Charles shouted upstairs to his wife,» Hurry up or we’ll be late.» «Oh, be quiet,» replied his wife. «Haven’t I been telling you for the last hour that I’ll be ready in a minute?»
candle n. Candle made of rush pith dipped in tallow.
- hour n. (often hyphenated when attrib.) Time(s) each day when traffic is heaviest.
- —v. - go, move, flow, or act precipitately or with great speed.
- move or transport with great haste (was rushed to hospital).
- (foll. By at) a move suddenly towards. B begin or attack impetuously.
- perform or deal with hurriedly (don't rush your dinner).
- force or induce (a person) to act hastily.
- attack or capture by sudden assault.
- slang overcharge (a customer). —n. - a rushing; violent or speedy advance or attack. B sudden flow, flood.
- period of great activity.
- (attrib.) Done with great haste or speed (a rush job).
- sudden migration of large numbers.
- (foll. By on, for) sudden strong demand for a commodity.
- (in pl.) Colloq. First uncut prints of a film. [french ruser: related to *ruse]
- n. - marsh plant with slender tapering pith-filled stems, used for making chair-bottoms, baskets, etc.
- stem of this. rushy adj. [old english]
RUSK
n. Slice of bread rebaked as a light biscuit, esp. As baby food. [spanish or portuguese rosca twist]
RUST
—n. - reddish corrosive coating formed on iron, steel, etc. By oxidation, esp. When wet.
- fungal plant-disease with rust-coloured spots.
- impaired state due to disuse or inactivity.
- reddish-brown. —v. - affect or be affected with rust.
- become impaired through disuse. [old english]
RABBI
n. (pl. -s) 1 jewish scholar or teacher, esp. Of the law.
- jewish religious leader. rabbinical adj. [hebrew, = my master]
RABID
adj. - affected with rabies, mad.
- violent, fanatical. rabidity n. [latin rabio rave]
RADAR
n. - system for detecting the direction, range, or presence of objects, by sending out pulses of high frequency electromagnetic waves which they reflect.
- apparatus for this. [from radio detection and ranging]
- trap n. Device using radar to detect speeding vehicles.
RADII
pl. Of *radius.
RADIO
comb. Form 1 denoting radio or broadcasting.
- connected with radioactivity.
- connected with rays or radiation.
- frequency n. (pl. -ies) frequency band of telecommunication, ranging from 104 to 1011 or 1012 hz.
- telescope n. Directional aerial system for collecting and analysing radiation in the radio frequency range from stars etc.
- —n. (pl. -s) 1 (often attrib.) A transmission and reception of sound messages etc. By electromagnetic waves of radio frequency. B apparatus for receiving, broadcasting, or transmitting radio signals.
- a sound broadcasting (prefers the radio). B broadcasting station or channel (radio one). —v. (-es, -ed) 1 a send (a message) by radio. B send a message to (a person) by radio.
- communicate or broadcast by radio. [short for radio-telegraphy etc.]
Every night, wasps bite into the stem of a plant, lock their mandibles (jaws) into position, stretch out at right angles to the stem, and, with legs dangling, fall asleep.
