Today we celebrate Valentine’s Day with this word!
A ram is a male sheep and also a device for battering, crushing, or forcing something. Related to this last sense, to ram means ‘to strike with force,’ ‘to stuff or cram,’ or, figuratively, ‘to force or push firmly.’ Unrelatedly, the acronym RAM, in computing, stands for random access memory, and it is the computer memory available to…
A bog is an area of wet, moist, and spongy ground and the verb to bog, usually followed by down, means ‘to sink in or as if in such an area.’ In UK slang, bog means ‘toilet’ and, if you are talking about a public toilet or the toilet facilities in a establishment open to the public, like a bar or restaurant, then the word is often…
In clothing, a frill is a strip of cloth or lace, gathered at one edge and left loose on the other, used to trim a piece of clothing or fabric. Something that resembles such a trimming is also called a frill. Informally, a frill is something that is desirable but not at all essential or an affectation in style or manner. As a verb, to frill means ‘to trim with a frill or…
Obviously, to feed means ‘to give food’, ‘to provide as food,’ and, especially of animals, ‘to eat.’ Figuratively, ‘to provide with what’s necessary for mantainence or operation’ and ‘to satisfy or gratify’ is also to feed. But did you know that feed has other specific meanings? In theater, it means ‘to provide cues or lines to an actor’ and, in broadcasting, ‘to distribute a local broadcast via satellite network.’ As a noun, feed is not only the food given or the material supplied, but also a line…