destroys certain tumour cells without evident antigen specificity

killer whale noun

1. A ferocious black-and-white toothed marine whale
2. The grampus

killing field noun

A scene of large-scale killing, esp in war

killing time noun (Scot hist)

The days of the persecution of the Covenanters in the 17c

killˈjoy noun

A spoilsport

adjective

Austere, disapproving

kill line noun (mining)

One of the small-bore pipelines, connected through the blow-out preventer stack, that allow denser mud to be pumped into a borehole which has to be shut down because of the danger of a blow-out

kill string see injection string under inject

dressed to kill

Dressed so as to dazzle, attract and impress others

in at the kill (figurative)

Present at the culminating moment

kill by inches

To kill gradually, eg by torture

kill off

1. To exterminate
2. (of an author, etc) to write in the death of (a fictional character)

kill the fatted calf

See under calf¹

kill time

To occupy oneself with amusements, etc, in order to pass spare time or to relieve boredom (also killˈ-time noun an occupation of this sort)

kill two birds with one stone see under bird

kill up (Shakespeare)

To exterminate

make a killing (informal)

To make a lot of money, a large profit