A rookie police officer was out for his first ride with an experienced partner. A call came in telling them to disperse some people who were loitering.
The officers drove to the street and observed a small crowd standing on a corner. The rookie rolled down his window and said, "Let"s get off the corner people."
A few glances, but no one moved, so he barked again, "Let"s get off that corner... NOW!"
Intimidated, the group of people began to leave, casting puzzled stares in his direction.
Proud of his first official act, the young policeman turned to his partner and asked, "Well, how did I do?"
"Pretty good," chuckled the vet, "especially since this is a bus stop."
—v. - burn (the skin etc.) With hot liquid or steam.
- heat (esp. Milk) to near boiling point.
- (usu. Foll. By out) clean with boiling water. —n. Burn etc. Caused by scalding. [latin excaldo from calidus hot]
SCALE
—n. - each of the thin horny plates protecting the skin of fish and reptiles.
- something resembling this.
- white deposit formed in a kettle etc. By hard water.
- tartar formed on teeth. —v. (-ling) 1 remove scale(s) from.
- form or come off in scales. scaly adj. (-ier, -iest). [french escale]
- n. - a (often in pl.) Weighing machine. B (also scale-pan) each of the dishes on a simple balance.
- (the scales) zodiacal sign or constellation libra. tip (or turn) the scales 1 be the decisive factor.
- (usu. Foll. By at) weigh. [old norse skál bowl]
- —n. - graded classification system (high on the social scale).
- a (often attrib.) Ratio of reduction or enlargement in a map, model, picture, etc. (on a scale of one inch to the mile; a scale model). B relative dimensions.
- mus. Set of notes at fixed intervals, arranged in order of pitch.
- a set of marks on a line used in measuring etc. B rule determining the distances between these. C rod etc. On which these are marked. —v. (-ling) 1 a climb (a wall, height, etc.). B climb (the social scale, heights of ambition, etc.).
- represent proportionally; reduce to a common scale. in scale in proportion. Scale down (or up) make or become smaller (or larger) in proportion. To scale uniformly in proportion. [latin scala ladder]
SCALP
—n. - skin on the head, with the hair etc. Attached.
- hist. This cut off as a trophy by an american indian. —v. - hist. Take the scalp of (an enemy).
- us colloq. Resell (shares etc.) At a high or quick profit. [probably scandinavian]
SCAMP
n. Colloq. Rascal; rogue. [probably dutch]
SCANT
adj. Barely sufficient; deficient. [old norse]
SCARE
—v. (-ring) 1 frighten, esp. Suddenly.
- (as scared adj.) (usu. Foll. By of, or to + infin.) Frightened; terrified.
- (usu. Foll. By away, off, up, etc.) Drive away by frightening.
- become scared (they don't scare easily). —n. - sudden attack of fright.
- alarm caused by rumour etc. (a measles scare). [old norse]
SCARF
n. (pl. Scarves or -s) piece of material worn esp. Round the neck or over the head, for warmth or ornament. [french escarpe]
- —v. Join the ends of (timber etc.) By bevelling or notching them to fit and then bolting them etc. —n. (pl. -s) joint made by scarfing. [probably french escarf]
SCARP
—n. Steep slope, esp. The inner side of a ditch in a fortification. —v. Make perpendicular or steep. [italian scarpa]
To add to the dictionary krossvordista new word or its definition to an existing word, click on the "Add a word or definition of" fill opened form and click "to send".
A cat uses whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. The whiskers act as antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.