| 释义 |
▪ I. neck, n.1|nɛk|
Forms: α. 1 hnecca, 4–6 nekke, 4–7 nek, (5–6 neke, 6 neeke), 3–7 necke, 4– neck. β. 4 nycke, nhicke, nihcke; nak.
[OE. hnecca wk. masc. = OFris. hnecka, necke, MDu. necke (Du. nek), MHG. nacke (G. nacken), ON. hnakki (Da. nakke, Sw. nacke); a strong masc. form appears in MDu. nac, nack-, OHG. hnacch, (h)nach (MHG. nac). The word has app. no cognates outside of the Teutonic languages. In OE. it is comparatively rare, the more general sense of ‘neck’ being expressed by the words heals hals and swíra swire. It is not clear how the ME. variants nicke and nak are related to nekke.]
I.
1. a. The back part of that portion of the body lying between the head and shoulders; also, by extension, the whole of this portion, the narrow part below or behind the head.
The wider sense is now the usual one, the original meaning being commonly expressed by the back, or the nape, of the neck (see nape n.1 1 b).
αc897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xix. 142 Wa ðæm þe willað under ælcne elnboᵹan lecᵹean pyle & bolster under ælcne hneccan. c1000ælfric Deut. xxviii. 35 Þæt þu næbbe nan þing hales fram þam fotwolmum oð þone hneccan [L. ad verticem]. a1225St. Marher. 12 Þis milde meiden..sette hire fote uppon his ruhe necke. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 37/117 Ane Rop he dude a-boute is necke. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13031 Beof by þe nekke Petron hent. 1390Gower Conf. I. 99 Hire Necke is schort, hir schuldres courbe. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 123 He tyt the King be the nek, twa part in tene. 1559Mirr. Mag., Dk. Suffolk xxv, My necke in two he smoat. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa 20 Sometimes they lay their legs acrosse vpon the camels neck. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 438 The Swan with Arched neck Between her white wings. 1711Steele Spect. No. 76 ⁋3 He would..make two Fellows who hated, embrace and fall upon each other's Neck. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 283 The green parakeet, with a red neck. a1821Keats Hyperion iii. 132 His golden tresses famed Kept undulation round his eager neck. 1897H. O. Forbes Hand-bk. Primates I. 171 The Orangs are..heavy in build, with the head set on a very thick neck.
βa1300K. Horn (Harl. MS.) 1328 Hue comen in wel sone..Y-armed swiþ þicke From fote to þe nycke. 1340Ayenb. 216 Þe fole wyfmen þet guoþ mid stondinde nihcke ase hert ine launde. 1382Wyclif Gen. xxvii. 16 She forcoueride the nakid of the nak [1388 necke].
†b. As the part of the body on which burdens or other articles are carried. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 322 Ich chulle..trussen al þi schendfulnesse o þine owune necke. a1300Cursor M. 5523 Apon þer neckes sal þai bere Hott wit stan and wit morter. 1340Ayenb. 138 Huet ssel þe ilke paye þat naȝt ne heþ bote þane nhicke y-carked mid zenne. c1386Chaucer Monk's T. 120 He..bar the heven on his nekke longe. c1450Lovelich Grail xlv. 434 The Enemy hym there took vpe Anon In hys Nekke. 1561Norton & Sack. Gorboduc i. Dumb Show, Of whom the first bare in his necke a Fagot of smal stickes.
c. The cervical vertebræ. Chiefly in phr. to break the neck.
a1250Owl & Night. 122 Werp hit vt myd þe vyrste, Þet his nekke him toberste. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7709 Richard, is o neueu, brec þere is nekke. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 21 Þat nyse abbot werþe wood,..and brak his nekke and deide. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. li. 496 One of them his neck was nyghe broken in tweyn. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 33 In that house..A man shall as soone breake his necke as his fast. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. i. 153, I had as liefe thou didst breake his necke as his finger. 1643[see 5 b]. 1712Steele Spect. No. 474 ⁋2 The President must necessarily have broken his Neck. 1803Med. Jrnl. IX. 406 Turning it round, whereby the neck was dislocated. 1893Earl Dunmore Pamirs I. 67 One and all rode like demons, without the slightest regard for the safety of their own necks.
†d. Inexactly used for ‘head’. Obs. rare.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 431 She..offered to the hangeman her necke to be striken of. 1611Bible Deut. xxi. 4 The Elders..shall strike off the heifers necke there. 1647Hexham s.v., To chop or cutt off ones Necke.
e. Phrases. to get (catch, take) it in the neck: to be hard hit (by something); to be severely reprimanded or punished. Conversely, to give it in the neck: to assault or reprimand (someone) severely.
1882National Police Gaz. 25 Nov. 3/3 An ‘Artless’ Young Girl Gives it to Her ‘in the Neck’, as the Sports Say. 1887[see dub n.6]. 1903A. Adams Log of Cowboy xi. 175 Old Nat will get it in the neck this time, if that old girl dallies with him as she did with us. 1908H. G. Wells War in Air ii. 58 They'll get it in the neck in real earnest one of these days, if they ain't precious careful. 1914D. O. Barnett Let. 31 Dec. (1915) 30 You probably don't know what a village looks like when it has caught it in the neck. 1923Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves iii. 30 Something always comes along to give it you in the neck at the very moment when you're feeling most braced about things in general. 1927F. Niven Wild Honey iii. 21 If you sit..facing ahead, that's called ‘punching the breeze’. If you sit..looking back, it's called ‘taking it in the neck’. 1928‘Sapper’ Female of Species x. 169 I'd never forgive myself if one of you took it in the neck. a1930D. H. Lawrence Phoenix II (1968) 259 Give it the blue-bottles [sc. policemen] in the neck! 1955Times 11 July 12/7 Do they belong to an unlucky generation that has got it in the neck before the law can catch up with the swift development of civilian aviation, and insist upon silenced airliners? 1973Guardian 18 June 10/2 It's the poor old vicar who gets it most in the neck... He runs the risk of losing the best-kept-village competition because..the churchyard is looking its shaggiest. 1974Times 12 Dec. 14/4 Giscard..apparently caught it in the neck from his continental colleagues.
2. a. The skin from the neck of an animal. rare—1.
1552Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI, c. 15 §3 Every Girdler..may..sell..Necks, Wombs and Shreds of tanned Leather.
b. The flesh of the neck of an animal, esp. of beef or mutton.
1603Dekker & Chettle Grissil (Shaks. Soc.) 9 Eight to a neck of mutton—is not that your commons? 1632Massinger City Madam i. i, His family fed on roots and livers, And necks of beef on Sundays. 1753Scots Mag. Apr. 191/1 A neck, a loin, or leg of veal. 1813Examiner 31 May 351/2 He..should like to have a neck of mutton. 1861Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. xxv. 328 The Sheep..Fore quarter: No. 3, the shoulder; 4 and 5 the neck.
c. That part of a garment which covers, or lies next to, the neck.
1530Palsgr. 247/2 Necke of a cappe, rebras dung bonnet. 1577–87Holinshed Chron. III. 921/1 His pillion of fine scarlet, with a necke set in the inner side with blacke veluet. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 91 Their shirts have no necks but onely a hem like Womens Smocks. 1752Berkeley Th. Tar-water Wks. 1871 III. 500 Unbuttoning the neck and wristbands of his shirt. c1817Hogg Tales & Sk. III. 158 With a scarlet neck in his coat. 1866[see low a. 1 c].
d. In Racing, to win by a neck, i.e. by the length of the horse's neck. Also fig. So a neck, such a distance separating two horses at the end of a race. Also of greyhounds.
1823‘J. Bee’ Slang 94 Won by..indeed ‘a neck’. 1865‘Mark Twain’ Sk. New & Old (1875) 32 She'd always fetch up at the stand just about a neck ahead. 1873J. Blackwood Let. 7 June in Geo. Eliot Lett. (1956) V. 421 There was a grand [golf] match{ddd}my man the young champion Tom Morris came in winner by a neck. 1886[see head n.1 1 c]. 1930Daily Express 6 Oct. 17/6 Three-quarters of a length; neck. Beggarman fourth. 1931T. R. G. Lyell Slang 544 The worst of it is that I only lost by a neck; the other fellow beat me by three marks! 1975Times 21 July 7/4 If Juliette Marny had not cocked her head..a few strides from the post Piggott thought the margin of success would have been half a length rather than a neck.
e. N.Z. The wool shorn from the neck of a sheep.
1950N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Oct. 311 (caption) Frames hinged to a wall [in the shearing shed] can be very useful to support a wool pack for bellies, necks, etc.
II.
3. In various figurative or allusive expressions: a. Implying subjugation (or deliverance).
Usu. in connexion with the fig. use of yoke.
1382Wyclif Jer. xxx. 8 Y shal to-brose his ȝoc fro thi necke. 1388― Acts xv. 10 To putte a ȝok on the necke of the disciplis. a1400Chron. R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2804 Þe saxons nekken vnder is fet to trede. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, ii. iii. 64 These are his..armes, and strength, With which he yoaketh your rebellious Neckes. 1601― Twel. N. ii. v. 206 Wilt thou set thy foot o' my necke? 1649Owen Serm. Wks. 1851 IX. 217 Our necks are yet kept from the yoke of lawless lust. 1847Tennyson Princ. ii. 127 To..Disyoke their necks from custom. Ibid. vi. 150 See, your foot is on our necks, We vanquish'd.
b. Implying submission, resistance, or obstinacy. Also implying insolent speech or presumptuous behaviour, esp. in phr. to have a neck.
c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 57 Boweth your nekke under that blisful yok Of soverayntee. c1400Rule St. Benet (Prose) 38 [She may not] þe life of þe reule fle, ne caste it fra hir nek. 1535Coverdale 2 Kings xvii. 14 They..herdened their neckes, acordinge to the hardneck of their fathers. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iii. i. 19 My selfe..haue stoopt my neck vnder your iniuries. 1671Milton P.R. iv. 418 Sturdiest Oaks Bow'd thir Stiff necks. 1757Burke Abridgm. Eng. Hist. iii. iv, The barbarians..had at length submitted their necks to the Gospel. 1893–4R. O. Heslop Northumb. Words II. 494 Neck, forwardness, impudence. ‘What a neck ye hev efter aa'!’ 1933Punch 25 Jan. 108/3 I'm afraid I was so overcome by his barefaced ‘neck’ that it never occurred to me to call him back. 1935G. Heyer Death in Stocks iii. 34 He'd had the infernal neck to say I wasn't going to marry the man. 1942L. A. G. Strong Unpractised Heart xii. 77 And then you have the sheer neck, the bloody effrontery to say you think there's more in life than I do. 1960J. Symons Progress of a Crime v. 34 If that doesn't beat anything for hard neck.
†c. Denoting the setting-on of an assailant, the imposition of some burden, or the laying of a charge, upon a person. Obs. (freq. in 16th c. use).
1536St. Papers Hen. VIII, II. 356 They princypally delyte to put oon of us Inglishmen in an others necke. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (1895) 103 The wyckednes and folysshenes of others shalbe imputed to hym, and layde in hys necke. 1596Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 664/1 The countrey [n]ever should dare to mutinie, having still the souldiours on theyr necke. 1604Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 170 You haue done well, That men must lay their Murthers on your necke.
d. With allusion to hanging or beheading.
1496Fysshynge w. Angle (1883) 36 Theuys & brybours..whyche are punysshed for theyr euyll dedes by the necke. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iv. viii. 45 Let his Neck answere for it, if there is any Marshall Law in the World. 1646Hamilton Papers (Camden) 118 To this litle purpose hath the King's commands put his necke to a new hazard. 1685Evelyn Diary 24 Dec., West, who..had reveal'd the accomplices to save his owne neck. 1809Malkin Gil Blas ii. vii. ⁋27 [I] rejoiced at getting my neck out of an halter.
e. In miscellaneous uses. to speak (talk) through (the back of) one's neck: to use extravagant or inaccurate words or language; to stick (or put) one's neck out: to expose oneself to danger, reprisal, criticism, etc.; up to the neck: fully concerned or deeply implicated in (a transaction, freq. illegal); also ellipt., occupied without intermission; to breathe down (someone's) neck: to be close behind (someone); to keep a close or oppressive watch upon; dead from the neck up: see dead a. 32 h.
1388Wyclif Gen. xlv. 14 And whanne he hadde biclippid, and hadde feld [other MSS. falle] in to the necke of Beniamyn, his brother, he wepte, the while also Benjamin wepte in lijk maner on the necke of Joseph. c1489[see long a.1 1 c]. 1535Coverdale Neh. iii. 5 Their greate men put not their neckes to y⊇ seruyce of their lorde. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 261/1 God layeth the bridle in their neckes as it were. 1611Bible Gen. xlv. 14 And he fel vpon his brother Beniamins necke, and wept: and Beniamin wept vpon his necke. 1599,1676[see heel n.2 24 b]. 1738Swift Polite Conv. i. 47 If ever I hang, it shall be about a fair Lady's Neck. 1797M. Robinson Walsingham II. 173 The constable of the night, making a long neck to examine the bribe. 1856Lever Martins of Cro' M. 288 You'll go from this place to the Lodge, where you'll be fed ‘to the neck’. 1862Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xii. ix. (1872) IV. 196 The vacant edifices..are filled to the neck with meal and corn. 1896[see oafish a.]. 1899E. W. Hornung Amat. Cracksman 199 ‘Don't talk through yer neck,’ snarled the convict. ‘Talk out straight, curse you!’ 1903A. H. Lewis Boss 174 Still I must say you went in up to your neck on sparks and voylets. 1907Strand Mag. June 672/1 We are not slow to tell them they are ‘talking through the back of their neck’. 1909R. Brooke Let. 3 Nov. (1968) 192 Your offer is splendid and noble. I fall upon your neck. 1912Kipling Songs from Books (1913) 153 So back I go to my job again, Not..quite so ready to sob again On any neck that's around. 1923Conrad Rover xii. 203 It's the very spot for hatching treacheries. One feels steeped in them up to the neck. 1923Pall Mall Gaz. 13 Apr. 3/3 Anybody who gets up in this House and talks about universal peace knows he is talking through the back of his neck. 1926Univ. Mag. (Univ. Va.) Oct. 16/2 Absolutely original slang at the University of Virginia includes..to stick one's neck out. 1933New Republic 22 Nov. 45/2 Instead, there is a general disposition now to regard him as a fat-headed fellow..who ‘put his neck out’ and got what he deserved. 1935Planning III. xlix. 2 Opinion in administration and in industry, among people who are up to the neck in current problems, is far more advanced than opinion among some of those who occupy comfortably detached positions. 1936R. Chandler in Black Mask June 31/2 You sure stick your neck out all the time. 1941Wodehouse Berlin Broadcasts in Performing Flea (1961) i. 266 Algy didn't know a thing about it and was almost certainly talking through the back of his neck. 1946K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) vii. 97 There were big black moths in the wardrobe; not to mention a beastly big mountain breathing down the back of your neck. 1950H. Hastings Seagulls Over Sorrento in Plays of Year IV. 64 We've stuck our necks out—we're looking for trouble, see? 1955R. Frost Small Hotel in Ibid. XIII. 189 I'll be out of here on my neck as soon as they've got what they want out of me in this court business. 1955A. L. Rowse Expansion Eliz. Eng. ii. 64 Three mayors..were up to their neck in the trade. Ibid. viii. 302 The conclusion she [sc. Elizabeth] drew from that was not to put out her neck again. 1957A. Huxley Let. 18 Jan. (1969) 816 Selznick is up to his neck in his forthcoming..film and probably won't be able to read the piece for some days. 1959Listener 5 Mar. 414/1 It was likely that he would be thrown out on his neck very quickly. 1959Times 19 May 5/5 Because Kent were always breathing down their necks, Hampshire could never really establish themselves. 1961Debates Senate Canada 5 July 1021/1 So I shall try not to stick my neck out on the legal aspect too much; although, as I say, even from a legal standpoint it does seem rather simple to me. 1961A. Wilson Old Men at Zoo iii. 162 But you shouldn't worry. You can never do the best work that way. Of course with Falcon and Sanderson round your neck, I'm not surprised. 1965J. Porter Dover Two xi. 141 MacGregor rushed..away, delighted to be able to pursue his own line of investigation and..not to have Dover breathing down his neck all the time. 1971‘F. Clifford’ Blind Side iv. ii. 157 ‘I haven't seen him for a couple of days... He's been up to his neck.’ ‘Who with?’ ‘Same man.’ 1971A. Price Alamut Ambush xiii. 157 You don't have to stick your neck out, David—I'll stick mine out. And it'll be a pleasure! 1973J. Fleming You won't let me Finish ix. 79 You're in it up to the neck whether you like it or not. 1973Times 27 Feb. 14/4 He..unfortunately began a sentence ‘If I disagree with my local party..’ whereupon a heckler added loudly ‘You'll be out on your neck.’ Ibid. 24 Apr. 11/7 Shakespeare..gives the troupe a chance to try something new without the Academie breathing down its neck.
4. in, on, or upon the neck of: on the top of, immediately upon or after; esp. (one) in or on the neck of another. Now only dial. (very common in 16–17th c.).
1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. clx. [clvi.] 442 One tayle coude nat be payde but yt another was redy on ye necke therof. 1545R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 56 Heaping othes upon othes, one in a nothers necke. 1577tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 50 Vpon the necke of this againe, he argueth this. 1605Willet Hexapla Gen. 357 One temptation folloed in the neck of an other. 1683Temple Mem. Wks. 1720 I. 376 This Offer coming upon the Neck of the Parliament's Advice to his Majesty. 1700Dryden Fables Pref., Ess. (ed. Ker) II. 256 A dozen more of such expressions, poured on the neck of one another. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., One bad job alus falls on th' neck of another.
5. to break the neck of:
†a. To destroy, finish, bring to an end. Obs.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 32 These foule mischeefs which haue almoste broken the necke of the Common wealth. 1624Jas. I Declar. in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1659) I. 140 Though I have broken the Necks of three Parliaments.
b. To counteract or annul the chief force or main effect of; to finish the main part of.
1643Plain English 9 The neck of this designe will scarce be broken, till the necks of some of the..authors..be. 1674R. Godfrey Inj. & Ab. Physic 131 The Doctor..gave him Medicines to fortifie his Stomach, and break the neck of the Fever. a1734North Lives (1742) I. 201 To break the Neck of those wicked Delays used there. 1755Johnson s.v., To break the neck of an affair; to hinder any thing being done; or, to do more than half. 1837Lockhart Scott (1869) II. xiv. 263 He had done enough (in his own language) ‘to break the neck of the day's work’. 1886Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Paston Carew xlii, The neck of the winter was broken, and the day was bright and clear.
6.
†a. neck over head, headlong. Obs. rare—1.
1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 247/1 Matters goe so necke ouer head, and men crye out, All is naught.
b. neck and heels, = neck and crop. Now dial.
a1734North Exam. (1740) 72 The Liberty of the Subject is brought in Neck and Heels, as they say. 1778F. Burney Evelina xxv, To take and pull him neck and heels out. 1818M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 137 The first thing that we now did was to turn him out of the sick-house, neck and heels. 1890Glouc. Gloss. s.v., If there be another 'lection, they'll be obligated to go out neck and heels.
c. neck and crop, bodily, completely, altogether. Also attrib.
1816in Hone Every-day Bk. (1825) I. 461 Explain the terms..neck and crop—bang up—and—prime. 1833M. Scott Tom Cringle xvi, Chuck them neck and crop..down a dark staircase. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xv, We're going in neck and crop for fashion. 1932Kipling Limits & Renewals 398 That does not excuse the neck-and-crop abruptness..of..our expulsion. 1963A. Ross Australia 63 v. 110 Titmus,..trying to force an in-swinger away, was bowled neck and crop. 1967[see decolonization].
7. to tie (or † lay) neck and heels, to confine or bind securely.
1643Chillenden Inhumanity King's Prison-kpr. 2 He swore he would lay me neck and heels in Irons. 1678Butler Hud. iii. ii. 1092 Insolences, That to your own imperious wills Laid Law and Gospel neck and heels. 1701Cibber Love makes Man iv. ii. Take this Fool, let him be gagg'd, ty'd Neck and Heels, and lock'd into a Garret.
8. neck or nothing (occas. nought), a phrase expressing determination and readiness to venture everything or to take all risks.
1715M. Davies Athen. Brit. I. 321 Worth venturing Neck or Nothing for. 1738Swift Pol. Conversat. 99 Neck or nothing; come down, or I'll fetch you down. 1782Cowper Gilpin 89 Away went Gilpin, neck or nought. 1810Clarke Trav. Russia 333 She rides, to use the language of English sportsmen, ‘neck or nothing’. 1836–7Dickens Sk. Boz, Scenes vii, Cabs are all very well in cases of expedition, when it's a matter of neck or nothing. 1895W. C. Hazlitt 4 Generations II. 357, I launched my scheme neck or naught.
b. attrib. of persons or actions: Headlong, reckless.
1814Scott Let. to Morritt 30 Apr. in Lockhart, A neck-or-nothing London bookseller. 1835W. Irving Tour Prairies 235 Crashing along with neck-or-nothing fury, where it would have been madness to follow him. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge xxxv, Three great neck-or-nothing chaps, that could keep on running over us.
9. neck and neck, of horses, etc.: Keeping abreast, neither falling behind nor getting ahead of each other. Also freq. in fig. use.
1799Sporting Mag. XIII. 309/1 In this way, neck and neck, whipping and spurring, all the speed of the horses, and all the skill of the jockies exerted, they rode up to the ending post. 1835Dickens Let. 2 May (1965) I. 58 We came in literally neck and neck. 1837T. Hook Jack Brag iii, They..entered the winning-field nearly neck-and-neck. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 222 Having forced an immense black bullock out of the camp, [he] was racing neck-and-neck with him. 1901Chambers's Jrnl. June 361/2 There a horse fell or staggered, and was instantly recovered. Now we were a few yards ahead, again neck-and-neck with the ‘Quicksilver’; and so we raced on until we approached the old bridge at Bow.
fig.c1812Croker in C. Papers (1884) I. 40 In the House of Commons..where the parties were, if I may use the expression, neck and neck. 1877Green Lett. (1901) 456 To keep neck and neck with the printers..would be a daily pressure. 1926P. Guedalla Palmerston vii. 320 The republicans, the Orleans princes.., and the President might soon be running neck and neck. 1955Times 23 June 9/4 Production ran neck-and-neck in the studios, but the second version..reached the public screen last.
b. attrib. Close, near.
1828M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 204 The strength and luck of the parties were so well balanced, that it produced quite a neck-and-neck race, won only by two notches. 1859Farrar J. Home xxxi, Our lots in life, since at Harton we ran a neck and neck race, have been widely different. 1871M. Collins Mrq. & Merch. II. iii. 71 It's late in the day, and a neck and neck thing. 1952E. F. Davies Illyrian Venture v. 84 Nicholls and I had a race across the plain, with a neck-and-neck finish.
c. As n. Exact coincidence.
1858De Quincey Secr. Societies Wks. VII. 245 The birth and the death..synchronise by a metaphysical nicety of neck-and-neck.
10. neck-to-knees: (see quot. 1941). Also neck-to-knee attrib. Austral.
1941Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 49 Neck-to-knees, bathing costumes covering the body from the neck to half-way down the thigh. 1965G. McInnes Road to Gundagai xiv. 261 Refusing to wear the regulation ‘neck-to-knee’ bathing togs.
III. In transferred uses, applied to such parts of things as have some resemblance to the neck.
11. a. The narrow part of some passage, cavity, or vessel, esp. the part of a bottle next the mouth.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 175 Þe necke of þe maris is fleischi,..& in þe necke of þe maris ben veynes. 1460–70Bk. Quintessence 5 Putte it into a glas clepid amphora, with a long necke. 1611Cotgr., Goulet,..the mouth, or necke of a Violl, Bottle, or other long, and narrow-neckt vessell. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. 12 The glass neck of the Receiver..was thrust into this Cement. 1710J. Clarke tr. Rohault's Nat. Philos. (1729) I. xxii. 145 A Bottle..which has a very streight Neck. 1797M. Baillie Morb. Anat. (1807) 293 The portion which is most frequently inflamed is that near the neck of the bladder. 1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 9 These necks, as they are termed, to the main drain or leaders are cut into the open ditch. 1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 438 It is here that a narrowing exists which has been called the upper neck of the ureter.
b. A pass between hills or mountains; the narrow part of a mountain pass.
1707Lond. Gaz. No. 4359/2 Monsieur Medavi..was to advance towards the Neck of the Mountains at Ceurs. 1850R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (1856) I. 122 Their vast legions continued streaming through the neck in the hills in one unbroken phalanx. 1890L. D'Oyle Notches 133 They went by way of the pass, and as they entered the ‘neck’ the wind was blowing hard.
c. A narrow channel or inlet; the narrow part of a sound, etc.
1719De Foe Crusoe i. 59, I..found a Neck or Inlet of Water between me and the Boat. 1736Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 39 As we were crossing the neck of St. Helena's Sound. 1894Hall Caine Manxman v. iii. 288 The neck of the harbour was narrow.
d. Fortif. The narrow part of a bastion or embrasure.
1668Lond. Gaz. No. 252/4 One Bastion onely being reserved upon the Petition of the Jesuites, whose Church is situated upon the neck of it. 1669Staynred Fortif. 8 You may as you see occasion widen the Necks of the Gorges. 1859F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 248 The neck of the embrazure is the inward, or narrowest part of it.
12. a. A narrow piece of land with water on each side; an isthmus or narrow promontory.
1555Eden Decades 352 Vppon the innermoste necke to the landewarde is a tufte of trees. 1601Holland Pliny I. 73 From whence proceedeth and beareth forth the necke or cape of Peloponnesus. 1677W. Hubbard Narrative 13 Mount-Hope, Pocasset and several other Necks of the best land in the Colony. 1767Hull Navig. Act 1061 In case the said Commissioners shall become possessed of any necks of land. 1831Sir J. Sinclair Corr. II. 220 They are planning canals..to let small vessels through, across a neck of land. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton xviii. 247 The long neck of land lying between..the Dee and the Mersey.
b. A narrow stretch of wood, ice, etc. neck of the woods (orig. U.S.), a settlement in wooded country; a small or remotely situated community; a district, neighbourhood, or region. Also neck of timber, and ellipt.
1780Young Tour Irel. I. 266 You see three other necks of wood,..generally giving a deep shade. 1839Spirit of Times 15 June 175/2 In this neck of the woods. 1857Dufferin Lett. High Lat. (ed. 3) 296 The little schooner..pushed her way through the intervening neck of ice. 1871Schele de Vere Americanisms 178 He will..find his neighborhood designated as a neck of the woods, that being the name applied to any settlement made in the well-wooded parts of the South⁓west especially. 1874[see beatenest a.]. 1931‘Grey Owl’ Men of Last Frontier 15 A man may be soaking wet, half-frozen, hungry, and tired, landed on some inhospitable neck of the woods, vowing that a man is a fool to so abuse himself. 1955M. Gilbert Sky High vi. 76 They don't come to live in this particular neck of the woods. 1967Listener 19 Oct. 501 Some jerk has applied for a job as the new Cyril Connolly. Perhaps you would look him over, he lives in your neck of the woods. 1973R. D. Symons Where Wagon Led i. vi. 95 Lee said there were springs about two miles up, and any cattle in what he called ‘this neck of the woods’ would probably be there. 1973J. Wainwright Devil you Don't 21 In this neck, I say what. I also say when.
c. Geol. (See quot. 1876.)
1876A. H. Green Phys. Geol. 246 The columns of cooled lava which fill up an old volcanic chimney are known as Necks. 1882Geikie Text-bk. Geol. iv. 558 Necks of agglomerate and fine tuff abound among the..volcanic regions of Scotland.
13. a. A narrow or constricted part in any implement, instrument, or other manufactured article; a connecting part between two portions of a thing.
For various technical applications see Knight Dict. Mech.
1598Hakluyt Voy. I. 62 Some of them vpon the necke of their launce haue an hooke. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 370 Acmon signifieth an Eagle, or else an Instrument with a short neck. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 385 So much of the Punch as is Sunk into the Matrice is called the Neck. 1733Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xxi. (Dubl.) 304 Its [the share's] under Side at c, which is its Neck, should be a little hollow from the Ground. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 7 The necks of rockets may be formed in various ways. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 366 The bearings on which the necks..of the spindle are supported. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 495 Neck, the elbow or part connecting the blade and socket of a bayonet. 1876Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 35 A copper wire..is attached to a neck cast in the zinc plate.
b. The part of a violin, or similar musical instrument, connecting the head and the body.
1611Cotgr., Manche,..the necke of a musicall Instrument. 1662Playford Skill Mus. ii. (1674) 93 Seven Frets on the Neck of the Viol. 1727–38Chambers Cycl. s.v. Lute, The lute consists of four principal parts: the table; the body..; the neck,..and the head or cross. 1811Busby Dict. Music (ed. 3) s.v. Viol, The frets with which the neck was furnished. 1879Stainer Music of Bible 28 The ‘necks’,..twice or three times the length of the body or resonance-box.
c. Arch. The lower part of a capital, lying immediately above the astragal terminating the shaft of the column.
1727–38Chambers Cycl. s.v. Capital, The gorge, or neck, terminates in an astragal, or fillet, belonging to the fust, or shaft. Ibid., In the Trajan column there is no neck. 1837Penny Cycl. VII. 384/1 Beneath this baluster and [above] the astragal surmounting the top of the shaft of the column is the neck of the capital. 1850J. Leitch tr. C. O. Müller's Anc. Art §80 (ed. 2) 46 The columns..have a contracted neck.
d. In cannon, (a) the narrow part connecting the cascabel with the breech; (b) the part immediately behind the swell of the muzzle.
(a)1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VIII. 230/2 Diameter of the button [= cascabel]... Diameter of its neck. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 495.
(b)1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., Neck of a gun is that part between the muzzle mouldings, and the Cornish ring. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 5 Name the mouldings, &c. Neck—notch—chock [etc.]. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 270/1.
14. Bot.
a. A neck-like part. Applied spec. to certain parts in plants (see quots.).
1672–3Grew Anat. Roots i. §15 The saide Buds..are at length formed into so many Necks, of three..or more Inches long. 1823Crabb Technol. Dict., Neck, the upper part of the tube in a corolla of one petal. 1832Lindley Introd. Bot. 188 The cauliculus or neck [in the embryo]. 1849Balfour Man. Bot. §119 The part where the stem and root unite is the collum or neck. 1852Henslow Dict. Bot. Terms 113 Neck,..the point at which the limb separates from the sheathing petiole of certain leaves. 1875Bennett & Dyer tr. Sachs' Bot. 290 This piece of the envelope..De Bary calls the Neck.
b. Excessive elongation of stem or stalk.
1882Garden 5 Aug. 114/3 Instead of Onions of monstrous size we want varieties..that will not..run into ‘neck’.
15. Anat.
a. Of a tooth: (see quot. 1732).
1732Monro Anat. Bones (ed. 2) 165 At the Place where the Base [of the tooth] ends, and the Roots begin, there is generally a small circular Depression, which some call the Neck or Collar. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) I. 684/2. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 65 The gums are detached from their respective necks. 1885Burdett Helps to Health iii. 72 The chief causes of decay in the teeth are an accumulation of tartar about their necks [etc.].
b. A constricted part in certain bones.
1726Monro Anat. Bones 231 The Neck of the Femur must have struck upon them. 1847–9Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. 573/1 A slight constriction, the neck of the scapula. Ibid. 1026/1 The head of the rib is supported by a narrow round part,..the neck. 1881Mivart Cat 77 The piece of bone which..supports the condyle is termed the neck.
IV.
16. attrib. and Comb. a. Intended for placing or wearing on or round the neck, as neck-bond, neck-bow, neck-buckle, neck-chain, neck-cross, neck-gear, neck-guard, neck-gyve, neck-habit, neck-iron, neck-ribbon, neck-ring, neck-rope, neck-ruff, neck-scarf, neck-shawl, neck-snaffle, neck-stock(s), neck-strap, neck-swing, neck-wear, neck-yoke. b. Lying on or in the neck, as neck-feather, neck-fin, neck-furrow, neck-hackles, neck-joint, neck-lappet, neck-pit, neck-skin, neck-wool. c. Miscellaneous, as neck-fixings, neck-hold, neck-opening, neck-part, neck-plate; neck-stroke. d. Objective, as neck-cracking; neck-comforter, neck-warmer; † neck-venturer. e. With adjs., as neck-deep, neck-fast, neck-high, neck-like, neck-stiff, neck-strong; also neck-twined.
1864Burton Scot Abr. I. i. 9 These were *neck-bonds, of which two or three men had enough to bear one.
1607J. Carpenter Plaine Mans Plough 222 Their soules, which are as the *neck-bowes of this yoke.
1767in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1917) LIII. 298, 7 pair silver Sleeve Buttons, together with *Neck-Buckles, etc.
1648Gage West Ind. xii. 56 She will be in fashion with her *Neck-chain and Bracelets of Pearls. 1835Court Mag. VI. p. xiii/1 Neck-chain of enamelled gold.
1858Zoologist XVI. 5858 Little children call their warm *neck-comforters by the name of ‘pussies’.
c1613Middleton No Wit like Woman's i. iii, I'll not die guilty of a lover's *neck-cracking.
1849Rock Ch. of Fathers II. vi. 178 The *neck-cross..of St. Elphege is particularly noticed.
a1814Gonzanga ii. i. in New Brit. Theatre III. 113 To..tell her I'm *neck-deep in love. 1876A. Arnold in Contemp. Rev. June 27 Fixing them neck-deep in cylinders of brickwork.
1722Ramsay Three Bonnets iii. 143 Put in slav'ry *neck-fast.
1849D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. (1855) 22 *Neck feathers with dark edges.
1726G. Roberts 4 Years' Voy. 111, I..jamm'd the Noose close, before the *Neck Fins were got through.
1864Atkinson Stanton Grange 80 A..trial of the toughness of their *neck-fixings.
1872Nicholson Palaeont. 161 A third groove, which is termed the ‘*neck-furrow’.
1888Judge (U.S.) 29 Sept. 401/1 *Neck-gear will, as always, cause the torture of dudes and dukes. 1890Hardy Melancholy Hussar ii, in Three Notable Stories 167 His head would probably have been bent..but for his stiff neck-gear. 1912W. Owen Let 3 Apr. (1967) 127 In Church with a neck-gear such as Wordsworth wore.
1869Boutell Arms & Armour iii. 45 The prevailing arrangement is for the prolonged crest to be carried from the visor to the *neck-guard.
1573Nottingham Rec. IV. 152 A boulte for the *neckegyves.
1656Heylin Surv. France 24 [The stole] is a *neck habit..made much after the manner of a tippet.
1872Darwin Emotions iv. 97 Two cocks,..preparing to fight, with erected *neck-hackles.
1660C. Bonde Scut. Reg. 16 Yet foodfull Tellus..*Neck-high advanceth her all-bearing head. 1723Dk. Wharton True Briton No. 58 II. 503 Immerging Neck-high in Ordure.
1905Daily Chron. 23 Feb. 3/5 By means of a peculiar ‘*neck-hold’ he can render his man unconscious.
1864A. Manning Interrupted Wedding i. 3 Hung with handcuffs, leg-chains and *neck-iron.
1647Ward Simp. Cobler 65 When a kingdome is broken just in the *neck joynt. 1849J. A. Carlyle tr. Dante's Inf. xxx, Fixed its tusks on his neck-joint.
1851Woodward Mollusca i. 34 In the plant-eating sea-snails..one of the ‘*neck-lappets’ is sometimes curled up.
1847–9Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. 13/1 Its body is unprovided with a *neck-like prolongation.
1822–34Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 502 A commodious box with a *neck-opening for his head. 1894Season X. 113/1 The..neck-opening filled in with shirt-front.
1623Middleton More Dissemblers iv. ii, The ruin Of your *neck-part, or some nine years' imprisonment.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 41 Vndir þe arme holis & in þe *necke pitt.
1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 122 The aforesaid thread of sand..posting through the *neck-plate of the hour-glass.
1852A. Cary Clovernook 97 She selected a white muslin which she thought would do if she only had a new *neck-ribbon. 1883Century Mag. Aug. 572/2 Partly to rescue the rest of her raiment from the shower which had ruined her neck-ribbon.
1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 118 Sometimes to Emeers [were given] *neck-rings, or collars. 1868G. Stephens Runic Mon. II. 572 This Runic ornament is apparently a neck-ring.
1777Horae Subsecivae (MS.) 302 *Neck-rope, a wooden bow to come round the neck of a bullock, and fastned above to a small beam, by which bullocks are fastned with a cord or rope in the linney. 1822J. Fowler Jrnl. 18 June (1898) 159 In the evening the Indeans [s]tole all the neck Roaps of our Horses.
1611Cotgr., Collerette de femme, a small *necke-ruffe. 1895Daily News 6 Dec. 6/5 Neck ruffs made of violets. 1859Lang Wand. India 7 The bonnet is bought; likewise a *neck-scarf. 1892E. Reeves Homeward Bound 247 Having red and gold neck-scarves.
1870Dickens E. Drood xi, He took off his greatcoat and *neck-shawl.
1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 54 When they are half roasted, cut the *neck-skin. 1885A. Campbell Rec. Argyll 256 A purse made of neck-skin of a sea-bird.
1697Bradley Houghton's Husb. (1727) III. 234 Both snaffles and bits, such as the wheel and jointed-snaffle, the *neck-snaffle [etc.].
1570Levins Manip. 117/37 *Neckstiff, peruicax.
1681T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 8 (1713) I. 47 He should..have the Honour to attend him to the *Neck-Stocks. 1732Acc. Workhouses 10 Hats, caps, neckstocks, coats.
1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 693 The cheek-reins..which pass below the *neck-strap of the martingale.
c1489Caxton Blanchardyn v. 24 The knyght..gaaf him þe *necstroke of knighthode. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 422 He didde giue them the neck strokes of knighthode.
a1618Sylvester Wks. (Grosart) II. 339 Our neck the *neck-strong Bull doth sway.
1822–34Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) III. 246 Steel crutches, spiked-collars, *neck-swings.
a1881Rossetti House of Life c, O'er the book of Nature mixed their breath With *neck-twined arms.
1617Moryson Itin. i. 21 He that rides on the horse neerest the Barke, is called Wage-halse, that is, *Necke venturer.
1852C. W. H[oskins] Talpa 129 The mouth that had spoken dropped into the *neck-warmer again.
1879Webster Suppl. 1569/1 *Neck-wear, a collective term for cravats and collars. (Colloq.) 1887Harper's Mag. May 947/2 He waited at the corner of the block,..affecting an interest in the neckwear of a furnisher's window. 1910Westm. Gaz. 15 Apr. 4/1 Similar good results have followed upon the use of looser neck-wear. 1924Barnsley Brit. Drapery Stores Sale Catal., Lace, embroideries and neckwear. 1959Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring & Summer 145/2 Neckwear... Collar and Cuff set... Nylon Dickey.
1726Ayliffe Parergon [507] *Neck-Wool shorn from the Neck of the Sheep. 1886C. Scott Sheep-farming 138 The other twists a rope out of the neck-wool.
1688Holme Armoury iii. xxi. (Roxb.) 253/2 Carrying water..by a *neck-yoke, which compasseth a mans neck, and so lyeth on both shoulders. 1891C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 200 Picking up an old buggy neck yoke, I laid him out with it.
17. Special combs.: neck-about, -barrow (see quots.); neck-canal Bot., in ferns and bryophytes, a central channel in the neck of the archegonium, made up of neck canal cells; neck-cell Bot., a cell forming (part of) the neck in the archegonium of ferns or bryophytes; neck-defeat, a defeat by a neck in racing (so neck-victory); neck-fillet, in cannon, a fillet on the breech, next to the neck of the cascabel; † neck-herring, a blow on the neck; † neck-hoop, the hoop round the neck of a cask; neck-lock, (a) in a wig, a sausage-curl (see also quot. 1966); (b) in Judo, a form of strangle-hold; neck-mould(ing) Archit., a moulding on the neck of a capital; neck-oil slang, alcoholic drink, chiefly beer; † neck-question, a test question, one endangering one's neck; neck-rein v. (see quot. 1946); also as n.; so neck-reining vbl. n.; neck-roll, (a) in Gymnastics, a swing of the body backwards to rest on the back of the neck; (b) (see quot. 1966); † neck-stamper (see quot.); † neck-stropiat, of spurs, damaged at the neck; neck-towel, a small towel (formerly carried on the neck by attendants at table) for wiping dishes (now dial.); neck-twines (see quot.); neck-twister U.S. slang, a kind of drink; neck-word, a word on which one's neck depends (cf. neck-verse). See also neck-band, -bone, etc.
1674Ray N.C. Words 35 A *Neckabout: any womans neck linnen. Sheffield. 1825Brockett N.C. Gloss., Neck-about, a woman's neck-handkerchief.
1847Halliwell, *Neck-barrow, a..shrine on which relics or images were carried..in processions.
1887W. Hillhouse tr. Strasburger's Handbk. Pract. Bot. xxv. 275 The neck [of the archegonium] is traversed by the *neck-canal, which is composed of a series of neck canal-cells, the walls between which are dissolved, and the disorganized contents of the four neck canal-cells are thus fused into a connected string. 1938G. M. Smith Cryptogamic Bot. II. ii. 17 During the course of development of the neck, the primary canal cell divides to form four neck canal cells. 1957New Biol. XXII. 116 In effecting fertilization the spermatozoid has to traverse a lengthy ‘neck-canal’, a distance perhaps 200 times its own length. 1965Bell & Coombe tr. Strasburger's Textbk. Bot. 524 The ventral and neck canal cells may be regarded as gametes which have become functionless.
1877Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. 69 A large nucleated granular basal cell, with two or three smaller granular cells (*neck-cells) above it. 1938G. M. Smith Cryptogamic Bot. II. ii. 16 Marchantiales typically have six rows of *neck cells.
1886Pall Mall G. 9 Nov. 11/1 He suffered a *neck defeat..in the Newmarket Handicap.
1859F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) Plate 50 *Neck Fillet. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 270/1 That portion of metal..contained between the neck fillet and the button astragal.
c1470Henryson Mor. Fab. ix. (Wolf & Fox) xx, Thus can the cadgear say, ‘Abyde, and thow ane *nekhering sall haif’. Ibid. xxxi, Euer vpoun the nekhering he thinkis. 1483Cath. Angl. 251/2 A Nekherynge; colaphus.
1641S. Smith Herring Buss Trade 26 Between the third hoope and the *necke-hoope.
1761W. Hogarth Works (1833) II. facing p. 177 Triglyph membretta or *necklock. 1906Miyake & Tani Game of Ju-Jitsu ix. 59 L may make direct opposition to the neck-lock in several ways. 1925Kelly & Schwabe Historic Costume vi. 201 The twisted central neck-lock is a survival of the late seventeenth century dildo. 1962E. G. Bartlett Judo & Self-Defence 56 The Single Wing Necklock... Stranglehold.., pass your left hand under his left armpit and up behind his head, so as to press his head forward. 1966J. S. Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing 169/1 Neck lock, the vertical curl at the neck of a barrister's wig.
1851Turner Dom. Archit. II. ii. 45 The capitals consist only of an abacus and *neck-mould.
1836Parker Gloss. Archit. (1850) I. 324 *Neck-Moulding, the ring-like moulding which separates the capital from the shaft.
1860Hotten Dict. Slang (ed. 2) 179 Neck, to swallow. *Neck-oil, drink of any kind. 1880C. H. Poole Attempt towards Gloss. Words Stafford 16/2 Neck-oil, ale. A word I once heard at Walsall. 1919H. Jenkins John Dene of Toronto i. 27 They'd be attacked all along the three thousand miles route, and would go down like neck-oil on a permit night. 1936F. Richards Old Soldier Sahib iv. 75 He inquired if we were fond of a drop of ‘neck-oil’, which like ‘purge’ was a nickname for beer. 1970Private Eye 2 Jan. 12 A chance encounter..leads Barry to consume a lot of nice neck-oil.
1655Fuller Ch. Hist. viii. xvi. ii. §26 This *neck-question..the most dull and duncicall Commissioner was able to aske.
1935H. D. Chamberlin Riding & Schooling Horses iv. 153 ‘Bearing’ or ‘*Neck Rein’. The right hand is carried just over the crest of the neck, and acts towards the left front. 1940W. Fawcett Young Horseman xii. 151 ‘Neck reining’... Here the horse is taught with voice, hand and heel to turn away from the side on which he feels the rein against his neck. Ibid., It is very handy to have a horse which is trained to ‘neck rein’. 1946M. C. Self Horseman's Encycl. 288 Neck reining a horse is turning him by use of the indirect rein. That is, in turning to the left the reins are carried to the left with no backward pull nor any direct pull on the left rein; the right rein, coming against the neck, gives the signal for the turn. 1953G. Brooke Introd. Riding vii. 76 What in polo language is called ‘neck-reining’, e.g. when turning or diverging to the right, while applying the left leg, the hand is carried over to the right. 1959E. Collier Three against Wilderness ii. 23, I..neck reined the gelding northward.
1920Royal Navy Handbk. Physical & Recreational Training v. 180 ‘Tricks of Ground Work’... *Neck roll (backwards) to Long-arm Balance. Back Handspring, [etc.]. a1935T. E. Lawrence Mint (1955) ii. xii. 133 Hand-springs and neck-rolls. 1946G. Millar Horned Pigeon xiii. 177 Instead of hitting something very solid,..I found myself doing neck rolls down a granite chip embankment. 1966J. S. Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing 169/1 Neck roll, (1) The ends of the natural hair worn in a roll at the nape. (2) A postiche worn at the nape. Also called neck piece.
1676Coles, *Neck-stamper, a pot-boy. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew.
1632Lithgow Trav. ix. 395 The French man hangeth in the stirrop, at the full reach of his great toe.., pricking his horse with *neck-stropiat spurres.
1494in Househ. Ord. (1790) 111 The King's carver and sewer and the Queene's to beare their *necke towels. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss., Neck towel, a small cloth used for drying crockery.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1516/1 *Neck-twines, in fancy weaving, small strings by which the mails are connected with the compass-board.
1859Cornwallis New World I. 300 Cold punch, gum ticklers, and *neck twisters, drinks of Yankee concoction.
1650Fuller Pisgah ii. ii. §20 Shiboleth is their *neck-word..; lisping of their tongues was a certain Symptome of their death.
▪ II. † neck, n.2 Obs.
[Of obscure origin.]
In Chess, a move to cover check.
a1547Surrey in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 21 Although I had a check, To geue the mate is hard, For I haue found a neck To kepe my men in gard. 1570Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 24/1 So would..Woulsey haue don, had not the kyng geuen him a necke to his mate by time. 1614A. Saul Chesseplaye 21 Through all the colours of the field in such wise may he check, And also when occasion serves relieve the king with neck.
▪ III. neck, n.3
[Of obscure origin.]
In South-western counties, the last handful or sheaf of corn cut at harvest-time. (Cf. kirn-baby, mell n.4)
1688Holme Armoury iii. 73/2 Cutting the Neck, is the last handful of standing Corn, which when it is cut down, the Reapers give a shout, and fall to Eating and Drinking. [Hence in Phillips (1706) and Bailey.] 1826in Hone Every-day Bk. (1827) II. 1170 After the wheat is all cut, on most farms in the north of Devon, the harvest people have a custom of ‘crying the neck’. Ibid. 1172 ‘The neck’ is generally hung up in the farm house. 1848Mrs. Pascoe Neck Cutting 45 Round around first bind the neck Next with flowers and ribbons deck. 1899‘Q.’ (Quiller Couch) Ship of Stars xv. 143 Taffy was staring at a ‘neck’ of corn elaborately plaited which hung above the mantle shelf.
▪ IV. neck
obs. var. knack n.2 and nick n.
▪ V. neck, v.1 Now only techn. or dial.|nɛk|
[f. neck n.1 Cf. Du. nekken to kill.]
1. a. trans. To strike on the neck, esp. so as to stun or kill; to behead; to pull the neck of (a fowl).
c1450[implied in necking vbl. n. 1]. 1653E. Chisenhale Cath. Hist. Ep. Ded., As if the Protestant Religion were neckt in the Sparring blowes. 1707J. Stevens tr. Quevedo's Com. Wks. (1709) 164 They would have neck'd me as they do Rabbets to kill them. c1712in Whig & Tory iii. 33 Like thy bold Sires in Forty-Eight, Who neck'd their Prince, a worthy Fate! 1820Keats Cap & Bells xxii, The next [hour] shall see him in my grasp, And the next after that shall see him neck'd. 1879G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Neck, to kill fowls by pulling their necks out, or rabbits by giving them a blow on the back of the neck.
b. In pass. and intr. (See quots.)
1828Craven Gloss. s.v. Necked, Growing corn is said to be necked when the straw is so weakened by the rain or wind, that the ears hang down, or are broken off. 1863Young Naut. Dict. (ed. 2), Tree-nails are said to be necked where they are found to be cracked, nipped, or bent at their necks between the outside skin and the timbers of a vessel. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss., Barley is said to neck when the heads fall off by being too ripe before it is cut.
2. slang. To drink, to swallow.
1514Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 26 She couthe well..necke a mesure, her smyrkynge gan her sale: She made ten shylynge of one barell of ale! 1860[see neck-oil (neck n.1 17)]. 1889E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincolnshire (ed. 2) 366 He neck'd a good share o' beer that neet o' th' jewbilee. 1899C. Rook Hooligan Nights i. 13 He wasn't selling 'is meat over-quick, 'cos 'alf the time he was necking four-ale in the pub 'cross the way. 1929J. Masefield Hawbucks 135, I do wish..you'd chuck necking Scotch the way you do.
3. To make or clear the neck of (a drain). Also with in.
1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 9 When the drainer arrives at one of the drains that enter the leader, he commences upon it by necking it in. 1846Ibid. VII. i. 53 The workman as he proceeds in his main necks each common ditch as he comes to it.
4. a. trans. To clasp (a member of the opposite sex) round the neck; to fondle. b. intr. To engage in holding and fondling, or to embrace and caress, a member of the opposite sex.
1825[implied in necking vbl. n. 2]. 1842Allnutt Diary (MS.) 10 Newcastle... I came rather suddenly upon a man who unceremoniously put his arm round a young lady, and..said..‘I was only a-necking on her a little bit, Sir.’ 1877G. Fraser Wigtown & Whithorn 272 When sufficiently near him, she necked her supposed partner, greeting him with the following affectionate salute. 1890J. Service Thir Notandums xi. 82 I'm muckle mista'en if I haena seen him neckin' wi' the said Betty. 1924P. Marks Plastic Age xiv. 149 Some of those janes certainly could neck, and they were ready for it any time. 1932E. Waugh Black Mischief v. 179 It's pretty dim for me, floundering about half the day,..while you neck with the chap who's cut me out. 1935Wodehouse Blandings Castle xii. 296 Do you know who that is that this necker is necking?.. My girl. No less. 1940J. O'Hara Pal Joey 59, I was even surprised I could neck her at all. 1950G. Barker True Confession iv. 24 That this rapscallion Was necking with his legal bride. 1970G. Greer Female Eunuch 181 The best behaved teenager necks. 1974‘J. Le Carré’ Tinker, Tailor xiii. 115 A loving couple necking in the back of a Rover.
5. To fasten to or together by means of ropes put around the neck. U.S.
1857D. E. E. Braman Information Texas iv. 73 The usual practice of farmers whenever they want work oxen, is to..neck together, with ropes, as many pair of..steers as they desire. 1923J. H. Cook 50 Yrs. on Old Frontier 21 Each of them had to be ‘necked’ to a gentle one, to be led for a time. 1930J. F. Dobie Coronado's Children iii. 102 Every animal in the pen had been roped and led in necked to an old brindle ox. 1933J. V. Allen Cowboy Lore i. 9 Necking, in range terminology... On the range an unruly cow or one with roving proclivities will often be necked or tied to a more tractable animal.
6. intr. To undergo a local reduction in width when subjected to tension. Usu. with down.
1938J. Newton Introd. Metall. iv. 105 The contraction begins to concentrate at some one point on the bar, [and] the piece begins to ‘neck down’. 1942Industr. & Engin. Chem. Jan. 56/2 During drawing each filament ‘necks down’ and takes a smaller diameter. 1964Mod. Textiles Mag. Jan. 67/2 When an undrawn nylon filament is stretched beyond its elastic limit, it suddenly (and irreversibly) ‘necks down’ to a fraction of its original diameter. 1965P. I. Vincent in P. D. Ritchie Physics of Plastics ii. 84 It may also happen that a specimen does not neck at low speeds because there is not sufficient strain softening.
▪ VI. † neck, v.2 Obs. rare.
[f. neck n.2]
trans. and intr. To cover check in chess.
a1585Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 215, I gat sik chek, Quhilk I micht nocht remuif nor nek, Bot eyther stail or mait. a1618Sylvester Mathieu's Mem. Mort. viii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 223 This [piece] leaps, that limps, this checks, that necks, that mates.
▪ VII. neck
obs. variant of nick v. |