| 释义 |
▪ I. bed, n.|bɛd|
Forms: (1–2 bed(d), 3 bæd, 3–6 bedd, 5–7 bedde, (4 bidd, 3–7 bede, 6 beed), 3– bed.
[Com. Teut.: OE. będd, będ, neut., OS. bed, MDu. bedde, bed, bet, Du. bed, OHG. betti, MHG. bette, bet, mod.G. bett, Goth. badi (gen. badjis):—OTeut. *badjo-(m) neut.; cf. ON. beðr, masc.:—OTeut. *badjo-z. Referred by Franck with some probability to Aryan *bhodh-, whence L. fod(i- to dig, as if orig. ‘a dug out place,’ a ‘lair’ of beasts or men: but this primitive notion had quite disappeared in Teutonic, in which the word had only the two senses ‘sleeping-place of men’ and ‘garden-bed’: it is uncertain whether the latter came independently from the root idea of ‘dig,’ or whether it was a transference from a bed for sleeping, with reference to its shape or purpose.]
I. The sleeping-place of men or animals.
1. a. A permanent structure or arrangement for sleeping on, or for the sake of rest. In some form or other it constitutes a regular article of household furniture in civilized life, as well as part of the equipment of an army or expedition. It consists for the most part of a sack or mattress of sufficient size, stuffed with something soft or springy, raised generally upon a ‘bed-stead’ or support, and covered with sheets, blankets, etc., for the purpose of warmth. The name is given both to the whole structure in its most elaborate form, and, as in ‘feather-bed,’ to the stuffed sack or mattress which constitutes its essential part. (A person is said to be in bed, when undressed and covered with the bedclothes.)
c995Will in Cod. Dipl. VI. 132 Án bedreaf eal ðæt tó ánum bedde gebyreð. c1000Ags. Gosp. John v. 8 Aris: nim þin bed [c 1160 Hatton G. bedd] and ga. 1205Lay. 6701 Þe king læi in his bædde [1250 bedde]. a1300Cursor M. 12392 He suld him mak a treen bedd [Fairf. MS. a bed of tree]. c1300St. Brandan 125 Beddes ther were al ȝare y-maked. 1382Wyclif Mark ii. 9 Ryse, take thi bed and walke. c1400Destr. Troy xxix. 11933 Buernes in hor bednes britnet all naked. 1424E.E. Wills (1882) 57, I wul þat ilk of my said childre haue a bed, þat is to say, couerlide, tapite, blankettis, too peyre schetes, matras, and canvas. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxlii. 277 He was in his bed and a slepe on a fethyr bedde. 1562Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 16 In house to kepe housholde, whan folks wyll needis wed, Mo thyngs belong, than foure bare legs in a bed. 1611Bible 1 Sam. xix. 15 Bring him vp to me in the bedde. 1648W. Jenkyn Blind Guide iv. 115 Sollid matter lodgeth in his great booke of words, as a childe of two days old in the great bed of Ware. 1716Lady M. W. Montague Lett. I. xv. 51, I carried my own bed with me. 1761Sterne Tr. Shandy II. xxix. 142 An old..chair..stood at the bed's head. 1851Tennyson May Queen iii. 23 Sit beside my bed, mother.
b. Often used somewhat elliptically for the use of a bed for the night, the condition or position of being in bed, sleeping in bed, the time for sleeping, etc. Cf. also the phrases under 6.
1474Ord. R. Househ. 28 Make him joyouse and merry towardes his bedde. 1666Pepys Diary 12 Aug., We began both to be angry, and so continued till bed. 1769Wesley Jrnl. 19 Apr., Archdeacon C―e..desired I would take a bed with him. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain §1. 20 The traveller should immediately on arriving secure his bed. 1874Blackie Self-Cult. 50 Let a man walk for an hour before bed. 1879M. Pattison Milton 151 Bed, with its warmth and recumbent posture, he found favourable to composition.
c. bed and board: entertainment with lodging and food. Of a wife: full connubial relations, as wife and mistress of the household.
c1403York Manual (1881) Pref. 16 Here I take þe N. to be my wedded wyfe, to hald and to haue at bed and at borde, for fayrer for layther, for better for wers..till ded us depart. 1596Spenser F.Q. iii. x. 51 She [should be] receivd againe to bed and bord. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 17 There is no city..better supplied for dress, carriage, bed and board. 1823Galt Entail II. xv. 135 What..was due for bed and board. 1868Browning Ring & Bk. ii. 1287 Pompilia sought divorce from bed and board.
d. fig. The ‘sleeping-place’ attributed to things personified; that on which persons figuratively ‘repose.’
a1600in 1001 Gems of Song (1883) 3 The merrie horne wakes up the morne To leave his idle bed. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. viii. 285 The treaty with Hyder was the bed on which the resentments of the Directors sought to repose. 1861Geo. Eliot Silas M. 74 The money..'ull be a bad bed to lie down on at the last.
e. spec. = hospital bed s.v. hospital n. 6; also with qualifying adj.; cf. pay-bed s.v. pay- 1 d.
1881Encycl. Brit. XII. 307/2 In New York there is a large amount of hospital accommodation—about 6000 beds, or about 1 in 1500 of the population. 1914Surg., Gynecol. & Obstetr. XIX. 114 (title) Demonstration of a universal extension apparatus applied to a surgical bed. 1930A. Flexner Universities 88 Certain professors in medicine..have a few beds at one hospital or another. 1943, etc. [see orthopædic bed s.v. orthopædic, -pedic a.]. 1969Times 14 Aug. 2/2 Twenty beds have been closed at the 52-bed post-operative Courtaulds Hospital. 1985New Statesman 27 Sept. 5/1 Every day since 1 October last year they have picketed the 700 bed hospital.
f. Chiefly used as an advertising term: bedroom.
1926R. Macaulay Crewe Train ii. ix. 172 How many bed and recep.? 1939[see bath n.1 12]. 1961Wodehouse Ice in Bedroom xxii. 177 A joyous suburban villa equipped with main drainage,..four bed, two sit and the usual domestic offices.
g. bed and breakfast: (a) the provision of a bed for a night and breakfast the following morning: an arrangement offered by hotels, boarding houses, etc.; also attrib.
1910Bradshaw's Railway Guide Apr. 1125/1 Residential Hotel... Bed and breakfast from 4/-. 1930Morning Post 17 June 18/5 (Advt.), Married couple for bed and breakfast house; Kitchen Man and House-Parlourmaid. 1936J. L. Hodson Our Two Englands x. 174 It is true that I have seen the signs ‘Bed, breakfast and garage’—a new form which the historian should make a note of. 1967Listener 10 Aug. 178/1, I had previously booked bed and breakfast somewhere in Bloomsbury.
(b) spec. in financial contexts, used attrib. to designate a transaction in which shares are sold late in the day and bought back early the next morning so as to gain a tax advantage. Hence as v. trans., to sell and rebuy (shares) in this way; bed-and-breakfasting vbl. n.
1974Observer 17 Feb. 15/4 Bed and breakfast operations..allow investors to establish a gains tax loss yet effectively remain in the same shares on which losses have accumulated... Bed and breakfasting has become more and more popular over the years. 1980Daily Tel. 29 Mar. 24/5 Investment trust shareholders who are sitting on large gains or have some disposals in mind..are well advised to sell or ‘bed-and-breakfast’ their shares before April 5. 1982Observer 18 Apr. 18/5 Confusion still reigns with investors over the demise of bed and breakfast operations. 1984Daily Tel. 31 Mar. 19/4 We will do a bed and breakfast transaction, but we don't encourage it. 1986Times 8 Mar. 27/1 The Bed & Breakfasting ploy of selling the shares late one day and buying back early the next is cheaper than a normal Stock Exchange transaction.
2. transf.
a. As the place of conjugal union; hence matrimonial rights and duties.
c1200Ormin 2447 Hu..Þatt I maȝȝ ben wiþþ childe I min maȝȝþhad, i clene bedd. c1305St. Edmund Conf. 106 in E.E.P. (1862) 73 Hire cloþes he dude of anon: as hit is lawe of bedde. 1382Wyclif Gen. xlix. 4 Thow has defoulid the bedde of hym. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iii. iv. 42 False to his Bed? 1611Bible Hebr. xiii. 4 Mariage is honorable in all, and the bed vndefiled. 1697Dryden Virg. Eclog. iv. 78 No God shall crown the Board, nor Goddess bless the Bed. 1711Steele Spect. No. 51 ⁋7 He betrays the Honour and Bed of his Neighbour.
b. As the place of procreation and child-birth; hence parental union, parentage; also birth, progeny.
c1430Lydg. Bochas ii. xxii. (1554) 58 a, Socrates..Of ful lowe bed..was discended. a1674Clarendon Hist. Reb. I. i. 9 George, the eldest son of this second bed. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 485 And hoped, when wed, For loves fair favours, and a fruitful bed. 1832Sir E. Brydges Geneva iii. 104 A younger brother..One of a numerous bed.
3. gen. A sleeping-place generally; any extemporized resting-place for the night.
a1300Cursor M. 902 In cald sal euer be þi bedde. c1440Gesta Rom. i. 4 Encresing of his peyne in þe bed of hell. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. ii. ii. 39 Finde you out a bed, For I vpon this banke will rest my head. 1598― Merry W. iii. i. 20 There will we make our Beds of Roses. 1877Bryant Odyss. v. 579 Ulysses heaped a bed Of leaves.
4. fig. The grave: usually with some qualification, as narrow bed, or contextual indication.
a1300Cursor M. 6962 Iosep banis..þai haue graued in erþe bed. 1535Coverdale Job xvii. 13 The graue is my house, and I must make my bed in the darcke [Wyclif In dercnessis I beddede my bed]. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iv. iv. 52 If in your Country warres you chance to dye, That is my Bed to. 1793Burns Scots wha hae, Welcome to your gory bed, Or to victorie. 1817Wolfe Burial Sir J. Moore v. 1 As we hollowed his narrow bed.
5. The resting-place of an animal, esp. one strewed or made up for a domestic beast.
1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 813 The Water-Snake..lyes poyson'd in his Bed. 1726Thomson Winter 831 He makes his bed beneath th' inclement drift. 1831Youatt Horse vi. (1872) 126 The bed of the horse, viz. wheat and oat straw. 1853‘Stonehenge’ Greyhound 242 Clean straw..for her [a greyhound] to make her bed on.
6. Phrases and locutions belonging to prec. senses:
a. Qualified by an adj. or attributive n., as bridal bed, nuptial bed, the bed in which a newly-married pair sleep; narrow bed, the grave; wedlock bed = marriage-bed, q.v.
1667Milton P.L. iv. 710 With flow'rs..Espoused Eve deck'd first her nuptial bed. 1796Scott Will. & Helen xli, To-night I ride, with my young bride, To deck our bridal bed. 1819― Noble Moringer i, In wedlock bed he lay. 1854Househ. Words VIII. 427 There is another bed to come—the grave..Poetry names it the ‘narrow bed.’
b. Qualified by prep. phrase, as bed of death = death-bed, also used as synonymous with next; bed of dust, the grave; bed of down, flowers, roses, (fig.) a delightful resting-place, a comfortable or easy position; bed of honour, honour's bed, (spec.) the grave of a soldier who has died on the field of battle; bed of pleasure; bed of sickness (cf. sick-bed) that upon which a person lies during illness; bed of state, a superb and finely decorated bed for show, or for laying out the corpse of a distinguished person (see state-bed).
1549–59Bk. Com. Prayer, Visit. Sick, Look down..upon this child now lying upon the bed of sickness. 1604Shakes. Oth. i. iii. 232 Custome..Hath made the flinty..Coach of Warre My thrice-driuen bed of downe. 1648Herrick Hesper., Connub. Flor., Go then discreetly to the bed of pleasure. Ibid. To Mrs. Eliz. Herrick, Thy bed of roses. 1663Butler Hud. i. iii. 147 If he that in the field is slain Be in the bed of honour lain. 1676C. Jeaffreson in Young Squire (1877) Those [English] behaved themselves gallantly, and were most of them layd in the bed of honour. 1713Lond. Gaz. 5099/1 The Corps of the late King is expos'd in a Bed of State. 1735Pope Prol. Sat. 408 Smooth the bed of death. 1747Gent. Mag. XVII. 326 In that Bed of Dust, I leave him to repose till a General Resurrection. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 86 These rocks by custom turn to beds of down. 1777Robertson Hist. Amer. v. Wks. (1831) 890/1 Am I now reposing on a bed of flowers? 1806Ld. Castlereagh 3 Apr. in Cobbett's Parl. Debates (1806) VI. 707 The present administration may be considered as on a Bed of Roses. 1834M. Howitt Sk. Nat. Hist. (1851) 105 That soldiers die upon honour's bed! 1838T. Jackson E. Meth. Preachers (1846) I. 377 My death-bed is a bed of roses.
c. Verbal phrases: to bring to bed, a-bed, formerly = put to bed; now generally passive, to be delivered of a child; also fig. (see also abed); to die in one's bed: to die at home or of ‘natural causes,’ as opposed to violent death in war, persecution, etc.; to go to bed: (a) to go to lie down to sleep; (b) fig. (of a newspaper, journal, etc.), to go to press (cf. sense 11), start printing; also, to see, put (a paper) to bed; (c) colloq., to have sexual intercourse (with), have a sexual relationship (with someone); † to have one's bed: to give birth to a child, ‘lie in’; to keep one's bed: to remain in bed through sickness or other cause; to leave one's bed: to recover from sickness; to make a bed: to put a bed in order after it has been used; to lie or sleep in the bed one has made (fig. extension of prec.): to accept the natural fruits or results of one's own conduct; to make up a bed: to prepare sleeping accommodation not previously available; to take a bed, to bed = ‘bring to bed’ (see above); also fig.; to take to one's bed: to become confined to bed through sickness or infirmity.
c1320Seuyn Sages (W.) 525 An even late, the emperowr Was browt to bedde with honour. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 540 Florence was brought a bed, and had a fayre sonne. 1649Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII, 66 The Queene..being brought to bed of a daughter. 1685Gracian's Courtier's Orac. 161 There are some artificial men, that..are brought to bed of mistakes. 1742Jarvis Quix. i. i. vi, The knights eat, sleep, and die in their beds. 1205Lay. 711 A þeon time..Þonne men gað to bedde. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 43 In glotonye, god it wote gon hij to bedde. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. ii. iii. 7 To go to bed after midnight, is to goe to bed betimes. 1859Sala Tw. round Clock 35 For the ‘Times’—the mighty ‘Times’—has ‘gone to bed’. 1933M. Lutyens Forthcoming Marriages 197 He nearly always had to stay on at the office till after midnight when the paper ‘went to bed’. 1945A. Huxley Time must have Stop iv. 46 How much less awful the man would be..if only he sometimes lost his temper,..or went to bed with his secretary. 1962J. Wain Strike Father Dead vi. 264 ‘If you go to bed with a man, he won't marry you,’ she used to say. ‘Every girl knows that.’ 1963A. Heron Towards Quaker View of Sex v. 44 A young doctor..may think it all right to propose ‘going to bed’ to a nurse he has only just met. 1848Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton (1882) 1 My Mary expects to have her bed in three weeks. 1534Tindale Acts ix. 33 A certayne man whych had kepte hys bed viii. yere. c1590Marlowe Faust. (2nd vers.) 981 All this day the sluggard keeps his bed. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xvi, To speak plainly, she keeps her bed. 1742Jarvis Quix. i. i. vii, Two days after, when Don Quixote left his bed. 1598Shakes. Merry W. i. iv. 102, I wash, ring, brew..make the beds, and doe all my selfe. 1745Swift Direct. Servants Wks. 1756 VII. 404 Your master's bed is made..lock the chamber door. 1832Hone Year Bk. 1301 He would not allow his bed to be made oftener than once a-week. 1883F. Nightingale in Quain's Dict. Med. s.v. Nursing, A true nurse always knows how to make a bed, and always makes it herself. 1753Hanway Trav. I. iii. xxxi. 136 They might sleep in the bed which they had made. 1878M. A. Barker Bedr. & Boudoir iii. 42 This could be removed at night, and the bed made up in the usual way. 1951M. Dickens My Turn to make Tea iii. 31 We went to press, or, as we liked to say in our nonchalant Fleet Street jargon, we put the paper to bed. 1899Daily News 30 Sept. 6/1 Night by night he remained at the office till the last, seeing the paper to bed (to use the old-fashioned phrase), and examining the first copies printed. 1883Harper's Mag. Dec. 135 By-and-by he took to his bed.
d. Prepositional phrases: in bed, to bed, out of bed.
1382Wyclif Luke xi. 7 My children ben with me in bed. 1742Jarvis Quix. i. i. vii, They found him already out of bed. 1761Churchill Night, Poems (1769) I. 78 'Till vain Prosperity retires to bed. 1790Mrs. Adams Lett. (1848) 349 She has not been out of bed since. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 129 Prodicus was still in bed.
7. bed of justice (Fr. lit de justice): a bed adorned in a particular way in the French king's bedchamber, where he gave receptions; spec. the throne of the king in the Parliament of Paris; also, a sitting of this parliament at which the king was present. As the king sometimes convened the parliament to enforce the registration of his own decrees, the term came to be chiefly or exclusively applied to sessions held for this purpose.
1753Chambers Cycl. Suppl., Bed of justice..is only held on affairs relating to the state. 1787T. Jefferson Writ. II. (1859) 251 The King has been obliged to hold a bed of justice, to enforce the registering of new taxes. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. iii. iv. 102 On the morrow, this Parlement..declares all that was done on the prior day to be null, and the Bed of Justice as good as a futility. 1875Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xv. 265 The..bed of justice, in which the king..solemnly attested the decisions..put in form by parliament.
II. The flat base or surface on which anything rests.
8. A level or smooth piece of ground in a garden, usually somewhat raised, for the better cultivation of the plants with which it is filled; also used to include the plants themselves which grow in it.
c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 96 Ðeos wyrt..bið cenned..on wyrtbeddum. Ibid. 98 Ðeos wyrt..bið cenned..on hreod⁓beddon. 1475Bk. Noblesse 70 The gardyns..rengid withe beddis bering..divers herbis. 1535Coverdale Song Sol. v. 13 His chekes are like a garden bedd. 1632Milton Allegro, Beds of violets blue. 1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxix. (1695) 198 If I believed, that Sempronia digged Titus out of the Parsley-Bed, as they use to tell Children, and thereby became his Mother. 1727Swift Country Post Wks. 1755 III. i. 175 Not a turnip or carrot can lie safe in their beds. 1847Tennyson Princess ii. 416 The long hall glitter'd like a bed of flowers.
fig.1647Ward Simp. Cobbler 22 The bed of Truth is green all the yeare long.
9. The bottom of a lake or sea, or of the channel of a river or stream.
a1586Sidney in Sel. Poetry (Parker Soc.) I. 67 On sea's discovered bed. 1610Shakes. Temp. v. i. 151, I wish My selfe were mudded in that oozie bed. c1645Howell Lett. IV. xix, Rivers..have still the same beds. 1779Phil. Trans. LXIX. 609 While the volume of water in the bed of a river increases. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xii, A wild stream..Came crawling down its bed of rock. 1830Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 85 Donati explored the bed of the Adriatic.
10. An extended base upon which anything rests firmly or securely, or in which it is embedded; a basis, a matrix.
1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. xvi. (1821) 175 Ready to make a bed for the placing of the powder. 1676Grew Luctation ii. §2 Bolus's are the Beds, or as it were, the Materia prima, both of opacous Stones, and Metals. 1803Wellington Mem. in Gurw. Disp. I. 487 A bed for the boat ought to be fixed on each axle tree. 1839Hooper Med. Dict. (ed. 7) 1218 Shock..sufficient to shoot off an ovulum from its bed. 1859Todd Cycl. Anat. & Phys. V. 477/1 In the dog and cat the bed of the claw is laminated as in man.
11. A level surface on which anything rests, e.g. the level surface in a printing press on which the form of type is laid; the flat surface of a billiard-table, which is covered with green cloth; etc.
1846Print. Appar. Amateur 10 The press..consists of two stout blocks of mahogany; the lower piece called the bed..the upper piece called the platten, which closes upon the bed.
12. In various technical uses (from 10 and 11):
a. Gunnery. The portion of a gun-carriage upon which the gun rests; formerly spec. a movable block of wood laid under the breech to give the general elevation, quoins being driven between it and the gun.
b. Arch. and Building. The surface of a stone or brick which is embedded in the mortar; the under side of a slate.
c. Mech. Any foundation, framework, or support, which furnishes a solid or unyielding surface upon which to rest a superstructure, or execute a piece of work.
d. Carpentry. A support or rest, e.g. for a ship on the stocks, for the lodging of a bowsprit, etc.
e. Railway-making. The layer of broken stone, gravel, clay, etc., upon which the rails are laid.
f. The body of a cart or wagon. dial. and U.S.
a.1598Barret Theor. Warres v. iii. 135 Certaine cariages, or beds for the Artillery. 1694Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) III. 387 The new mortars..are laid in beds of brasse. 1811Wellington in Gurw. Disp. VII. 569 Have the carriages of the 24 pounders, as well as the mortar beds and howitzer carriages..put in a state to be fit for service. 1816C. James Milit. Dict. s.v., Sea-Mortar-beds are..made of solid timber..having a hole in the center to receive the pintle or strong iron bolt, about which the bed turns. 1862F. Griffiths Artill. Man. (ed. 9) 127 A 13-inch mortar, and its bed, require each a waggon.
b.1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 245 The bed of the Brick, (viz. that side which lies in the Morter). 1816C. James Milit. Dict. (ed. 4) s.v. Bed of Stone, The joint of the bed is the mortar between two stones placed over each other. 1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 384 Bed of a Brick.—The horizontal surface as disposed in a wall. 1842Gwilt Archit. (1876) 655 The bed of a slate is its under side. Ibid. 1194 In general language the beds..are the surfaces where the stones or bricks meet.
c. , d.1793Smeaton Edystone L. §201 It is beat by iron-headed Stampers upon an iron bed. 1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 242 [In a Plane] the bed..is the aperture in the stock, upon which the iron is laid, and secured by the wedge. The angle of the bed..is generally from 42 to 45 degrees. 1831J. Holland Manuf. Metal I. 198 Cut the nails out with a bed and punch. 1881Mechanic §581 A good working lathe with strong wooden standards and wooden 3 ft. bed. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 74 Where it rests on the stem is the bed.
f.c1700Kennett B.M. MS. Lansdowne 1033, Bedd of a cart, the body of it. 1851Mayhew London Lab. I. 26/2 Other commodities are laid in the bed of the cart. 1854A. E. Baker Gloss. Northampt. Words, Bed...3. The body of a cart or waggon. 1873J. H. Beadle Undevel. West xxiv. 491 In this [bayou] we encountered dangerous whirls and jump-offs, the wagon often plunging in up to the bed. 1904W. H. Smith Promoters xviii. 270 Some of these beds will hold more than a hundred bushels. 1952S. Cloete Curve & Tusk (1953) i. 21 The hen stood near the truck because when they cleaned its bed, bits of meat often fell out on the ground.
III. A layer or bed-like mass.
13. a. A layer, a stratum; a horizontal course.
1616Surfl. & Markh. Countr. Farm 407 Lay them orderly in a vessel, hauing in the bottome of it a bed of Sauorie..laying a bed of Sauorie, and a bed of Cherries. 1672T. Venn Compl. Gunner xxxi. 51 Two foot high of Earth, bed upon bed, unto eleven foot high. 1725Pope Odyss. ix. 449 The stake now glow'd beneath the burning bed. 1783Ainsworth Lat. Dict. (Morell) 1, A bed of Sand, &c. stratum. 1833Tennyson Poems 84 Clusters and beds of worlds, and bee-like swarms Of suns. 1875Ure Dict. Arts II. 373 The filter-beds..are large square beds of sand and gravel.
b. Geol. A layer or stratum of some thickness.
1684Ray Philos. Lett. (1718) 166 That Bed of Sand and Cockle Shells found in sinking a well. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §106 The bed or stratum of freestone worked here. 1863Ramsay Phys. Geol. Gt. Brit. (1878) 254 In the Bembridge beds there has also been found the Anoplotheroid mammal. 1874Lyell Elem. Geol. xxi. 355 The lowest ‘bed’ of the Lias. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 28 The pervious substance being thus enclosed between two impervious beds, one forming its floor and the other its roof.
14. a. A layer of small animals, especially reptiles, congregated thickly in some particular spot. Cf. nest in a similar sense.
1608Shakes. Per. iv. ii. 155 Thunder shall not so awake the beds of eels. 1666J. H. Treat. Gt. Antidote 10 This Medicene breaks the bed of Worms. 1692R. Lestrange Fables 209 (1708) I. 228 Apt to run..into a Bed of Scorpions. 1731Bailey, Bed of Snakes, a knot of young ones.
b. esp. A layer of shell-fish covering a tract of the bottom of the sea.
1688R. Holme Armory ii. xiv 325 A Bed of Oysters, Muscles, and Cockles. 1865Parkman Huguenots ix. (1875) 152 The channel was a bed of oysters. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 97/1 The spat..drifted..from the natural beds.
IV. Various transferred uses.
15. A division of the ground in the game of ‘hopscotch,’ also called locally the game of ‘beds.’
1801Strutt Sports & Past. iv. iv. 339 A parallelogram..divided into compartments, which were called beds.
†16. The placenta or after-birth. Obs.
1611Cotgr., Arguelette, their bed, or after birth..is more grosse.
17. The ‘silver side’ of a round of beef.
1864Derby Mercury Dec., Good beef (beds and rounds taken off at the joints).
V. Comb. and attrib.
18. General relations:
a. attrib., as bed-apparel, bed-blanket, bed-board, bed-bolster, bed-bottom, bed-candle, bed-cap, bed-carriage, bed-case, bed-clothing, bed-curtain, bed-damask, bed-flea, bed-foot, bed-frame, bed-furniture, † bed-glee, bed-hangings, bed-head, bed-hour, bed-house, † bed-joiner, bed-knob, bed-mat, bed-mate, bed-pal, bed-place, bed-quilt, bed-rite (bed-right), bed-rug, † bed-sabbath, (a sabbath in bed), bed-sheet, bed-stand, bed-steps, bed-stuff, bed-tester, bed-thane;
b. objective gen. with verbal n. or pple., as bed-bound, † bed-presser; bed-making, † bed-spreading.
1822Byron Werner i. i. 264 Madame Idenstein..shall furnish forth the *bed-apparel.
1701Lond. Gaz. No. 3696/4 Fine Flannel *Bed-Blankets.
1530Palsgr. 197/1 *Bedde borde, sponde. 1684I. Mather Remark. Provid. v. 104 When the man was..a bed, his bed-board did rise out of its place.
a1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker Voc. 124 Plumacius, *bedbolster.
1922Daily Mail 30 Nov. 14 It is often, however, a problem to know what to choose that will most amuse the girl or boy who is *bed-bound. 1961Guardian 30 June 8/3 Another bed-bound reader edits the religious page.
1850Thackeray Pendennis II. xv. 146 Martha from Fairoaks appeared with a *bed-candle. 1858Trollope Dr. Thorne I. xi. 240 The doctor, taking his bed-candle..left the room. 1864Mrs. Gaskell French Life i, in Fraser's Mag. Apr. 438/1 When we return from our party..we..light our own particular bed-candles at the dim little lamp.
1820Missouri Intell. 18 Apr. 4/1 *Bed Caps. 1921W. de la Mare Crossings 39 In a high frilled bed-cap, swaying balloon-like skirts.
1869Trollope He Knew II. xcv. 354 We got a *bed-carriage [on a train] for him at Dover. 1889F. E. Gretton Memory's Harkback iv. 65 He never walked again, but was drawn about lying at full length in a sort of bed-carriage.
1557Lanc. & Chesh. Wills 71, I bequethe all my harnes and all the *bedcasis, etc.
1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin xxxii, A tattered blanket..formed his only *bed-clothing.
1774Phil. Trans. LXV. 274 We have seen..*bed-fleas..swarming at the mouths of these holes.
1483Cath. Angl. 24 A *Bedfute, fultrum. 1670Cotton Espernon iii. xii. 647 He had..a Crucifix fastned to his Beds-feet. 1865Swinburne Poems & Ball., Xmas Carol 46 The bedstead shall be gold two spans, The bedfoot silver fine.
1815Scott Guy M. xliv, Iron *bedframes and straw mattresses.
1861Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. 993 The *bed-furniture requires changing.
1583Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 91 Had not I such daliaunce, such pipling *bed-gle renounced.
1566Eng. Ch. Furnit. (1866) 100 Fyve banner clothes..and he haith made *bedd henginges therof. 1864Chambers's Jrnl. 8 Oct. 642 Hair like the fringe to bed-hangings.
1579Fulke Confut. Sanders 649 He worshipped toward the *bedshead.
1853Kane Grinnell Exp. v. (1856) 35 The temptation to avoid a regular *bed-hour was sometimes irresistible.
1881P. B. Du Chaillu Land Midnt. Sun II. 276 A larder and a separate *bed-house.
1725Lond. Gaz. No. 6385/4 Richard Beardsley..*Bed-Joyner.
1927W. de la Mare Stuff & Nonsense 74 A visage, with eyes like brass *bed-knobs.
1931J. Mockford Khama xxxi. 222 The women-folk follow after, balancing *bed-mats and food-baskets on their heads.
1583Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 75 With iealosie kindled Orestes For los of his *bed-mate. 1850Blackie æschylus I. 157 He was thy bed-mate living, Be then his comrade, dead.
1922Joyce Ulysses 40 Papa's little *bedpal. Lump of love.
1566T. Nuce Seneca's Octavia (1581) 177 Fasten Poppie sure in our *bed-place. 1833Marryat P. Simple (1863) 362 Retired to my standing bed-place in the cabin.
1598Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 268 This sanguine Coward, this *Bed-presser. 1601Cornwallyes Ess. (1632) xviii, Fame never knew a perpetuall Bedpresser.
1765in E. Singleton Social N.Y. (1902) 334 Knoting for *Bed Quilts or Toilets. 1803E. S. Bowne Let. 8 July (1888) 164 One poor bed quilt is all I have towards housekeeping. a1847Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor vi. 193 A patch-work bedquilt.
1610Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 96 No *bed-right shall be paid Till Hymens Torch be lighted.
1647in Probate Rec. (Essex Co., Mass.) (1916) I. 78 An old Straw bed and Creadle Rugg with an old *Bed Rugg. 1850Knickerbocker XXXVI. 73 Open the door and the gentle breeze from without will waft aside the blue woollen ‘bed-rug’.
1684P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 323, Feb. 23, a *Bed-Sabbath, few such, cup'd and blister'd.
1481–90Howard Househ. Bks. 274, Iiij. peir schitz for my Lord, [and] ij. *bedschitz. a1930D. H. Lawrence Last Poems (1932) 217 Who is it smooths the bed-sheets?
1610Healey City of God 132 The Sybils bookes directed the first *Bed-spreading to last eight dayes.
1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §2135 A set of *bed-steps, with two of the steps arranged as cupboards.
1535Coverdale 2 Sam. xvii. 28 And Barsillai..broughte *bed-stuffe, tapestrie worke.
1704Lond. Gaz. No. 4068/4 Old Serge *Bed-Testers. 1843Carlyle Misc. (1857) IV. 269 For bed-tester is the canopy of everlasting blue.
1922Joyce Ulysses 379 Truest *bedthanes they twain are, for Horne holding wariest ward.
19. Special combinations: † bed-ale (see quot.); † bed-bere, a pillow-case; bed-bolster, -bolt, in Gunnery (see quots.); bed-book, a book suitable for reading in bed; bed-bottle, a bottle for urination for the use of male patients in bed; also, a bottle for heating a bed; † bed-broker, a pander, pimp; bed-card, a card fixed at the head of a hospital patient's bed, giving a statement of the ‘case’; bed-chair, a chair for the sick, with a movable back, to support them while sitting up in bed; bed-coach, a coach with sleeping accommodation; † bed-company; bed-cord, a cord for stretching the sacking of a bed; bed-cover, (a) a covering or case for a feather- or flock-bed, etc.; (b) a bed-quilt (Webster 1828); bed-eel (see quot.); † bed-evil, illness that confines to bed; † bed-game; † bed-gang, -gate, going to bed; † bed-geld (see quot.); bed-irons, the iron framework for a bed (cf. fire-irons); bed-jacket, a short jacket worn by women sitting up in bed; bed-joint, (a) a split or parting in a rock parallel to the surface of the earth; (b) Building, a horizontal joint (cf. sense 12 b); bed-key, an iron tool for screwing and unscrewing the nuts and bolts of a bedstead; bed-lift, a canvas stretched by a wooden frame, with an aperture in the centre for defæcation, upon which a patient may be raised (Syd. Soc. Lex.); bed-litter, straw, etc. to make up a bed; bedlock nonce-wd. = wedlock; † bed-loft (transl. of L. pulvinar), a couch made of cushions, upon which images of the gods were placed at festivals; † bed-match, marriage, wedlock; bed-moulding (arch.), ‘the mouldings under a projection, as the corona of a cornice’ (Gwilt); bed-piece (Mech.), the foundation or support of any mechanical structure; bed-plane Geol., the junction between two layers or strata; bed-plate = bed-piece above; bed-rest, (a) a support for a person in bed; (b) confinement of a sick person to bed; bedroll, † (a) a list of women to sleep with Obs.; (b) U.S. and N.Z. bedding rolled into a bundle for carrying; bed-sack, ‘a sack made to hold (army) bedclothes for convenience of carrying them’ (D.A.E.); bed-screw, a screw used for holding together the posts and beams of a wooden bedstead; also, a powerful machine for lifting heavy bodies, often used in launching vessels; † bed-seller (see quot.); bed-settee, a settee that can be converted into a bed; bed-sick, sick and in bed; † bed-sister, the mistress of a married man in relation to his lawful wife; bed-sock, a sock worn in bed; bed-sore, a soreness of the skin produced by long lying in bed; bed-stone, a large heavy stone used as the foundation and support of girders, etc. in building; also, the lower stone in an oil-mill, on which the runners roll; bed-string (= bed-cord); † bed-swerver, one unfaithful to the marriage-bed; bed table, a small table or tray usually with a ledge at the back and sides, adapted for placing on or over the bed of an invalid person; bed-vow, promise of fidelity to the marriage-bed; bed-warmer, a device for warming a bed; bed-way in Geol. (see quot.); bed-ways adv., in the direction of the beds or strata; bed-wetting vbl. n., incontinence of urine while in bed; hence bed-wet v., bed-wetter; bed-winch, -wrench, an instrument for tightening up or loosening the screws of bedsteads; † bedwoman, a woman confined to bed; † bed-work, work that is or can be done in bed or without toil, easy work; bed-worthy a. colloq., sexually attractive; hence bed-worthiness.
1880W. Cornw. Gloss. (E.D.S.), *Bed-ale, groaning ale; ale brewed for a christening.
1420E.E. Wills (1882) 41 That Anneys Tukkysworthe have þe beste *bedbere.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) C c iv, On the fore-part of the bed a piece of timber is placed transversely, upon which rests the belly of the mortar..This piece is called the *bed-bolster.
Ibid. I iv, The *bed-bolt, upon which the bed rests to support the breech of the cannon.
1906A. Bennett Whom God hath Joined i. 49 ‘Dip into it anywhere. It's a *bed-book.’..Both Lawrence and Mark had read in bed every night of their lives. 1928Publishers' Weekly 9 June 2373 ‘Cranford’ was one of the favorite bed-books of the late A. C. Benson.
1907N. Munro Daft Days i. 1 The burgh town turned on its pillows, drew up its feet from the *bed-bottles, last night hot, now turned to chilly stone. 1950‘G. Orwell’ Shooting an Elephant 21 The bedbottles and the grim bedpan.
1592Daniel Compl. Rosamond (1717) 58 And fly..these *Bed-Brokers unclean.
1885Standard 4 Aug. 3/7 A *bed-card bearing on the case had been taken away.
1685Bp. Burnet Trav. France iii. (1752) 96 His was a huge *bed-coach, all the outside black veluet.
a1555Latimer Serm. & Rem. (1845) 101 The lawful *bed-company that is between married folks.
a1625Fletcher Nt. Walker v. i, With the *bed-cord he may pass for a porter. 1720Gay Poems (1745) II. 59 Beneath the frighted guest The bed-cords trembled. 1874J. W. Long Wild-Fowl Shooting 107 All you need to carry besides your ordinary bed-clothes is a common bed-cord. 1886Harper's Mag. June 58/2 Traces are made of hickory or papaw, as also are bed-cords.
1828Webster, Rug,..in America, I believe,..is applied only to a *bed cover for ordinary beds, and to a covering before a fire-place. 1837United Service Jrnl. June 107 Those bed-covers which our grandmamas were delighted to cobble together. 1967E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iii. 67 Three of the most popular forms of embroidery for bed-covers, namely quilting, patchwork and candlewick.
1769Pennant Zool. III. 112 A variety of small eel..that is found in clusters in the bottom of the river, and is called the *Bed-eel.
1609Skene Reg. Maj. 107 Na defaulte nor essonzie of law, bot gif it be mal de lit, that is *bed evill.
1602Warner Alb. Eng. xi. lxi. (1612) 268 But deified swore he him her *bed-game sweets might taste.
a1300E.E. Psalter lv. 2 Dreried I am in mi *bed-gange.
c1440Morte Arth. (Roxb.) 1030 Thre balefulle birdez..That byddez his *bedgatt.
1483Cath. Angl. 25 Bedgate, conticinium, concubium.
1844R. Hart Antiq. Norfolk xxiv. 79 *Bedgeld was the fine paid to the lord on the marriage of his vassal.
1863Cornh. Mag. Mar. 446 The *bed-irons are turned up.
1914Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland Six Weeks at War ii. 21 Our nurses cut out red flannel *bed-jackets and tried to take photographs. 1919H. Walpole Secret City iii. xii. 405 An old quilted bed-jacket of a purple green colour.
1747Hooson Miner's Dict. L iij b, In some..Veins..the *Bed-joynts themselves will often carry it a little aside. 1876Encycl. Brit. IV. 305/2 The joints, or bed-joints, are the surfaces separating the voussoirs.
1861Wynter Soc. Bees 343 Winding up some moaning machinery with a *bed-key.
c1425in Wright Voc. 199 Hoc stratum, *bed-lytter.
1922Joyce Ulysses 483 Born out of *bedlock hereditary epilepsy is present, the consequence of unbridled lust.
1606Holland Sueton. 60 marg., The *bedloft wher the sacred Images of the Gods were devoutly bestowed.
1583Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 96 Juno, the chaplain, Seams vp the *bedmatch.
1703Chatsworth Build. Accts. in Jrnl. Derbysh. Archæol. Soc. III. 39 The lower member of the *bedmolding of the cornice. 1727–51Chambers Cycl. s.v., A bed-moulding usually consists of these four members, an O-G, a list, a large boultine, and another list under the coronet.
1895Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 4) 111 *Bed-plane faults are still another kind in which the plane of displacement is that between two layers or strata.
1850Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849 (U.S.) 211 This is combined with the *bed plate for guiding and keeping the edge of the tire true. 1850N. Kingsley Diary (1914) 107 Putting in timbers to set the bed-plates to the Engines. 1959Times 19 Nov. 14/6 That there winch'd lift straight out of its bedplate. 1964McCall's Sewing v. 69/2 Close the bed plate. 1968Gloss. Terms Offset Lithogr. Printing (B.S.I.) 36 Bed plate, the component upon which is mounted the main structure of a printing machine.
1872Geo. Eliot Middlem. ii. xiv. 233 His uncle..propped up comfortably on a *bed-rest. 1899R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. xvii. 172 This spring lowers the bed-rest, so as he can sit up an' read. 1950New Engl. Jrnl. Med. CCXLIII. 486 Bed rest has long been the sine qua non in the treatment of myocardial infarction. 1958Times 15 Oct. 19/2 So effective is the modern treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis that the traditional sanatorium treatment..with its prolonged bed-rest..is seldom necessary.
a1652R. Brome Madd Couple Well Matcht iii. i, But why me up in your *bedroll George? 1910S. E. White Rules of Game vi. 203 Thus instead of his ‘turkey’—or duffle-bag—he speaks of his ‘bed-roll’, and by that term means not only his sleeping equipment but often all his worldly goods. 1916H. Kephart Camping & Woodcr. II. 136 A bed roll made with flaps and sides and ends is best for this purpose. 1950G. Wilson Brave Company 20, I can distinguish the long vermouth stain above Hope's bedroll. 1958Landfall XII. 115 When he had spread out his bedroll, the little man came out of his cell.
1661in Probate Rec. (Essex Co., Mass.) (1916) I. 323 A *bead sacke,..a cheste. 1861Revised Regulations U.S. Army 169 Bed-sacks are provided for troops in garrison.
1757in Phil. Trans. L. 289 There were set up, under the wales..of the ship..nine pair of *bed-screws. 1832Babbage Econ. Manuf. xvii. 153 Bed-screws, 6 inches long.
1553Lanc. Wills (1857) I. 91 Y⊇ courtens and hangings bed-stocke and *bedseller of y⊇ same.
1933Discovery July 219/1 There is a demand for less and smaller furniture..and for the dual-purpose piece—the table-bookcase, table-stool, even *bed-settee, which converts the living room into a bedroom for the unexpected guest. 1958House & Garden Feb. 21 (Advt.), Here at last is a bed-settee... To convert the settee into a bed the back is simply swung down. 1961B.S.I. News Nov. 20/2 Bed-settee mattresses.
c1550Sir J. Balfour Practicks (1754) 361 If it be provin..that he is *bed-seik and may not travel. 1611W. Barksted Hiren (1876) 81 Like to a man Rich and full cram'd..Yet lyes bed-sicke.
1297R. Glouc. 27 Astrilde hire *bedsuster (hire lordes concubine).
1870L. M. Alcott Old-Fashioned Girl iii. 43 She began to knit a pretty pair of white *bed-socks..for her mother. 1914W. Owen Let. 1 Jan. (1967) 225 And only one bed-sock. 1934L. A. G. Strong Corporal Tune 266 Continuing to read even while she pulled great clumsy bedsocks up his shrunken legs.
1861F. Nightingale Nursing 57 Where there is any danger of *bed-sores a blanket should never be placed under the patient. 1878T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 34 In theory bed-sores should never occur.
1723S. Morland Spec. Lat. Dict. 6 Nor have they the least mention of *Bed-stone in the English. 1862Report E. Midl. R'way Co. 26, Pier No. 14..has the bedstones for the girders set.
1848Thackeray Van. Fair v. (1853) 31 They cut his *bed-strings.
1611Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 93 Shee's A *Bed-swaruer.
1811London Cabinet-Makers Book of Prices 314 A *Bed-Table. All solid.—Two feet five inches long. 1853Mrs. Gaskell Cranford xi. 208 Lady Glenmire..rummaged up all Mrs. Jamieson's medicine glasses, and spoons, and bed-tables. 1894Daily News 28 June 6/3 In white enamelled wood are some bed tables... They are for resting on the knees while sitting up in bed. 1948L. A. G. Strong Trevannion 167 Mrs. Bracegirdle drew up a rosewood bed-table, which fitted right across the bed, and slid her tray upon it.
1600Shakes. Sonn. clii, Thy *bed-vow broake and new faith torne. 1922Joyce Ulysses 200 But she, the giglot wanton, did not break a bedvow.
1931Kansas City Star 2 Sept., One electric *bed warmer. 1933W. de la Mare Lord Fish 101 A ship's compass, a brass cannon, a bed-warmer,..—such curios as that.
1881Raymond Mining Gloss., *Bed-way, an appearance of stratification, or parallel marking in granite. 1883Stonemason Jan., The blocks..are usually sawn through bedways about two feet from the top.
1952S. Spender Learning Laughter viii. 112 The children don't only suck their thumbs. They also *bed-wet.
1938Time 16 May 72/3 *Bed-Wetters Belled. 1940Mrs. St. L. Strachey Borrowed Children v. 69 As the younger evacuee was a bed-wetter..the billet-mother said she could not keep the younger. 1969New Scientist 16 Jan. 148/3 Mousepie, still made in country districts for bed-wetters.
1890J. McGregor-Robertson Househ. Physic. xv. 463 *Bed-wetting..is due very often to the presence of some irritant in the bowels. 1940Harrisson & Madge War begins at Home xii. 310 Bed-wetting was one of the main faults found with evacuee children.
1848Dickens Dombey lix. 592 The men with the carpet-caps gather up their screw-drivers and *bed-winches into bags.
1568R. Bertie in Lady Bertie Loyal Ho. (1845) 42 Though she continue a *bedwoman and not a footwoman.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 203 They call this *Bed-worke, Mapp'ry, Closset-Warre.
1959T. Girtin Unnatural Break xxi. 72 Certificate of *Bedworthiness, eh?
1936A. Huxley Eyeless in Gaza liv. 608 In fact, thoroughly *bed-worthy. Or at least he looks it. Because one never really knows till one's tried, does one? 1954J. B. Priestley Magicians ii. 38 Bed-worthy luscious blonde.
1844Regul. & Ord. Army 235 See that the different parts of the bedsteads are properly screwed together, (for which purpose a *bed-wrench is to be hung in every room).
Add:[V.] [19.] bed-hopping a. colloq., habitually changing sexual partners; engaging in numerous casual sexual affairs, promiscuous; also as n.; hence (as back-formation) bed-hop v. intr.
1943S. Lewis Gideon Planish xxx. 391, I might be able to use the lowdown on the virtuous shenanigans that Marduc and that *bed-hopping daughter of his may pull from now on. 1965New Republic 4 Sept. 30/3 After all, there has been plenty of bed-hopping in religiously replete eras. 1979J. Cooper Class ix. 162 The bedrooms have..interlocking doors, so people can bedhop easily. 1986Observer 19 Jan. 16/3, I would have had to read ‘Goldilocks’ under the bed-covers if they'd realised it was a story about ‘A little girl who goes bed-hopping and gets her oats’.
▸ bed of nails n. (Also (esp. in early use) bed of spikes) After various Sanskrit phrases lit. meaning ‘arrow-bed, arrow-couch’, originally śara-talpa (in the Mahabharata, with reference to Bhīṣma's having to lie on the arrows that transfixed him); in quot. 1798 Additions a after śara-śayyā. Compare:
1891M. Monier-Williams Brahmanism & Hinduism (ed. 4) xxii. 560 This remarkable couch was called by my Brahman companion the devotee's Kaṇṭaka-śayyā, ‘bed of thorns’, though I noticed it had an inscription in Sanskrit letters designating it as ‘a bed of arrows’ (Bāṇa-śayyā). This convinced me that it was intended to represent Bhishma's Śara-śayyā or ‘arrowy bed’ described in the Mahā-bhārata.
a. A board studded with long protruding nails; (originally) one lain or sat on by fakirs and ascetics as a form of self-mortification; (later also) one used by circus performers, etc., freq. as an illusion, using retractable nails.
Also used in figurative and similative contexts.
1798Asiatick Res. 5 47 My present notice of Perkasanund to the Society, is principally on account of the strange penance he has thought fit to devote himself to, in fixing himself on his Ser-Seja, or bed of spikes, where he constantly day and night remains. 1848Princeton Rev. July 375 Does not the light within direct..the guiltworn conscience of the sinful man to seek relief by torturing his body upon a bed of spikes? 1927N.Y. Times Mag. 11 Sept. 13/2 Recently it was reported that a Sadhu had broken all known records by sitting on a bed of nails for the last seven years. 1963D. Fuchs Comic Spirit of Wallace Stevens i. 7 He sometimes gives the impression..that he lives on his Alexandrine uniqueness as on a bed of spikes. 1992Sydney Morning Herald 28 Nov. (Good Weekend Mag.) 17/1 Malcolm still stores some of the gear: the straitjacket and chains of his early '50s Houdini act, and even the bed of nails he used later.
b. fig. A problematic, difficult, or testing situation or condition; a hazardous undertaking.
1872J. O. Barrett Spiritual Pilgrim v. 48 Was he now convinced? Our confounded, confounding brother cast himself again into the ‘slough of doubt’,..—the bed of spikes wilful skeptics delight to dream on. 1964N.Y. Times 18 Oct. 2/1 [He] was appointed Minister of Labor today and referred to his post as ‘the bed of nails’. 1973Times 8 June 18/8, I asked him whether he thought he had been given a bed of nails in his job. He said: ‘No. It appeals to me as a challenge.’ 1998K. Sampson Extra Time 72 So, before he'd even kicked a ball for Liverpool, he'd made a bed of nails for himself. He was a classic Bigtime Charlie and he was already on a collision course with his new team-mates.
▸ fig. orig. U.S. a. to get into bed with and variants: to form a close (esp. illicit, secret, or otherwise inappropriate) association with; to ally oneself with, to espouse the ideals of; (Business) to merge or undertake a joint venture with.
1885N.Y. Times 20 Jan. 1/1 Congressman Burleigh..retorted,..‘I'm not ready to get into bed with Tom Platt yet awhile.’ 1925N.Y. Times 17 Oct. 14/4 The Communists showed an inclination for climbing into bed with the Nationalists. 1954Times 2 Aug. 6/7 Senator Dirksen excelled himself by declaring that Communists in little groups had ‘jumped into bed’ with Mr Flanders and that he was the tool of a sinister conspiracy. 1978M. Watkins in Canad. Jrnl. Econ. 11 (Harry G. Johnson Memorial Symposium Suppl.) S111 He saw Canadian nationalists..[as] second-rate academics who mysteriously chose (even when proclaiming socialism) to get into bed with second-rate Canadian businessmen. 2001Computer Music May 50/2 Evidence of this comes in the form of the flurry of software companies that are jumping into bed with established console manufacturers.
b. to be in bed with and variants: to have a close association with; esp. to collude secretly or inappropriately with.
1931N.Y. Times 19 June 48/3 Who was going to lie in bed with these fellows? 1943H. L. Ickes in N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 18 Apr. 3/2 Some of our mightiest financiers and industrialists..[were] shamefully in bed with German interests. 1971Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Jan. 19/1 At the time we purchased Valley Die, no one..ever had the courtesy..to call me..or tell my lawyer..‘Say, that fellow that you're getting in bed with has problems.’ 1985Sunday Times 13 Oct. 1/1 Roone..was afraid of being frozen out by the Kennedys. Everyone knows he's in bed with them. 2000Snowboard UK Jan. 59/1 For us city folk, Jackson lies like an oasis of culture and good coffee in a state that is otherwise firmly in bed with gun culture.
▸ bed-blocker n. orig. Brit. (somewhat depreciative) an (esp. elderly) hospital patient whose treatment is complete but whose discharge is delayed because the necessary level of care is unavailable to him or her elsewhere; cf. bed-blocking n. at Additions.
1975Age & Ageing 4 142 Hospital clinicians..fear their effective number of available beds will be increasingly reduced by *‘bed-blockers’. 1988N. L. Chappell in E. Rathbone-McCuan & B. Havens N. Amer. Elders v. 78 Given the increased pressure on long-term institutional beds with an aging population.., what about the much discussed bed blocker issue? 2002Liverpool Echo (Nexis) 1 July 1 The council says that from today the number of elderly bed blockers could double to 59 per week because the council can no longer afford to pay for 140 nursing home places and 247 home help services.
▸ bed-blocking n. orig. Brit. (somewhat depreciative) the continued occupation of hospital beds by (esp. elderly) patients whose treatment is complete but whose discharge is delayed because they still require a level of care which is unavailable to them elsewhere.
1975Age & Ageing 4 142 (title) *Bed blocking by elderly patients in general-hospital wards. 1993Independent (Nexis) 27 Oct. 8 There have been no significant delays in assessment, failures to place old people or ‘bed blocking’—stranding people in hospital because of delays in assessments—or lack of places in residential homes. 2001Community Care 13 Dec. 5/2 Next year's {pstlg}200m bed-blocking grant is supposed to be a further step towards the government's goal of solving this problem by 2004.
▸ bed check n. orig. N. Amer. Mil. a check to confirm that beds (in a barracks, prison, dormitory, etc.) are occupied.
1941N.Y. Times 18 Nov. 16/2 All week-end passes were said to have been cut short and a Sunday night *bed check was made by officials. 1977M. Apple Oranging of Amer. (1986) 89 When their duties are completed they can do as they wish. We have no bedchecks, no passes, nobody is AWOL. 2002Sacramento (Calif.) Bee (Nexis) 6 Sept. b1 They were expected to return to their cells on their own, where a subsequent bed check indicated they were in their bunks.
▸ bed-night n. a night spent in paid accommodation (used esp. in the tourist industry as a unit of occupancy).
1934Times 4 Dec. 9/7 The Grasmere youth hostel proved the most popular in the country with 7,847 *bed nights. 1957Econ. Geogr. 33 339/1 No statistics are available for the number of bed-nights passed at different resorts in Corsica. 1994Jrnl. Sustainable Tourism Special Issue 74 During the 1980s the total bednights on Austrian farms declined, but since 1990 there has been a considerable increase in bednights.
▸ bedspring n. a spring used in the construction of a base or support; (now esp.) a spring or (chiefly U.S.) the set of springs in the base of a bedstead, on which the mattress is placed.
1853Sci. Amer. 12 Nov. 67/2 Adjustable springs for carriages... I claim the adjustable auxiliary springs in combination with the *bed spring or springs as set forth. 1925J. Dos Passos Manhattan Transfer i. 275 The old woman lets the breath out in a groan through her teeth, the bed-springs creak as she turns over. 1947Life 17 Nov. 66/1 Don't make the mistake of putting your modern inner-spring mattress on an old-fashioned, open-coil bedspring! 1995K. Atkinson Behind Scenes at Museum iii. 93 Newly weds, Maurice and Ena Tetley, could be heard exercising their bed-springs through the wall of the bedroom.
▸ bed tax n. orig. U.S. a tax levied on the use of hotel accommodation.
1958N.Y. Times 7 Dec. xx. 23/4 Future visitors to Los Angeles will be pleased to know that they have apparently escaped a 5 per cent municipal *bed tax on hotel rooms such as New York exacts. 1977Economist (Nexis) 3 Sept. 91 A bed-tax would hit long-distance lorry drivers, British Railmen and commercial travellers.., but because the tax would be ad valorem, people staying in cheaper hotels would pay relatively little. 1995Financial Rev. (Sydney) 3 Mar. 9/6 A 5 per cent bed tax on Australian hotel and motel accommodation would force many Australians to alter their travel plans.
▸ bed tea n. S. Asian (orig. Anglo-Indian) an early morning drink of tea, served in bed, often as a wake-up call (cf. chota hazri n.); also called early tea.
1956N.Y. Times 15 Apr. ii. 28/3 The [Ceylon] Government..has claims [it] is the lowest tariff in the world—$1 a day for bed and breakfast ($1.50 extra for four Western-styled meals, including the inevitable English afternoon tea and morning ‘*bed’ tea). 1991M. Tully No Full Stops in India (1992) i. 14 Bed tea or chota hazari (small breakfast), as we used to know it..during the last days of the raj, is one of the luxuries of my life in India. 2002Times of India (Nexis) 17 June During his last visit, he wanted bed tea at 4 am. But he was extremely apologetic before making the request.
▸ bed wagon n. U.S. regional (west.) (esp. in cattle ranching) a wagon used to transport bedding or providing sleeping accommodation.
1869C. McCord Let. in Colorado Mag. (1948) Mar. 71 He, upon seeing my condition, very kindly asked me to ride in the *bed wagon, one that carries the bedding. 1927Z. Grey Valley of Wild Horses iv. 30 The wagons were lined up near the lake, their big white canvas tops shining in the afternoon sun, and higher on a bench stood the ‘hoodelum’ or bed wagon, so stocked with bedrolls that it resembled a haystack. 1996Alberta Rep. (Electronic ed.) 12 Aug. Three generations of the Steinbach family from Bassano also drove wagons; Frances handled a Surrey with a fringe on top, her daughter Mildred a covered wagon and granddaughter Candice the bed wagon.
▪ II. bed, v.
Pa. tense and pple. bedded. Forms: 1 beddian, 2–3 beddi-en, 3 beddy, 2–5 bedd-e(n, 4–7 bedde, 6– bed.
[OE. będdian f. będ(d), bed.]
I. Connected with a bed for sleeping.
†1. intr. To spread or prepare a bed. Const. dat.; also with cognate object. Obs.
a1000in Thorpe Laws II. 282 (Bosw.) Féde þearfan, and beddiᵹe him. a1000Sax. Leechd. III. 140 Bedde hys bed myd mór-secᵹe. 1382Wyclif Job xvii. 13 In dercnessis I beddede my bed.
2. a. trans. To lay in bed, put to bed; to furnish (a person) with a bed.
c1200Ormin 2712 To wasshenn hem, to warrmenn hemm, To beddenn hemm & frofrenn. 1382Wyclif 1 Sam. ix. 25 He beddide Saul in the solere, and he slepte. 1394P. Pl. Crede 772 Þey schulden nouȝt..bedden swiche broþels in so brode schetes. 1646W. Price Mans Delinq. 20 It will not leave us, if we welcom and bed and board it. 1863B. Taylor Poet's Jrnl. (1866) 35 Beds me in its balmy green. 1866G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. vii. (1878) 120 No end of work..to get them all bedded for the night.
b. spec. To put (a couple) to bed together.
a1300Havelok 1235 He sholen bedden hire and the. a1639W. Whately Prototypes ii. xxxi. (1640) 118 To see a stranger bedded with him instead of his owne Spouse. 1680Lond. Gaz. No. 1494/4 The Dauphin and the Dauphiness were Bedded. a1743Ld. Hervey's Mem. Introd., Sure Venus had never seen bedded So lovely a beau and a belle.
3. To take (a wife) to bed. arch.
1548Hall Chron. Hen. VIII (R.) She was both wedded and bedded with his brother Prince Arthur. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. i. 149 That would thoroughly woe her, wed her, and bed her, and ridde the house of her. 1653Holcroft Procopius iv. 140 Askt him why he would neglect his Vow, and bed another Woman. 1740L. Clarke Hist. Bible I. i. 63 Jacob..then married and bedded Rachel.
4. Also with down.
a. intr. To go to bed; to retire for the night.
1635Heywood London's Sinus Salut. 289 Rise earlie, and bed late. 1822Hood Lycus (1871) 61 The cave where I bedded. 1906E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands ix. 117 Ther Firm and its missus was preparin' t'bed down. 1914B. M. Bower Flying U Ranch 7 Throw out your war-bag and make yourself to home, Mig-u-ell; some of the boys'll show you where to bed down. 1944G. Netherwood Desert Squadron 115 Being forced to spend the night in the desert there was nothing else to do but ‘bed-down’.
b. spec. Said of a couple sleeping together.
c1315Shoreham 76 Ȝef thon thother profreth, Wyth any other to beddy. 1583Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 79 Andromachee dooth bed with a countrye man husband. 1668Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 37 Sir Samuel Tuke, Bart., and the lady he had married this day, came and bedded at night at my house. 1740H. Carey Sally in our Alley vii, O then we'll wed, and then we'll bed, But not in our Alley. 1763C. Johnston Reverie ii. 6 No man can bear to bed with such an ugly, filthy brute. 1938N. Marsh Artists in Crime ix. 120 She meant to come back and bed down with Garcia..you know—to spend the night with him.
c. Of cattle: to be bedded down for the night. U.S.
1903A. Adams Log Cowboy viii. 110 Not a hoof would bed down. 1920Mulford J. Nelson xxvi. 267 After..the great herd had bedded down.
†5. fig. To lodge, find a resting-place. Obs.
c1175Lamb Hom. 185 Eorþliche lou and heouenliche ne maȝen..beddin in a breoste. a1220Hali Meid. 43 Ne muhen ha nanes weis bedden in a breoste.
6. trans. To put (animals) to rest for the night; to provide with ‘bedding’ or litter for sleeping purposes. Also with up, down.
c1480King & H. 166, E.P.P. (1864) 20 Hys stede into the house he lede, With litter son he gan hym bed. a1791Wesley Wks. (1872) VIII. 318 See..that your horse be rubbed, fed, and bedded. 1856Olmsted Slave States 380 They were obliged to bed their horses with pine leaves. 1859Art Taming Horses xi. 188 My Lord, the horses are bedded up. 1863Cornh. Mag. Mar. 448 Bedding down the horses and making them snug for the night.
7. intr. Of an animal; To make its lair; the specific term used of the roe.
c1470Hors, Shepe, & G. (1822) 33 A roo is bedded. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xiv. (1660) 166 You shall say that a Roe Beddeth. 1819Rees Cycl. s.v. Bedding, A roe is said to bed; a hart to harbour.
8. trans. To furnish (a room) with a bed. rare.
1758M. Calderwood Jrnl. (1884) 44 The captain has the cabin bedded at his expense.
II. Connected with a garden bed, a layer, base.
9. trans. To plant in or as in a garden bed; to plant deeply. to bed out: to plant out in a bed or beds.
1671Grew Anat. Plants (1682) 28 Trunk-Roots newly bedded. a1750Mortimer (J.) Mould to bed your quick in. Mod. May is rather too early to bed out your geraniums.
10. a. To sink or bury in a matrix of any kind, to cover up or fix firmly in any substance; to embed .
1586Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinsh. II. 4/1 A place where the ships lie bedded. 1692Ray Disc. ii. iv. (1732) 200 The Minerals wherein they are bedded. 1803Phil. Trans. XCIII. 142 Bedded and fixed firmly in a brass socket. 1874Mrs. H. Wood Mast. Greylands xxvii. 320 The bullet..must have bedded itself in the wall.
fig.1862Trench Mirac. xxviii. 385 Testimonies..which..not lying on the surface of Scripture, are bedded deeply in it.
b. intr. To rest on, to lie on for support. Also with down.
1875Ure Dict. Arts III. 692 The rail, therefore, beds throughout on the ballast. 1892Stevenson & Osbourne Wrecker xiii. 213 When she [sc. a boat] first struck and before she bedded down, seven or eight hours' work would have got this hooker off.
11. Building. trans. To lay (bricks or stones) in position in cement or mortar.
1685Boyle Effects of Motion viii. 104 Stones..taken out of the cement wherein they were bedded. 1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 398 Both plain and pan tiles are commonly bedded in mortar.
fig.1831Carlyle Sart. Res. i. viii. 62 Words well bedded also in good Logic-mortar.
12. Masonry. To dress the face or ‘bed’ of a stone (cf. bed n. 12 b.).
1793Smeaton Edystone L. §169 Each size and species of stone were to be worked..to a given parallel thickness..and..when so bedded..to be cut..to the true figure.
13. To spread, strew, or cover with a bed or layer of anything. Cf. to carpet.
1859Kingsley Misc. II. 299 Those dells bedded with dark velvet green fern.
fig.1839Bailey Festus (1848) v, It is fear which beds the far to-come with fire.
14. To lay in a bed or layer; e.g. to lay (oysters) in beds prepared for their reception.
1721Phil. Trans. XXXI. 250 The Bottom of its Channel..all bedded with good Oysters. 1861Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. iii. 169 The Oysters are placed in large reservoirs..this is called ‘Bedding the Oysters.’
15. intr. To form a compact layer.
1615Markham Eng. Housew. ii. v, By reason of the softnesse thereof it beddeth closer. 1641Best Farm. Bks. 144 The wette strawe coucheth better, and beddes closer. 1787Best Angling (ed. 2) 168 Hairs bed well when they twist kindly.
16. to bed up: to lie up in beds or strata against.
1782Withering in Phil. Trans. LXXII. 329 The limestone rocks..bed up against it, and the coal comes up to the surface against the lime-stone.
17. refl. and intr. Of eels (see quots.).
1653Walton Angler 190 Many of them [eels] together bed themselves, and live without feeding upon anything. 1746R. Griffiths Ess. Jurisdict. Thames 194 [Eels] get into the soft Earth or Mud..and bed themselves. 1883G. C. Davies Norfolk Broads xxxi. 213 Big and little [eels], start on this singular voyage,..and ‘bed’ themselves. 1902Cornish Naturalist Thames 216 In winter the eels ‘bed’, i.e. bury themselves in the mud. |