Two cowboys come upon an Indian lying on his stomach with his ear to the ground. One of the cowboys stops and says to the other, "You see that Indian?"
"Yeah," says the other cowboy.
"Look," says the first one, "he’s listening to the ground. He can hear things for miles in any direction."
Just then the Indian looks up. "Covered wagon," he says, "about two miles away. Have two horses, one brown, one white. Man, woman, child, household effects in wagon."
"Incredible!" says the cowboy to his friend. "This Indian knows how far away they are, how many horses, what color they are, who is in the wagon, and what is in the wagon. Amazing!"
The Indian looks up and says, "Ran over me about a half hour ago."
- in hand adv. - in close association (power and money go hand in hand).
- (hand-in-hand) holding hands.
- —n. - a end part of the human arm beyond the wrist. B (in other primates) end part of a forelimb.
- a (often in pl.) Control, management, custody, disposal (is in good hands). B agency or influence (suffered at their hands). C share in an action; active support (had a hand in it; give me a hand).
- thing like a hand, esp. The pointer of a clock.
- right or left side or direction relative to a person or thing.
- a skill (has a hand for making pastry). B person skilful in some respect.
- person who does or makes something, esp. Distinctively (picture by the same hand).
- person's writing or its style.
- person etc. As a source (at first hand).
- pledge of marriage. 10 manual worker, esp. At a factory or farm; member of a ship's crew. 11 a playing-cards dealt to a player. B round of play. 12 colloq. Burst of applause. 13 unit of measure of a horse's height, 4 inches (10.16 cm). 14 forehock of pork. 15 (attrib.) A operated by or held in the hand (hand-drill). B done by hand, not machine (hand-knitted). —v. - (foll. By in, to, over, etc.) Deliver; transfer by hand or otherwise.
- colloq. Give away too readily (handed them the advantage). all hands entire crew or workforce. At hand 1 close by.
- about to happen. By hand 1 by a person, not a machine.
- delivered privately, not by post. From hand to mouth satisfying only one's immediate needs. Get (or have or keep) one's hand in become (or be or remain) in practice. Hand down 1 pass ownership or use of to a later generation etc.
- a transmit (a decision) from a higher court etc. B us express (an opinion or verdict). Hand it to colloq. Award deserved praise to. Hand on pass (a thing) to the next in a series. Hand out 1 serve, distribute.
HANG
—v. (past and past part. Hung except in sense 7) 1 a secure or cause to be supported from above, esp. With the lower part free. B (foll. By up, on, on to, etc.) Attach by suspending from the top.
- set up (a door etc.) On hinges.
- place (a picture) on a wall or in an exhibition.
- attach (wallpaper) to a wall.
- (foll. By on) colloq. Blame (a thing) on (a person) (can't hang that on me).
- (foll. By with) decorate by suspending pictures etc. (hall hung with tapestries).
- (past and past part. Hanged) a suspend or be suspended by the neck with a noosed rope until dead, esp. As a form of capital punishment. B as a mild oath (hang the expense).
- let droop (hang one's head).
- suspend (meat or game) from a hook and leave until dry, tender, or high. 10 be or remain hung (in various senses). 11 remain static in the air. 12 (often foll. By over) be present or imminent, esp. Oppressively or threateningly (a hush hung over the room). 13 (foll. By on) a be contingent or dependent on (everything hangs on his reply). B listen closely to (hangs on my every word). —n. Way a thing hangs or falls. get the hang of colloq. Understand the technique or meaning of. Hang about (or around) 1 a stand about or spend time aimlessly; not move away. B linger near (a person or place).
- (often foll. By with) colloq. Associate with. Hang back show reluctance to act or move. Hang fire be slow in taking action or in progressing. Hang heavily (or heavy) (of time) seem to pass slowly. Hang in us colloq. - persist, persevere.
- linger. Hang on 1 (often foll. By to) continue to hold or grasp.
- (foll. By to) retain; fail to give back.
- colloq. A wait for a short time. B (in telephoning) not ring off during a pause in the conversation.
- colloq. Continue; persevere. Hang out 1 suspend from a window, clothes-line, etc.
- a protrude downwards (shirt hanging out). B (foll. By of) lean out of (a window etc.).
- slang frequent or live in a place. Hang together 1 make sense.
- remain associated. Hang up 1 hang from a hook etc.
- (often foll. By on) end a telephone conversation by replacing the receiver (he hung up on me).
- (usu. In passive, foll. By on) slang be a psychological problem or obsession for (is hung up on her father). Not care (or give) a hang colloq. Not care at all. [old english]
HANK
n. Coil or skein of wool or thread etc. [old norse]
HARD
and fast adj. (of a rule or distinction) definite, unalterable, strict.
- cash n. Negotiable coins and banknotes.
- copy n. Material printed by a computer on paper.
- core n. - irreducible nucleus.
- colloq. A the most committed members of a society etc. B conservative or reactionary minority (see also *hardcore).
- disk n. Computing large-capacity rigid usu. Magnetic storage disk.
- labour n. Heavy manual work as a punishment, esp. In a prison.
- line n. Unyielding adherence to a policy. hard-liner n.
- luck n. Worse fortune than one deserves.
- of hearing adj. Somewhat deaf.
- pad n. Form of distemper in dogs etc.
- palate n. Front part of the palate.
- roe see *roe1.
- sell n. Aggressive salesmanship.
- shoulder n. Hard surface alongside a motorway for stopping on in an emergency.
- tack n. Naut. Ship's biscuit.
- up adj. Short of money.
- —adj. - (of a substance etc.) Firm and solid.
- a difficult to understand, explain, or accomplish. B (foll. By to + infin.) Not easy to (hard to please).
- difficult to bear (a hard life).
- unfeeling; severely critical.
- (of a season or the weather) severe.
- unpleasant to the senses, harsh (hard colours).
- a strenuous, enthusiastic, intense (a hard worker). B severe, uncompromising (a hard bargain). C polit. Extreme; most radical (the hard right).
- a (of liquor) strongly alcoholic. B (of drugs) potent and addictive. C (of pornography) highly obscene.
- (of water) containing mineral salts that make lathering difficult. 10 established; not disputable (hard facts). 11 (of currency, prices, etc.) High; not likely to fall in value. 12 (of a consonant) guttural (as c in cat, g in go). —adv. Strenuously, intensely, copiously (try hard; raining hard). be hard on 1 be difficult for.
- be severe in one's treatment or criticism of.
- be unpleasant to (the senses). Be hard put to it (usu. Foll. By to + infin.) Find it difficult. Hard by close by. Hard on (or upon) close to in pursuit etc. hardish adj. Hardness n. [old english]
HARE
—n. Mammal like a large rabbit, with long ears, short tail, and long hind legs. —v. (-ring) run rapidly. [old english]
HARK
v. (usu. In imper.) Archaic listen attentively. hark back revert to earlier topic. [old english]
HARM
—n. Hurt, damage. —v. Cause harm to. out of harm's way in safety. [old english]
HARP
—n. Large upright stringed instrument plucked with the fingers. —v. (foll. By on, on about) talk repeatedly and tediously about. harpist n. [old english]
HART
n. (pl. Same or -s) male of the (esp. Red) deer, esp. After its 5th year. [old english]
HASH
—n. - dish of cooked meat cut into small pieces and reheated.
- a mixture; jumble. B mess.
- recycled material. —v. (often foll. By up) recycle (old material). make a hash of colloq. Make a mess of; bungle.
