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.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Wean
wean
verb, transitive. To accustom an infant or other young mammal to food other than its mother’s milk. To accustom someone to managing without something upon which he has become dependent or of which he has become excessively fond. As “be weaned on”, to be strongly influenced by something, especially from an early age.
When Nancy learned that the neighbors’ cat had had kittens, she put dibs on two. She and Steve had noticed a bad rodent problem in and around their new house, and they knew that a pair of yard cats would solve it. They were delighted when Helen and her two children arrived about two weeks later, carrying two little cats. They were adorable, but it wasn’t long before Helen’s dishonesty became apparent. The kittens quickly latched onto Steve and Nancy’s dog, who was still nursing a litter of puppies, and joined the puppies in their meals.
“Their mother hadn’t weaned them yet,” Nancy told Steve as they stood and watched.
“Evidently not,” Steve agreed. “I guess Helen didn’t want to have to buy any more cat food than necessary.”
The fosterlings of a different species didn’t seem to cause the dog any anxiety. It wasn’t long before she weaned the puppies, and homes were found for them. The kittens continued to benefit from the dog’s condition and generosity, for although they continued to grow, they stopped doing so before they reached the size at which the puppies had been weaned. After a few weeks, the dog’s milk stopped, or the cats developed a taste for solid food, or both. It seemed a natural occurance and none of the three appeared to be unhappy.
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 accustom an infant or other young mammal to food other than its mother’s milk. To accustom someone to managing without something upon which he has become dependent or of which he has become excessively fond. As “be weaned on”, to be strongly influenced by something, especially from an early age.
When Nancy learned that the neighbors’ cat had had kittens, she put dibs on two. She and Steve had noticed a bad rodent problem in and around their new house, and they knew that a pair of yard cats would solve it. They were delighted when Helen and her two children arrived about two weeks later, carrying two little cats. They were adorable, but it wasn’t long before Helen’s dishonesty became apparent. The kittens quickly latched onto Steve and Nancy’s dog, who was still nursing a litter of puppies, and joined the puppies in their meals.
“Their mother hadn’t weaned them yet,” Nancy told Steve as they stood and watched.
“Evidently not,” Steve agreed. “I guess Helen didn’t want to have to buy any more cat food than necessary.”
The fosterlings of a different species didn’t seem to cause the dog any anxiety. It wasn’t long before she weaned the puppies, and homes were found for them. The kittens continued to benefit from the dog’s condition and generosity, for although they continued to grow, they stopped doing so before they reached the size at which the puppies had been weaned. After a few weeks, the dog’s milk stopped, or the cats developed a taste for solid food, or both. It seemed a natural occurance and none of the three appeared to be unhappy.
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, May 27, 2018
Validate
validate
verb, transitive. To make legally valid; to grant official sanction to by marking; to confirm the validity of an election; to declare a person elected; to verify, substantiate or confirm.
Her experiment had only taken a couple of weeks to convince Leah that she was onto something. Although she hated to admit it, flossing her teeth every day was one of the best habits she had ever acquired, especially now that she was well into her middle years. By the time she was 40, her joints had begun to ache, especially in cold weather. Daily flossing reduced that discomfort, and now that she was flossing twice a day--after breakfast and before bedtime--the effect was even more pronounced.
She sat in the chair in her dentist’s examination room and smiled to herself. Keeping her teeth cleaner herself made the hygienist’s cleanings quick and almost pain-free. She was certain that the dentist would pronounce her good to go for the next six months, with no further work needed.
“Hi, Leah,” Dr. Roberts said as he entered at her back. “How are you doing?”
“Very well, Dr. Roberts,” she replied, “how about you?”
“Can’t complain.” He sat and pulled her chart close. A minute or two passed as he read the hygienist’s notes. “Open, please,” he told Leah as he picked up an instrument.
She closed her eyes and opened her mouth into an extended yawn. She could feel gentle poking and pressure as Dr. Roberts checked a few places among her teeth and on her gums. It wasn’t long before he sat up and told her that she appeared to need no more work today or in the near future.
As he moved the chair so that Leah was sitting up again, she announced her discovery: “I have learned something during the past few weeks, Dr. Roberts. I found out that the cleaner I keep my teeth, the less joint pain I have to put up with.”
To her astonishment, he sat up even straighter and gasped. “I’ve noticed that myself,” he told her, “but you’re the first patient I’ve had validate that!”
As Leah stood up and gathered her belongings, she suggested, “You could do a survey and write a paper.” She was rewarded when he smiled and nodded.
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 make legally valid; to grant official sanction to by marking; to confirm the validity of an election; to declare a person elected; to verify, substantiate or confirm.
Her experiment had only taken a couple of weeks to convince Leah that she was onto something. Although she hated to admit it, flossing her teeth every day was one of the best habits she had ever acquired, especially now that she was well into her middle years. By the time she was 40, her joints had begun to ache, especially in cold weather. Daily flossing reduced that discomfort, and now that she was flossing twice a day--after breakfast and before bedtime--the effect was even more pronounced.
She sat in the chair in her dentist’s examination room and smiled to herself. Keeping her teeth cleaner herself made the hygienist’s cleanings quick and almost pain-free. She was certain that the dentist would pronounce her good to go for the next six months, with no further work needed.
“Hi, Leah,” Dr. Roberts said as he entered at her back. “How are you doing?”
“Very well, Dr. Roberts,” she replied, “how about you?”
“Can’t complain.” He sat and pulled her chart close. A minute or two passed as he read the hygienist’s notes. “Open, please,” he told Leah as he picked up an instrument.
She closed her eyes and opened her mouth into an extended yawn. She could feel gentle poking and pressure as Dr. Roberts checked a few places among her teeth and on her gums. It wasn’t long before he sat up and told her that she appeared to need no more work today or in the near future.
As he moved the chair so that Leah was sitting up again, she announced her discovery: “I have learned something during the past few weeks, Dr. Roberts. I found out that the cleaner I keep my teeth, the less joint pain I have to put up with.”
To her astonishment, he sat up even straighter and gasped. “I’ve noticed that myself,” he told her, “but you’re the first patient I’ve had validate that!”
As Leah stood up and gathered her belongings, she suggested, “You could do a survey and write a paper.” She was rewarded when he smiled and nodded.
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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