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n. an ornamental basin (usually in a garden) for birds to bathe in. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. Indiscriminate slaughter; the killing of multiple persons.
Syn. -- bloodletting, bloodshed, battue. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. [ fig. ] Substantial losses by many people, as in a mass termination of employment or widespread financial loss; as, the sudden market drop created a bloodbath among overoptimistic investors. [ PJC ]

n. The stomach. [ Humorous ] S. Foote. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who breeds or originates quarrels. [ Obs. ] “No telltale nor no breedbate.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prov. E. codbait, cadbote fly. ] (Zoöl.) See Caddice.

n. 1. the process in which part of the output of a system is returned to its input. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. response to an inquiry or experiment. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a canvas bag that is used to feed an animal (such as a horse or mule); animal feed such as oats are placed in the bag, and it is fastened at the top of the head, covering the muzzle. The animal may then eat the contents while thus wearing the feedbag.
Syn. -- nosebag. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. a small bag usually made of cloth, leather or a similar imitation material, and often having a strap to permit carrying it by slinging it over a shoulder, used by women to carry money and small personal items or accessories; as, she had to search under the cosmetics, hankies, and medicines in her handbag to find a comb.
Syn. -- bag, pocketbook, purse. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. A small ball, usually made of rubber, thrown or struck with the hand in various games. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A game played with such a ball, as by players striking it to and fro between them with the hands, or, when played in a walled court or against a single wall, striking it in turns against a wall, until one side or the other fails to return the ball. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A frame or barrow, without a wheel, carried by hand. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A small basin used for washing thehands; as, `wash-hand basin' is a British term.
Syn. -- washbasin, washbowl, lavabo, wash-hand basin. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a container that is usually woven and has handles.
Syn. -- basket. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

go to hell in a handbasket to deteriorate substantially and quickly; as, after they lost the contract, the company's profits went to hell in a handbasket. [ PJC ]

n. A book with cardboard or cloth or leather covers; a hardcover book. Compare paperback.
Syn. -- hardcover. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A sweetmeat of boiled brown sugar or molasses made with almonds, and flavored with orange or lemon juice, etc. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. Having rigid front and back covers, usually boards covered with paper, cloth, or leather; -- of books. Contrasted with softcover and paperback. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. A fillet; a band for the head. “The headbands and the tablets.” Is. iii. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The band at each end of the back of a book. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Check; hindrance; restraint; obstacle. [ 1913 Webster ]

The only holdback is the affection . . . that we bear to our wealth. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The projection or loop on the thill of a vehicle. to which a strap of the harness is attached, to hold back a carriage when going down hill, or in backing; also, the strap or part of the harness so used. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Any of several herbs of the genus Doronicum (as Doronicum acaule syn. Arnica acaulis) having alternate often clasping stem leaves cultivated for their long stalks of yellow flower heads. See leopard's bane.
Syn. -- leopard's-bane, leopard's bane. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

false" leop`ard*bane n. Any of several herbs of the genus Doronicum, such as the great false leopardbane (Doronicum pardalianches) of North America and the oriental false leopardbane (Doronicum orientale syn. Doronicum caucasicum). [PJC]

n. 1. A person with an unusual or odd personality; an eccentric person. [ informal ]
Syn. -- eccentric, eccentric person, geek. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. Hence: Anything unusual in its class. [ PJC ]

Pluto is an oddball among its eight sister planets. It's the smallest in both size and mass, and has the most elliptical orbit. It moves in a plane tilted markedly away from the other planets' orbits. Moreover, Pluto is the only planet made almost entirely of ice. Ron Cohen (Science News, Feb. 27, 1999, p. 139)

a. Eccentric; very unusual; strange; bizarre; as, an oddball request. [ informal ] [ PJC ]

n. (Zool.) The dunlin. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A bag filled with sand; small sandbags may be used as a weapon, or larger ones to build walls or as ballast; as, they kept the flooding river from the area by buiding a temmporary dike out of sandbags. [ WordNet 1.6 ]

v. To treat harshly or unfairly. [ wns=1 ] [ WordNet 1.6 ]

2. To hit something or somebody with or as if with a sandbag. [ wns=2 ] [ WordNet 1.6 ]

3. To protect or strengthen with sandbags; stop up; as, the residents sandbagged the beach front. [ wns=3 ] [ WordNet 1.6 ]

4. To thwart (another person's plans) by surreptitious maneuvers; as, he sandbagged my proposal by talking in private with other members of the committee. [ informal ] [ PJC ]

5. To intimidate or coerce, especially by crude methods. [ Informal ] [ PJC ]

6. To deceive and take advantage of (a person) by misrepresenting one's true intentions. [ Informal ] [ PJC ]

7. Hence: (Poker) To encourage opponents into betting more by first refraining from betting while having a strong hand, and only later raising the stakes. In informal games, certain types of sandbagging are forbidden. [ PJC ]

n. An assaulter whose weapon is a sand bag. See Sand bag, under Sand. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Worn to the naked thread; having the nap worn off; threadbare clothes. “A threadbare cope.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: Worn out; as, a threadbare subject; stale topics and threadbare quotations. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]