zero
verb, transitive. To concentrate firepower on the exact range of, usually used with “in,” as “zero in”; to adjust an instrument to zero; to phase out or reduce to zero.
verb, intransitive. To adjust fire, as of artillery, on a specific target, usually used with “in; to move near to or focus attention as if on a target.
Also a noun and an adjective.
The kid was busy at the sink, finishing the most recent task Aaron had assigned him. Aaron decided to let him carry on and continued assembling ingredients on the table. The final thing he fetched was a small digital scale--his latest acquisition. He adjusted its unit value to pounds and ounces, then looked up as his assistant approached.
“Next?” the kid asked him.
“We’re going to make an Italian cream cake.” Aaron made a sweeping gesture across the table to indicate the containers and measuring implements he had gathered there. “I’ve done the mise en place,” he continued, hoping that he wouldn’t have to explain what that phrase meant.
“Thank you,” the kid said with a nod.
“Good. I’ll talk you through it.” Aaron stepped back and indicated that the kid should stand before the scale. “First, check the units on the scale. Look at your recipe. What should the scale read?”
“Pounds and ounces.”
“Correct. Place the large bowl on the scale, then zero it by pressing the ‘Tare’ button.” Aaron watched as the kid followed the instruction, then mused, “it seems as if ‘tare’ ought to be a verb. If it was, it would be less to say. I could just tell you to put the bowl on the scale, then to tare the scale. More efficient.” The kid met Aaron’s gaze and nodded. “Start with the flour.”
After the kid had weighed out the correct amount, Aaron instructed him to zero the scale again and add the next ingredient on the list. The process continued through the rest of the ingredients that had to be weighed, then those that had to be measured. The kid whisked the bowl of dry ingredients to remove any lumps, turned to the liquids and combined them, then gradually added the latter to the former. The cake, when it was done, was as good as any that Aaron’s bakery had ever produced.
The next morning, the kid was waiting at the shop door when Aaron arrived. He returned Aaron’s greeting, then said, “’Tare’ is a verb, sir. I had to look in two dictionaries, but in one of them it’s defined as a verb that means 'to zero.' So, I guess you can tell your trainees to ‘tare the scale.’”
Aaron smiled as he disabled the alarm. The kid was thorough, and capable of following up even without being told to. He might do, Aaron thought. Yes, he just might do.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Yank
yank
verb, transitive. To pull or extract with a quick, vigorous movement.
verb, intransitive. To pull on something with a quick, vigorous movement.
Also a noun.
Liz fumed as she laced her athletic shoes, wishing for the hundredth time that she had bought a different brand. These were too soft; too yielding. She was beginning to fear an injury because they felt so inadequate. The aches she felt around her insteps after her runs alarmed her. She was a big woman. Her feet needed support, not just cushioning. She yanked the lace tight and tied the knot, then turned to her other foot.
“Is something wrong?” her husband asked from the doorway.
Liz glanced up at him before returning her attention to her shoe. “Would you be upset with me if I told you that I want to drive to Edmond to buy a different pair of shoes?” She kept her eyes on her hands, knowing that he was probably gaping at her in disbelief.
He took his time responding. When he spoke, his voice was quiet: “I guess you should do as you think best, Liz. You’ve been complaining about those shoes since you bought them.”
She finished tying the second shoe and stood, looking at her feet while she wriggled her toes. “I know they’re really expensive,” she said, “but so is a podiatrist.”
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To pull or extract with a quick, vigorous movement.
verb, intransitive. To pull on something with a quick, vigorous movement.
Also a noun.
Liz fumed as she laced her athletic shoes, wishing for the hundredth time that she had bought a different brand. These were too soft; too yielding. She was beginning to fear an injury because they felt so inadequate. The aches she felt around her insteps after her runs alarmed her. She was a big woman. Her feet needed support, not just cushioning. She yanked the lace tight and tied the knot, then turned to her other foot.
“Is something wrong?” her husband asked from the doorway.
Liz glanced up at him before returning her attention to her shoe. “Would you be upset with me if I told you that I want to drive to Edmond to buy a different pair of shoes?” She kept her eyes on her hands, knowing that he was probably gaping at her in disbelief.
He took his time responding. When he spoke, his voice was quiet: “I guess you should do as you think best, Liz. You’ve been complaining about those shoes since you bought them.”
She finished tying the second shoe and stood, looking at her feet while she wriggled her toes. “I know they’re really expensive,” she said, “but so is a podiatrist.”
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
X
x
verb, transitive. To mark with an X; to cancel or obliterate with a series of X’s, usually used with “out”, as in “x’d out.” Also “x-ed”, “x’d” or “xed”; “x-ing” or “x’ing”.
Stu couldn’t help glancing at the stack of papers waiting for his examination before turning over the one before him. He certainly never expected that he would have to wade through hundreds of documents in order to investigate a crime when he opted for a law-enforcement career. “This bites. It bites big-time,” he thought. “I have an office the size of a closet, and the only time I get anywhere near a window is when I pass a couple of them on my way to the cafeteria at noon.” He heaved a massive sigh, relieved that there was no one with him in the office to hear it.
He returned to his study of the page before him. One-third of the way down the page, the type changed to a smaller size. Stu frowned and lifted the paper in order to read it more easily. That was when he saw it: someone had x-ed out a series of words in one paragraph in such a way that the deletions could have been mistaken for an ornamental pattern. Stu’s pulse quickened. He forgot the boredom he had felt only moments before. He moved the paper even closer in an effort to discern the words beneath the X’s. After a minute or two, he shook his head. Discovering what had been x-ed out was going to require one of the forensics experts’ tricks with different-colored lights and special software. His human eyesight was not enough.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To mark with an X; to cancel or obliterate with a series of X’s, usually used with “out”, as in “x’d out.” Also “x-ed”, “x’d” or “xed”; “x-ing” or “x’ing”.
Stu couldn’t help glancing at the stack of papers waiting for his examination before turning over the one before him. He certainly never expected that he would have to wade through hundreds of documents in order to investigate a crime when he opted for a law-enforcement career. “This bites. It bites big-time,” he thought. “I have an office the size of a closet, and the only time I get anywhere near a window is when I pass a couple of them on my way to the cafeteria at noon.” He heaved a massive sigh, relieved that there was no one with him in the office to hear it.
He returned to his study of the page before him. One-third of the way down the page, the type changed to a smaller size. Stu frowned and lifted the paper in order to read it more easily. That was when he saw it: someone had x-ed out a series of words in one paragraph in such a way that the deletions could have been mistaken for an ornamental pattern. Stu’s pulse quickened. He forgot the boredom he had felt only moments before. He moved the paper even closer in an effort to discern the words beneath the X’s. After a minute or two, he shook his head. Discovering what had been x-ed out was going to require one of the forensics experts’ tricks with different-colored lights and special software. His human eyesight was not enough.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Ween
ween
verb, intransitive. (archaic) To be of the opinion; to think or to suppose.
“Sara?”
Sara looked up from her script at the portly young man on the stage. “Yes, King Henry?”
“There appears to be a misspelling in the script. It says ‘w-e-e-n.’ Shouldn’t that be ‘w-e-a-n?’”
Sara sat back and regarded the actor, suppressing a sigh. She had already had reason to regret casting the role of Henry VIII to resemble the portraits of the monarch during his reign. The costume mistress harangued her about the extra fabric and trim daily. After four days of rehearsal, Sara was learning that her Henry possessed only moderate intelligence, and that these rehearsals were evidently his first exposure to Shakespeare’s work.
“No, King Henry. W-e-e-n is correct. No doubt you have noticed that the language of Shakespeare’s time includes numerous words and phrases that people don’t use anymore. ‘Ween’ is one of those.”
The young man stood staring at his script, frowning.
“Are you having trouble figuring out what he’s talking about?” she prompted. The actor nodded, looking up at her hopefully. “You are referring to the sentence ‘Ween you of better luck,
I mean, in perjur'd witness, than your Master,
Whose minister you are, whiles here He liv'd
Upon this naughty earth?’ The word ‘ween’ means to think or to imagine. The king is asking the Archbishop of Canterbury if he thinks that he is luckier than Christ was during His time as a mortal man. It’s a veiled threat you’re making, King Henry.”
That seemed to get through. The actor nodded at his script and smiled a little. Sara glanced at the actor who was playing Cranmer and gestured that the scene should continue.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, intransitive. (archaic) To be of the opinion; to think or to suppose.
“Sara?”
Sara looked up from her script at the portly young man on the stage. “Yes, King Henry?”
“There appears to be a misspelling in the script. It says ‘w-e-e-n.’ Shouldn’t that be ‘w-e-a-n?’”
Sara sat back and regarded the actor, suppressing a sigh. She had already had reason to regret casting the role of Henry VIII to resemble the portraits of the monarch during his reign. The costume mistress harangued her about the extra fabric and trim daily. After four days of rehearsal, Sara was learning that her Henry possessed only moderate intelligence, and that these rehearsals were evidently his first exposure to Shakespeare’s work.
“No, King Henry. W-e-e-n is correct. No doubt you have noticed that the language of Shakespeare’s time includes numerous words and phrases that people don’t use anymore. ‘Ween’ is one of those.”
The young man stood staring at his script, frowning.
“Are you having trouble figuring out what he’s talking about?” she prompted. The actor nodded, looking up at her hopefully. “You are referring to the sentence ‘Ween you of better luck,
I mean, in perjur'd witness, than your Master,
Whose minister you are, whiles here He liv'd
Upon this naughty earth?’ The word ‘ween’ means to think or to imagine. The king is asking the Archbishop of Canterbury if he thinks that he is luckier than Christ was during His time as a mortal man. It’s a veiled threat you’re making, King Henry.”
That seemed to get through. The actor nodded at his script and smiled a little. Sara glanced at the actor who was playing Cranmer and gestured that the scene should continue.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
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