One day an unknown youth asked Mozart to explain to him how to start to compose a symphony.
- You are young, - answered Mozart. In the beginning write a ballade, and if you like it, come to me.
- But you! At the age of ten you have composed a lot of music.
- But I did not ask anybody how to do it.
—n. Excrement of animals; manure. —v. Apply dung to (land). [old english]
DUNK
v. - dip (food) into liquid before eating.
- immerse. [german tunken dip]
DUPE
—n. Victim of deception. —v. (-ping) deceive, trick. [french]
DURA
mater n. Tough outermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord. [medieval latin = hard mother, translation of arabic]
DUSK
n. Darker stage of twilight. [old english]
DUST
bowl n. Desert made by drought or erosion.
- cover n. - = *dust-sheet.
- = *dust-jacket.
- —n. - finely powdered earth or other material etc. (pollen dust).
- dead person's remains.
- confusion, turmoil. —v. - wipe the dust from (furniture etc.).
- a sprinkle with powder, sugar, etc. B sprinkle (sugar, powder, etc.). dust down 1 dust the clothes of.
- colloq. Reprimand.
- = dust off. Dust off 1 remove the dust from.
- use again after a long period. When the dust settles when things quieten down. [old english]
DUTY
n. (pl. -ies) 1 a moral or legal obligation; responsibility. B binding force of what is right.
- tax on certain goods, imports, etc.
- job or function arising from a business or office (playground duty).
- deference; respect due to a superior. do duty for serve as or pass for (something else). On (or off) duty working (or not working). [anglo-french: related to *due]
DYKE
(also dike) —n. - embankment built to prevent flooding.
- low wall of turf or stone. —v. (-king) provide or protect with dyke(s). [related to *ditch]
- n. (also dike) slang lesbian. [origin unknown]
DYNE
n. Physics force required to give a mass of one gram an acceleration of one centimetre per second per second. [greek dunamis force]
