| 释义 |
▪ I. † pull, n.1 Obs.
[OE. pull, found beside pól, pool n.1 (q.v.); cf. also Welsh pwll in same sense: the relations between these forms are obscure. (The Sc. pule, puil (pyl) is = Eng. pool.)]
A pool. (In the OE. example, a pool in a stream.) b. Comb. pull-reed, dial.: see pool-reed, pool n.1 3.
c1075Grant by Offa (c 779) in Birch Cart. Sax. I. 326 Of seᵹes mere in þæs pulles heafod..of ðorn brycge in þone pull, & æfter þam pulle in baka brycge..in dodhæma pull, of þam pulle eft in Temede stream. 1199Rot. Chart. (1837) 8/2 Terram de Hunfrideheved..et partem polli que dicitur Kierkepolle. a1300Joseph & Jacob 18 Hi floten swiþe riued bi dich & bi pulle. c1440Pallad. on Husb. i. 1032 A sobur brook amydde or ellis a welle With pullis [L. lacunis] faire. 1847–78Halliwell, Pull-reed, a long reed used for ceilings instead of laths. Somerset.
▪ II. pull, n.2|pʊl|
[f. pull v.]
I. The act, action, or faculty of pulling.
1. a. An act of pulling or drawing towards oneself with force: a general term, including both a momentary pluck, wrench, or tug, and a continued exercise of force. Also fig.
c1440Promp. Parv. 416/1 Pul, or draȝte.., tractus. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 137 There were two hangemen ready and eche of them a payre of tonges read hote: at the three first pulles he helde his peace. 1609S. W. Marie Magd. Fun. Teares 53 She beheld thy armes and legges racked with violent puls, thy hands and feet boared with nayles. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace iv. 82 If the Lord draw not the soul, and that with an omnipotent pull, it can never come from itself to Christ. 1795E. Parsons Myst. Warning I. x. 178 He rang the bell... After waiting..he was about to repeat the pull. 1875Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. viii. (1883) 77 There is a pull from above, and there is a push from below. 1883Gilmour Mongols 154 With a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together, round goes the wheel.
b. The force expended in pulling or drawing; pulling power or force (with or without the production of motion); draught, traction, strain; the force of attraction. Also fig.
1833Penny Cycl. I. 505/1 If the stock [of an anchor] were very short, the pull of the cable would tend..to drag the end of the stock along the bottom. 1837Whewell Hist. Induct. Sc. ii. i. §1 We may have pressure without motion, or dead pull. 1860Tyndall Glac. ii. xvii. 319 The sides of the glacier are acted upon by an oblique pull towards the centre. 1863― Heat xiv. § 692 (1870) 480 The entire pull of the sun being then exerted upon it. 1900Engineering Mag. XIX. 745/1 The amount of this magnetic pull may be very considerable.
c. The drawing or dragging of a weight; the exertion of carrying one's own weight up a steep ascent against the force of gravity. (Cf. 9.)
1841Motley Corr. (1889) I. iv. 70 The next night left..for Königsberg, a long pull of fifty-eight hours in a diligence. 1861Symonds in Life (1895) I. iv. 179 A stiff pull it was that brought us to the top. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. (1894) vii. 158 The work had been simply a stiff pull against the collar. 1872Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) 209 A good steady pull must necessarily land the tourist on the summit.
d. Paired with push: see push n.1 1 d.
2. Specific or technical uses of sense 1.
a. Printing. A pull of the bar of the hand-press (see pull v. 14); hence, an impression taken, or a page or part of one printed, by this; now spec. a rough ‘proof’, taken without an overlay and the adjustments necessary for a finished impression.
first pull, second pull, the part of the forme printed at the first or second pull of the bar in the early presses, in which more than one impression of the platen was sometimes necessary to cover a large forme; so forme of one pull.
1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 393 When a Form of one Pull comes to the Press. 1771Luckombe Hist. Printing 358 Having Pulled the First Pull,..he turns the Rounce about again,..and then Pulls his second Pull. 1787Printer's Gram. 328 That which causes a Soft Pull is putting in pieces of felt or pasteboard.
1845Dickens Let. 1 Nov. (1977) IV. 423 The carriage..is to call for a pull of the first part of the Cricket. 1885J. Coleman in Longm. Mag. V. 500 Previous to its suppression, they gave me a ‘pull’ of it [sc. an article]. 1900A. Upward Eben Lobb 41 Take away that pull and bring me a revise directly. There are five mistakes in one par of ‘Talk’. 1909H. Hart in Let., To a printer the difference between ‘a pull’ and a ‘finished impression’ is, that the one has no preliminary making-ready, and the other has.
b. A pull at the bridle in order to check a horse; spec. in Racing, a check dishonestly given to a horse in order to prevent its winning.
1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 123 He will run thro' at the Speed he begins with, or nearly so, because every Horse..requires to have a Pull. 1840D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rur. Sports §1258 The pull and hustle are effective bridle manipulations... The horse, which..is so free..a goer as on no occasion to require the pull and hustle, is the very one that will be benefited by it when running in. 1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports ii. ii. ii. §2 (ed. 2) 381/2 It is easier to go into the saddling enclosure and select a winner of a steeplechase, barring accidents and pulls.
c. A pull at an oar; hence, a short spell at rowing; a passage or journey in a rowing-boat.
1793Smeaton Edystone L. §283 We had a hard pull with our oars to get on board the buss. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxv, Whalemen make the best boats' crews in the world for a long pull. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. vi, The college eight was to go down..to the reaches..for a good training pull. 1892Chamb. Jrnl. 2 Apr. 221/2 The oarsman gave a lusty pull.
d. The act of pulling the trigger of a fire-arm; also, the force required to pull the trigger.
1888Rider Haggard Col. Quaritch xxxvi, He had never known the pull of a pistol to be so heavy before. 1892Greener Breech-Loader 186 As the angles given are similar to the action when pulling the trigger with the finger, it is necessary to know this when trying the pulls of guns. 1900Daily News 5 Sept. 3/2 Armed with the Lee straight-pull rifle.
e. The act of drawing a card.
1715Lady M. W. Montagu Basset Table 52 The Knave won Sonica,..And, the next Pull, my Septleva I lose.
f. Cricket. A hit which brings a ball pitched to the off side round to leg. So in Golf, a hit which causes the ball to swerve in its flight towards the left (i.e. of a right-handed player).
1865Lillywhite's Guide to Cricketers 135 A fast run⁓getter, little too fond of a pull. 1892Daily News 29 June 2/7 The veteran E. M. Grace brought off some most alarming pulls. 1897Westm. Gaz. 13 Aug. 3/2 The ‘pull’, which is simply an artistic method of placing the ball where the field is not. 1903H. H. Hilton in Low Concerning Golf 66 When the wind is coming from the player's right the presence of a slight pull adds many yards to the length of a drive.
g. long pull (in public-house phraseology): the supply to a person of an amount of intoxicating liquor (usually beer) exceeding that for which he asks.
Understood to be so called from the extra pull given by the publican at the beer-pump (cf. sense 7).
1908Times 3 Nov. 4/5 (Parl. Rept.) He [Mr. Asquith] would not say they [licensing bench] actually imposed conditions as to what was called the ‘long pull’, but they certainly had the power to do so. Ibid. 19 Nov. 6/5 (A member of committee) The licensing justices were to be empowered also to attach to the renewal of a licence a prohibition of what was known as ‘the long pull’.
†3.
a. A turn or bout at pulling each other in wrestling or any struggle; a trial of strength of body, will, determination, argument, etc.; a bout, a set-to; often in to stand or wrestle a pull. Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1809 Þe firste pul so harde was set Þat þeyr brestes to-gyder met... Ilk oþer pulled. c1381Chaucer Parl. Foules 164 For manye a man that may nat stonde a pul It likyth hym at wrastelyng for to be. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 7996 Thei [Trojans] vnnethe stode hem a pul. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 4480 At Auerice now haue here a pul. Ibid. 5232 Þer-with þis land hath wrastled many a pul. a1568O wrechit Man 39 in Bannatyne Poems (Hunter. Cl.) 210 Aganis his dynt thow may nocht stand ane pow. 1588Drake in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 32 We..mynd with the Grace of God, to wressell a poull with him. 1747Richardson Clarissa (1749) II. xxxvi. 243 We have just now had another pull. Upon my word, she is excessively..unpersuadable.
b. fig. A single effort or act likened to pulling; a ‘go’.
1803M. Charlton Wife & Mistress II. 244 It's of no use my trying to get in more than a word at a pull,..he would only stop me twenty times. 1871‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshm. 54 The opportunity both desired of having the first ‘pull’ at their new master.
c. In fig. phr. to take a pull (at, on oneself), to stop or check (oneself); to pull oneself together. colloq. (chiefly Austral.).
1890Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang II. 155/2 Pull (society): to take a pull means to stop, check, put an end to. 1916C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke i. 16, I tells meself some day I'll take a pull An' look eround fer some good, stiddy job. 1922Galsworthy Family Man iii. ii. 105 Take a pull, old man! Have a hot bath and go to bed. 1942E. Waugh Put out more Flags iii. 177 Suddenly she found herself weeping in earnest. Then she took a pull at herself. This wouldn't do at all. 1946T. E. Haughey Railway Reminisc. 21 Look here—, it's about time you took a pull. Just shake yourself up a bit quick. 1953M. Scott Breakfast at Six xxiv. 202 She may be a wonderful friend, but she'll land you in gaol yet. For heaven's sake, take a pull. 1966J. Hackston Father clears Out 110 Alf Hodgson talked so much about the Red Range Federal Capital Site Movement that people said he'd be standing for Parliament one of these days if he did not take a pull on himself.
4. a. The power or capacity of pulling instead of being pulled; advantage possessed by one party, course, or method over another; esp. in phrase to have a or the pull of, on, upon, or over some one. the pull of the table, in gambling games, the advantage possessed by the dealer or banker.
1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. v. vii. (1886) 82 They have a verie cold pull of this place, which is the speciall peece of scripture alledged of them. 1781Burgoyne Ld. of Manor iii. i. 61 Oh, you'll have quite the pull of me in employment. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Pull, an important advantage possessed by one party over another. 1855Thackeray Newcomes xli, That they may know what their chances are, and who naturally has the pull over them. 1890Huxley in Life (1900) II. xv. 255, I think, on the whole, I have the pull of him. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 131 There's no particular pull in it. 1893Spectator 10 June 767 Economy is the unquestionable ‘pull’ of vegetarianism.
b. spec. Personal or private influence capable of being employed to one's advantage. colloq. (chiefly U.S.).
1889Chr. Union (N.Y.) 17 Jan. 68 The sole difference being that B had a ‘pull’ on the [excise] Board and A had none. 1894Stead If Christ came to Chicago 51, I have got a pull, and any one who has got a pull can do a great deal. 1897in Daily News 28 May 6/4 Appointed to commissions because, to use an American expression, they had a political pull. a1911[see island n. 1 d]. 1937F. P. Crozier Men I Killed vi. 109 Having been in France for so long and lacking the very necessary ‘pull’ in influential circles, we were unable to oust the family favourites at the War Office. 1940[see bracket n. 5 c]. 1978J. Krantz Scruples ii. 57 His future in the giant corporation was assured in the long run through family pull, since he had, on his mother's side, as one said in slang, du piston.
5. A long or deep draught of liquor.[Perh. in origin a different word: cf. pull v. 12.] 1575Gamm. Gurton v. ii, And when ye meete at one pot, he shall haue the first pull. 1707J. Stevens tr. Quevedo's Com. Wks. (1709) 510 He swallowed down both..at two or three pulls. 1727Philip Quarll 74 He calls for a Quart, and bids the Child take a hearty Pull. 1835–40Haliburton Clockm. (1862) 319 Who's for a pull of grog? suppose we have a pull, gentlemen—a good pull, and a strong pull, and a pull altogether, eh! 1863W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting ix. 377 The oxen..seemed to enjoy, not a little, a vigorous pull of good rain water. 1867Baker Nile Tribut. iv. (1872) 61 A long and deep pull at the water-skin.
6. = lay n.7 7 d. slang.
1969Fabian & Byrne Groupie xxx. 219 ‘I'm not going to sleep with you.’..‘Why not?’ ‘Because I'm not an easy pull.’ 1973M. Amis Rachel Papers 33 A mental chant, timor mortis conturbat me, and I began on my clumsiest pull ever. Ibid. 37 It was so obviously me and my pull and Geoffrey and his pull getting together to plan a spotty removal to someone's house.
II. Concrete senses.
7. That part of a mechanism with which a pull is exerted; a handle or the like; often in Comb., as beer-pull (the handle of a beer-pump), bell-pull; also, an instrument or device for pulling.
1810in G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 438 She..laid the pull of the bell over the end of the bed. 1823in Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 344 There was a parlour, Aye, and a carpet and bell-pull too! 1864Beer-pull [see beer n.1 4]. 1896A. Morrison Child of the Jago 43 The landlady hung hysterical on the beer-pulls in the bar. 1904Daily Chron. 12 Apr. 3/5 ‘Pulls’, too, may be procured; rubber pulls, threads, and tubes that run beneath the suave performer's clothes as the pipes and wires run invisibly under London.
†8. Some kind of draw-net. Obs. rare—1.
c1303Reg. Pal. Dunelm. (Rolls) III. 40 Duæ sagenæ quæ vocantur ‘Tol et Pul’.
9. A part of a road where more than ordinary effort is necessary; esp. a steep ascent. (Cf. 1 c.)
1798C. Smith Yug. Philos. IV. 130 This dairy woman was fain to get out to walk up this pull. 1812Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. 63 If the roads were without pulls, a greater weight might be taken. 1855F. Chamier My Travels III. iv. 101 The..track..is a severe pull, and a most disagreeable, fagging one.
10. Combinations: see pull-.
Add:[I.] Sense I. 6 in Dict. becomes I. 7; senses II. 7–10 become II. 8–10 and III. 11. For introductory text read: The act, action, faculty, or result of pulling. [5.] b. A drawing-in or inhalation of smoke from a cigarette, pipe, etc.; = draw n. 1 e.
1889P. H. Emerson Eng. Idyls 46 ‘'Bout-four-an'-a-half-mile,’ jerked out Ben, between strong pulls at his pipe. 1903T. P.'s Weekly 6 Nov. 724/2 After a dozen meditative pulls of his pipe, Harry proceeded. 1953J. Wain Hurry on Down 99 Bunder's eyes narrowed a little, and he took a pull at his cigarette. 1965R. P. Jhabvala Backward Place iv. 233 She took a long pull from her cigarette and filled her lungs with smoke. 1983G. Lord Tooth & Claw ix. 66 ‘Jeez,’ he continued after a long pull on his smoke.
6. A pulled muscle or tendon (esp. in Sport); = strain n.2 4. colloq.
1938A. Thorndike Athletic Injuries vii. 62 Injuries to muscles and tendons produced by muscular contraction are of great interest. Masquerading under the term ‘pull’, these injuries often constitute a serious and painful lesion. 1961K. Rawlinson Mod. Athletic Training x. 99 If the pull is in the tendon..we strap as in figure 34. 1978G. A. Sheehan Running & Being xi. 157 Hamstring pulls..were thought to be due to the enormous number of footstrikes occurring per hour.
▪ III. † pull, n.3 Obs.
[a. F. poule fowl, orig. chicken:—late L. pulla, fem. of pullus young of any animal. Cf. pullet.]
A bird of the poultry kind, a fowl. In comb. pull-fowl. Also pull-bill, pull-roll (poultry-bill, -list).
1604in Househ. Ord. (1790) 312 The giveing of allowance of all the Poultry in the Pull-Rowles, Pull-Bills..and other particular Breivements of the Household. a1688J. Wallace Descr. Orkney (1693) 16 Here is plenty both of wild and tame Fowls, Pull-Fowls, Hens, Dukes, Goose, &c.
▪ IV. pull, v.|pʊl|
Forms: 1 pullian, 4–5 pullen, -yn, 4–7 pulle, pul, 4– pull, (6 puyll, polle, poull; Sc. and n. dial. 5–8 pow, 8–9 pou, pu', 9 poo, poogh).
[OE. pullian (with compound a-pullian), rare, and of uncertain etymology.
It has been compared with LG. pûlen to shell (peas, etc.), husk, decorticate, strip, pick, pluck, pinch, tear (Bremisches Wbch. III. 372), also pülen, pülken, MDu. polen, ‘decorticare’ (Kilian), EFris. (Saterland) pûlje, NFris. püllin, pöle: cf. MLG., LG. pūle, Du. peul husk, cod, shell. But there are great difficulties both of sense and form. If pull and pluck both went back to OTeut. a primitive connexion between them would be conceivable, but historical evidence of this is entirely wanting.
The OE. instances known show already three senses or uses; but all belong to the general notion of pluck, snatch (with fingers, claws, or beak), rather than to that of draw with sustained force or effort, as in modern use. The former is therefore assumed as the primary sense.]
I. In senses akin to pluck.
1. trans. To pluck or take away (anything) by force from where it grows or is set or attached; = pluck v. 1.
a. To pluck or draw out (feathers, hair, etc.). Obs. or dial.
[c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 362 ᵹif þu nimest wulfes mearh and smyrest mid hraðe ða stowe þe þa hær beoð of apullud [v.r. -od] ne ᵹeþafoð seo smyrung þæt hy eft wexen. ]c1386Chaucer Manciple's T. 200 To the Crowe he stirte and that anon And pulled hise white fetheres euerychon. c140026 Pol. Poems xxvi. 10 Here federes were pulled, she myght nat fle. 1586Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. i. i, That Tamburlaine That..as I hear, doth mean to pull my plumes. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 7 Wee'le pull his Plumes.
b. To pluck or draw up by the root (plants, e.g. turnips, carrots, flax). See also pull up (35 b).
c1350Nom. Gall.-Angl. 236 Homme en gardeyn arace nauet, M[an] in the ȝerde pullith nepus. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §146 How it [flax] shold be sowen, weded, pulled, repeyled, watred, wasshen, dryed, beten. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage v. xii. (1614) 507 The herbe is..sowne as other herbs, in due time pulled and dried. 1785Burns Halloween ii, To burn their nits, an' pou their stocks [cabbages], An' haud their Halloween. 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 345 Their tops being of a darker green and stronger, which continued..until they [turnips] were pulled.
c. To pluck, gather, cull, pick (fruit, flowers, or leaves) from the trees or plants on which they grow. Now chiefly Sc. (pu', pou, pow).
1340–70Alex. & Dind. 128 Þe sote-sauerende [sweet-savouring] frut sone to pulle. 1382Wyclif Jer. xxxi. 5 Thei shul not pulle grapes. c1440Promp. Parv. 405/2 Plukkyn, or pulle frute, vellico, avello. c1450Lovelich Grail xliii. 398 To wheche Roser men gon..the flowres to pullen In gret hast. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxi. 26 An ald ȝaid aver, Schott furth..to pull the claver. 1685Dryden Hor., Epode ii. 30 He joys to pull the ripen'd pear. c1710C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 107 Hopp yards where they were at work pulling hopps. 1721Ramsay Tea-t. Misc., Yng. Laird & Edin. Katy iii, We'll pou the daisies on the green. 1724― Royal Archers Shooting viii, Haste to the garden then bedeen, The rose and laurel pow. 1794Ld. Auckland Corr. (1862) III. 240, I pulled above 3000 peaches and nectarines. 1854H. Miller Sch. & Schm. vii. (1858) 136 We had delayed..until the better fruit had been pulled.
†d. To gather or collect (other produce). Obs.
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. iv. 3 b, They pul from the said Sapins [fir trees] great abundance of rosin.
e. intr. To bear or admit of plucking or pulling.
1641Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 57 They [pease] pull the best when they are the most feltered togeather. 1778W. H. Marshall Minutes Agric. 6 Sept. an. 1774, They [beans] may not pull so easily in dry weather.
f. trans. To extract (a tooth). U.S.
1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxiii. 222 A soldier was getting a tooth pulled in a tent. 1915R. Adair Pract. Oral Hygiene (ed. 2) i. 8 Dr. ― used to pull teeth, but he has got to talking so much about clean mouths that he is losing some of his trade. 1927M. R. Reidy This Tooth Proposition vi. 110 A long time ago, dentistry consisted mostly of pulling teeth and making plates. 1976H. MacInnes Agent in Place xix. 202 It was like pulling teeth. But we did learn something important.
2. trans.
a. to pull caps: to snatch or pull off one another's caps; hence, to scuffle, to quarrel: see cap n.1 9. So to pull wigs.
1778F. Burney Evelina (1791) II. xxxiv. 224 If either of you have any inclination to pull caps for the title of Miss Belmont, you must do it with all speed. 1785, etc. [see cap n.1 9]. 1807–8W. Irving Salmag. vii. (1824) 120 A pair of Amazons pulling Caps. 1823J. Simpson Ricardo the Outlaw II. 183 A man..for whom half the females of Paris were pulling caps. 1864Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 183 Twelve halls of justice might be provided—for the worst of which the judges at Westminster would pull wigs.
b. To snatch, steal, filch. slang.
1821D. Haggart Life (ed. 2) 63, I pulled a scout, and passed it to Graham. 1851Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 414/1 We lived by thieving, and I do still—by pulling flesh.
†3.
a. trans. and intr. Cards. To draw a card from the pack; hence fig. to pull for prime (also to pull prime), to draw for a card or cards which will make the player ‘prime’. (Cf. pluck v. 2 d, prime n.2 9.) In last quot., to draw lots. Obs.
1593Donne Sat. ii. 86 Hee..spends as much tyme Wringing each Acre, as men pulling Prime. 1619Fletcher Mons. Thomas iv. ix, Faith Sir my rest is up, And what I now pull, shall no more afflict me Then if I plaid at span-counter. a1625― Woman's Prize i. ii, My rest is up, wench, and I pull for that Will make me ever famous. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Jordan iii, Riddle who list, for me, and pull for Prime. Ibid., Ch. Militant 134 The world came both with hands and purses full To this great lotterie, and all would pull.
b. trans. To draw or to be assigned (a task or position); to carry out (a duty). U.S.
1894Lucky Bag (U.S. Naval Acad. Yearbk.) 67 Pull the sick list,..to get on the sick list when not ill. 1941Kendall & Viney Dict. Army & Navy Slang 11/1 To pull guard duty,..to do guard duty. For instance, ‘I've got to pull K.P.’ 1972Times 13 Apr. 1/8, I feel that my life is more important than having to pull security on this place. 1976New Yorker 15 Mar. 89/1 How come they got you pulling guard?
4. intr. To snatch or tear at something; spec. of a hawk: To tear or pluck at food; to feed by snatches.
1826J. S. Sebright Observ. Hawking 14 [The young hawk may be] allowed for a short time to pull upon a stump or pinion, from which he can get but little meat. 1852R. F. Burton Falconry Valley Indus vi. 65 Sometimes she is allowed to pull upon a stump. 1883Salvin & Brodrick Falconry Brit. Isles Gloss., Pull through the hood, to eat through the aperture in the front of the hood. 1888F. Hume Mme. Midas i. iii, The cattle..lingering..to pull at a particularly tempting tuft of bush grass growing in the moist ditches which ran along each side of the highway.
5. a. trans. By metathesis of object: To strip (a bird) of feathers, or † (a sheep or other beast) of wool or the like (obs.), by plucking; = pluck v. 5. Now rare or dial.
to pull a crow with another: see crow n.1 3 b.
c1000Sax. Leechd. III. 176 ᵹif him þince þæt he sceap pulliᵹe, ne biþ þæt god. c1350Nom. Gall.-Angl. 310 M[an] pyndith a gray gose..And pulluth [deplume] a coppid larke. 1390Gower Conf. I. 17 What Schep that is full of wulle Upon his back, thei [the shepherds] toose and pulle, Whil ther is eny thing to pile. c1430Two Cookery-bks. 9 Take smale byrdys, an pulle hem an drawe hem clene. c1450Ibid. 78 Ffesaunte rosted,..pull him dry. 1573–80Baret Alv. P 838 To pull or plucke geese, deplumare anseres. 1597Lowe Chirurg. (1634) 35 Take an olde Cocke and pull him quicke, bruse him well, and kill him. 1662[see crow n.1 3 b]. 1727Philip Quarll 17 One cast the Animal, and the other two pull'd the Fowls. 1851Beck's Florist 19 [A labourer says] I'd pull a lot of sparrows, or maybe some blackbirds and thrushes, and then cut 'em down the back, and fill their bodies full of bread.
b. In Tanning, To remove the hair or wool from (hides or skins) with a pulling-knife; also, in Hat-making, To free (fur) from the long hairs.
1578–9Proclam. Q. Eliz. 28 Feb., From Shroue Tuesday ..vntill the last day of June..no maner of person or persons..shall pull or clippe, or cause to be pulled or clipped, any maner of wooll fell. 1902Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Feb. 377/1 The fur..is then ‘pulled’—that is, the long hairs or ‘kemps’ are removed with a curved knife, and sold to upholsterers.
6.
†a. fig. (or in fig. phrases). To strip (a person) of his property or money; to fleece; to despoil, rob, plunder, cheat; = pluck v. 6. to pull a finch, pigeon, plover, etc., to fleece a simple or unsuspecting person: see the ns. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Prol. 654 And priuely a fynch eek koude he pulle. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles ii. 126 Ȝe..plucked and pulled hem anon to þe skynnes. c1400Rom. Rose 5984 If I may grype a riche man, I shal so pulle him, if I can. c1450Holland Howlat 972 Ȝe princis..That pullis the pure ay. 1589Nashe Pasquil's Returne Wks. (Grosart) I. 130 The same King Lewes..vrged with extreame necessitie..beganne at the last to pull the Church himselfe. 1627W. Hawkins Apollo Shroving ii. iv. 33 Hee's a yong fat gosling to pull. 1639S. Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 146 They pull pigeons in gaming houses.
b. To seize (someone's belongings); to recall or rescind (a document). Also absol.
1967S. Faessler in Atlantic Monthly Apr. 107/1 One day a month was given over to repossessing merchandise from deadbeats. ‘Today I am pulling,’ he would say grimly. 1972H. Kemelman Monday the Rabbi took Off xlv. 263 ‘They [sc. the police] pulled his passport, didn't they?’ ‘No... Officially they had just mislaid it.’ 1973R. Hayes Hungarian Game lii. 312 He had moved easily in dip circles until the..State pulled his visa.
II. To draw with force; to move or try to move or remove by such action.
7. a. trans. To exert upon (anything) a force that tends to snatch, draw, or drag it away; to drag or tug at.
c1000Epist. Alex. ad Aristot. in Anglia IV. 152 Þær eac cwoman hreaþemys..and þa on ure ondwlitan sperdon and us pulledon. c1400Destr. Troy 8295 Þai..wold haue led the lord o-lyue to þe towne, But the stoure was so stithe & stedis so thicke, Thai pullid hym with pyne, but passid þai noght. 1573–80Baret Alv. P 835 To pull, or plucke the haire, vellico. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xxi, After they [the shampooers] haue well pulled and stretched your armes. 1871Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. i. 6 The sun and the earth mutually pull each other. 1878Spurgeon Serm. XXIV. 653, I shall pull your coat-tail. Mod. Don't pull my hair; you hurt me. He complains that another boy pulled his ears.
b. to pull by the ear, nose, sleeve, etc., orig. perh. to draw or move by pulling at these parts; subseq. to gain attention, or to inflict corporal chastisement or insult, by such means. Phr. to pull one's coat: (see quot. 1946) (U.S. Blacks).
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1265 Pulden prestes by þe polle & plat of her hedes. 1570T. Norton tr. Nowel's Catech. (1853) 116 Such is our dulness and forgetfulness, that we must oft be taught and put in remembrance,..and, as it were pulled by the ear. 1677A. Horneck Gt. Law Consid. iv. (1704) 148 This would pull them by the sleeve, and bid them look on the covetous Gehazi. a1688W. Clagett 17 Serm. (1699) 330 Their consciences had pulled every one of them for it at certain times. 1712Steele Spect. No. 268 ⁋2, I very civilly requested him to remove his Hand, for which he pulled me by the Nose. 1793J. Williams Life Ld. Barrymore 79 Compelled to pull him by the tail. 1946Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues 377/2 Pull somebody's coat, enlighten, tip somebody off. 1971B. Malamud Tenants 55 The black..said: ‘Lesser, I have to pull your coat about a certain matter.’ 1972T. Kochman Rappin' & Stylin' Out 163 If someone is giving you information, he is ‘pulling your coat’.
c. to pull a bell: to pull the bell-rope or handle in order to ring the bell; so to pull a punkah (i.e. its rope).
a1815in G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 438 He put out his hand to pull the bell. 1883F. M. Crawford Mr. Isaacs i. 25, I was engaged to pull a punkah in the house of an English lawyer.
d. to pull (also draw) one's leg: see leg 2. to pull the long-bow: see long-bow 2. In imp. phr. pull the other one, (it's got bells on it) and varr., a statement of disbelief implying suspicion that ‘one's leg is being pulled’.
1849Thackeray Pendennis xxx, What is it makes him pull the long bow in that wonderful manner? 1901G. Douglas Ho. w. Green Shutters 216 He had pulled his leg as far as he wanted it. 1905Athenæum 22 July 122/3 We..suspect that some Irish harper was ‘pulling the author's leg’ when he gave it. 1966D. Francis Flying Finish v. 63 ‘They are English mares going to be mated with Italian sires,’ explained Conker... ‘Pull the other one, it's got bells on,’ said the engineer. 1973‘S. Woods’ Enter Corpse 112 ‘Believe it or not, neither Farrell nor I has the slightest interest in the gold...’ ‘Pull the other one!’ said Nelson derisively. 1974M. Butterworth Man in Sopwith Camel viii. 84 ‘Pull the other leg, it's got bells on!’ she said. ‘A bank's a bank, and you've got yourself charge of a bank for no other reason but to dip your fingers into the till.’ 1975D. Bagley Snow Tiger ix. 88 ‘She doesn't hold the mineral rights.’ ‘Pull the other one,’ scoffed Eric. 1977J. Bingham Marriage Bureau Murders xii. 146 Pull the other one, it's got bells on it. I saw it all... So don't give me that tripe.
e. to pull the strings, wires: see the ns.
f. To draw or fire (a gun). Const. on. Also absol. U.S.
1854J. F. Cooper Deerslayer I. iii. 54, I shall not pull upon a human mortal as steadily..as I pull upon a deer. 1883‘Mark Twain’ Life on Mississippi p. xxvi, When they happened to meet, they pulled and begun. 1895Century Mag. June 282/1 He repeated it, and I struck him. He pulled a pistol on me. 1903S. E. White Forest x. 122 The birds had proved themselves most uncultivated and rude persons by hopping promptly into the trees... I had refused to pull pistol on them. 1926J. Black You can't Win (1927) xiii. 182 He would have ‘pulled’ on us. 1952Sun (Baltimore) 4 July 42/7 Dr. Brady and the would-be bandit were in a middle room..when a second man suddenly appeared and one of them pulled an automatic pistol. 1978S. Brill Teamsters ii. 70 They couldn't just pull a gun on Hoffa.
g. To stretch and draw (sugar candy, etc.) until it is ready to set. orig. U.S.
1842W. T. Thompson in Southern Miscellany 10 Dec. 2/6 They's pullin lasses candy in the parlor. 1893Harper's Mag. Feb. 442 He pulled candy with glee, but also with eager industry, covering platter after platter with his braided sticks. 1948Good Housek. Cookery Bk. iii. 637 Certain toffees..are pulled, which gives them a satiny, silvery look. Attractive effects are achieved by combining pulled and unpulled toffee before cutting it into cushions. The toffee should be pulled immediately it is cool enough to handle.
h. To strain (a muscle or tendon) by abnormal exertion.
1955M. Allingham Beckoning Lady iii. 35, I pulled a tendon in my foot so I'm stuck at the desk. 1955R. Bannister First Four Minutes 175 Until then I had never been able to understand how athletes pulled muscles. 1971Woman's Own 27 Mar. 8/2, I think I pulled a muscle. 1976P. Harcourt Dance for Diplomats v. 51 ‘You're still limping.’.. ‘I must have pulled a muscle.’
8. a. To draw, drag, or haul with force or effort towards oneself (or into some position so viewed or pictured); generally with an adv. or phrase expressing direction. For use with particular advbs., see senses 21–35.
a1300Leg. Rood (1871) 60 A caudron he let fulle Wiþ seþing oile vol Inouȝ and let him þer-Inne pulle. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. ii. 219 Tyl pardoneres haued pite and pulled hym in-to house. a1425Cursor M. 15837 (Trin.) And as þei to & fro him pulde: his body was stounde. 1562Child-Marriages 99 As she was goynge for Turves, he..pullid her to bed to hym. 1687New Hampshire Prov. Papers (1867) I. 581, I did with much difficulty pull Wiggins off the deputy governor. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 58 Holding a Handkerchief about their neck with both hands they pull it sometimes this way, and sometimes that way, as if they were out of their wits with Grief. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxx, He placidly pulled his nightcap over his ears. 1880‘Ouida’ Moths I. 31 She had pulled her blonde perruque all awry in her vexation. 1898Rowe, etc. Rowing (Badm. Libr.) 26 The oarsman [will] meet his oar. By this phrase is meant that he will pull his body to his oar at last instead of his oar to his body, thus very considerably shortening his stroke.
b. to pull in or to pieces, etc., to separate the parts of (anything) forcibly; to destroy, demolish; in Bookbinding, simply, to pull; also fig. to analyse and criticize unfavourably; = pick to pieces (pick v.1 11). to pull an old house on one's head: see house n.1 19.
1552Elyot Dict., Distraho..to plucke or pull in peces. 1557N. T. (Genev.) Acts xxiii. 10 The Captaine, fearing lest Paul should haue bene pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers [etc.]. 1642C. Vernon Consid. Exch. 88 Wary how they pull an old house upon their owne heads. 1703Rowe Fair Penit. Ded., Public Conversations, where every body pulls and is pulled to pieces. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. 251 The complexional disposition of some of your guides to pull every thing in pieces. 1884H. Smart From Post to Finish xx, But what cannot one pull to pieces? 1901D. Cockerell Bookbinding i. ii. 34 If the book should prove to be imperfect..the owner should be communicated with, before it is pulled to pieces. This is very important, as imperfect books that have been ‘pulled’ are not returnable to the bookseller. 1931A. Esdaile Student's Man. Bibliogr. vi. 194 The book must be ‘pulled’, i.e. taken to pieces, first.
9. a. intr. To perform the action of pulling; to exert drawing, dragging, or tugging force. Often with at = sense 7. Also fig.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 68 To see hem pulle in þe plow aproche me by-houez. c1435Torr. Portugal 1607 Sith he pullith at his croke, So fast in to the flesh it toke. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxii. 110 Than pane with passioun me opprest, And ever did Petie on me pow. 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 131 Notwithstanding that the Rope of its own accord doth pull or draw very hard. 1711Addison Spect. No. 162 ⁋3 When Ambition pulls one Way, Interest another, Inclination a third. 1726Swift Gulliver i. v, Taking the knot in my hand, [I] began to pull; but not a ship would stir. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art I. 405 The lever at which it [the spring of a watch] pulls is lengthened as it grows weaker. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 179 In double-acting engines..the piston-rod forces upwards as well as pulls. 1825Brockett N.C. Gloss. s.v. Pou, ‘Poo away me lads’. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. ii. 78 He pulled, but could not draw it up. 1904W. N. Harben Georgians 22 So you 'n the old man are still pullin' agin one another? Mod. You want a horse that pulls well.
b. spec. Of a horse: To strain (esp. habitually and persistently) against the bit.
1791‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. ix. (1809) 106 My horse, who pulls like the devil, was off with me in a jiffey. 1840D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rur. Sports §1258 When the free-going horse is pulling somewhat harder than [his rider] thinks it prudent to indulge him in, he is checked by a steady and firm use of the bit. 1907Cavalry Training (Gen. Staff War Office) iii. §84 Many horses never pull unless they are going beyond a certain pace, when..they get so excited that they pull very hard or run away.
c. To struggle, wrestle; to exert oneself, work hard. Cf. pull n.2 3. rare.
1676Hobbes Iliad xvi. 106 The sweat ran down his limbs; nor could he well, Though mightily for breath he pull'd, respire. 1829Thackeray Let. in Pendennis Introd., I have been pulling away at the Greek play and trigonometry.
d. Phr. pull devil, pull baker († parson); pull dog, pull cat, an incitement to effort in a contest between two persons or parties for the possession of something; hence as n. denoting such a struggle; also attrib.
The origin of pull devil, pull baker, is unascertained.
1792Wolcott (P. Pindar) Odes to Kien Long ii. 128 That most important contest then is o'er; Pull Dev'l, pull Parson, will be seen no more. [1816Scott Old Mort. xxxviii, Then my mither and her quarrelled, and pu'ed me twa ways at anes,..like Punch and the Deevil rugging about the Baker at the fair.] 1828Abernethy Lect. Anat., Surg., etc. 276 It is such a regular pull-baker pull-devil concern, it is quite shocking. 1833Marryat P. Simple x, ‘Pull devil, pull baker!’ cried the women. 1905Westm. Gaz. 21 Mar. 2/1 In practice tariffs are determined by the pull-devil-pull-baker principle. 1907Daily Chron. 22 Mar. 3/4 It's pull dog, pull cat wi' man and woman, ever since the days of the apple.
e. To move, go, go on, or proceed by pulling or by some exertion of force; cf. 29 d.
1877M. Reynolds Locom. Engine Driving i. viii. (ed. 5) 131 The guard got up on the step of the engine, when they pulled gently down to the scene. 1891Kipling Light that Failed (1900) 251 We'll pull out of this place, Bess, and get away as far as ever we can.
f. transf. Of the engine of a motor vehicle: to afford (adequate) propulsive force; hence, by metonymy, of the vehicle itself.
1902C. S. Rolls in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors ix. 175 Motor will not ‘pull’ well or misses fire. 1933J. Buchan Prince of Captivity iii. ii. 282 The driver stopped to examine his engine. ‘She pulls badly, mein Herr,’ he said. 1974P. Wright Lang. Brit. Industry i. 24 Another transport term, the bus (or car) won't pull, is from the days of the horse and cart.
†10.
a. trans. To take away forcibly or with difficulty; to tear off, to wrench away. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 7289 His pray [was] fro hym puld, & his pepull slayn. 1530Rastell Bk. Purgat. iii. vii. 3 Than the soule [is] immedyatly pulled and separate from the body by naturall dethe. 1542–5Brinklow Lament. (1874) 117 It is hyghe tyme to pull from them that wycked Mammon. 1603Dekker Grissil (Shaks. Soc.) 10, I, that have..from my father Pull'd more than he could spare. 1616R. C. Times' Whistle i. 322 Subtillie devisd'e only for private gaines, Which you pull from the simple as you list. 1625Burges Pers. Tithes 11 To pull the poore mans bread out of his belly.
†b. Arith. To subtract. Obs.
1571Digges Pantom. i. xiii. D iv b, If you haue made two stations, pull the lesse Quotient from the great. 1574Bourne Regiment for Sea vii. (1577) 30 You must pul the heigth of the Equinoctiall from the Horizon.
11. fig.
a. To draw or move by force or influence other than physical; to bring forcibly into or out of some state or condition. Now rare or Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 10489 Parys full priuely sho pulled into councell. c1483H. Baradoun in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 290 Anon ther is some obstacle or thyng That pullyth me thens, magre of my might. 1589Hay any Work (1844) 71 To pull the pride of Gods enemy an ase lower. 1642Rogers Naaman 38 When long-suffering hath spent it selfe in pulling them to repentance. 1676Dryden Aurengzebe i. i, Thou should'st have pull'd the Secret from my Breast, Torn out the bearded Steel to give me Rest. 1725Pope Odyss. xv. 349 Their wrongs and blasphemies ascend the sky, And pull descending vengeance from on high.
†b. To bring or draw (evil, calamity) upon. Obs. (superseded by draw v. 31).
1550Crowley Way to Wealth B iv b, Bi pulling vpon your self that vengeaunce of God. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. i. i. i. i. (1651) 2 Crying sins..which pull these several plagues..upon our heads. 1662Hibbert Body Div. i. 333 Sin pulls sickness upon us. 1690W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 333 To pull mischief on one's pate.
c. intr. To exert influence or ‘root’ for (a person, etc.); to sympathize with, favour. Chiefly N. Amer.
1903C. B. Gilbert in Forum (N.Y.) XXXV. 311 Such committees are exposed to all kinds..of influence..all pulling for this or that applicant. 1922G. Ade Let. 22 Nov. (1973) 85 Tomorrow I go up to LaFayette to pull for Purdue against Indiana and I hope we may win at least one game. 1949National Geogr. Mag. Sept. 321/1 I'm usually pulling for the Indians instead of the cowboys. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 39 It sure helps to get this evidence that so many people at home are pulling for us. 1970G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard ii. 73 The Governor was pulling for him with the Divisional D[etective] C[hief] S[uperintendent].
d. trans. To attract (custom); to secure (patronage). Freq. absol.
1905Calkins & Holden Mod. Advertising xi. 264 The advertiser likes to know which particular mediums pull best. 1929L. F. Carr America Challenged 96 Both Republicans and Democrats have tried to pull the farmer vote by favoring legislation which the Populists had demanded. 1938S. V. Benét Thirteen O'Clock iv. 234 I'd done some advertising copy for the firm that pulled. 1962R. Stout Gambit (1963) iii. 36 She attracts. She pulls. 1974S. Marcus Minding Store (1975) xi. 228 The booklets pulled fairly well, both in store response and through the mails. 1976Record Mirror 3 Apr. 21/1 Brook Benton..can still regularly pull standing-room-only audiences for his live gigs.
e. N.Z. (See quot. 1933.)
1933L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 18 Nov. 15/7 Pull, a dog pulls sheep when he brings them towards his masters. 1935G. L. Meredith Adventuring in Maoriland v. 47 [The dog] eventually ‘pulled’ the mob on the slope of a hill. 1938R. M. Burdon High Country x. 107 The heading dog is silent and is used to ‘pull’ or bring sheep back to the shepherd.
f. To earn (a wage or salary). See also pull down (sense 25 f) and pull in (sense 26 b). colloq.
1937‘M. Innes’ Hamlet, Revenge! ii. viii. 197 I'm twenty-two and pulling twelve pounds a week.
g. coarse slang. To pick up a partner (for sexual purposes); spec. to copulate with. So to pull a train, to copulate successively with more than one partner.
1965C. Brown Manchild in Promised Land i. 15 They thought that I was one of the guys who had pulled a train on their sister in the park the summer before. Ibid. iv. 112 If you gon pull a bitch, you can'[t] get excited and let her know that you want that pussy so bad you about to go crazy. 1965Sunday Express 25 July 17/2 As a young man I could never pull (pick up) any birds of my own class. 1973M. Amis Rachel Papers 23, I could easily pull the village idiotess, who in any case, one windless summer night, had wanked Geoffrey and me off through the school railings, simultaneously. 1973Boyd & Parkes Dark Number vi. 69 Five years ago you did the big male-menopause bit, didn't you? Skulking off to Paris to prove you could still pull the birds. 1973P. Cave Speed Freaks viii. 77 ‘Wanna pull a train for the movie?’ Mucky asked Dodo, who was still unclothed. She shrugged resignedly. 1974H. L. Foster Ribbin' iv. 148 To ‘pull a train’ is for a female to have consecutive sexual intercourse with numbers of males. The female pulling the train may do so voluntarily for financial remuneration, forcefully, or out of fear. Ibid. 149 Trains are pulled everywhere... Selby..described Tralala pulling endless trains in Brooklyn. 1976P. Cave High Flying Birds iv. 47 She's certainly worth pulling... But I reckon you can forget it as long as she's got her mother with her.
12. a. To take a draught or drink of (liquor); to draw or suck (a draught of liquor) into the mouth; to drink from (a vessel); also to pull off. Also absol.[Perhaps orig. suggested by Du., LG. pull-en, EFris. püll-en to drink (esp. from a jug or bottle), to tipple, f. obs. Du. pulle (mod. pul), LG. pulle, EFris. pülle, pül a jug, stone bottle, held by continental etymologists to be a shortening of MDu. ampulle ampul; but evidently viewed in Eng. as a sense of the native vb.: cf. pull n.2 5.] 1436Libel Eng. Policy v. in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 169 That twoo Fflemmynges togedere wol undertake..or they rise onys, to drinke a barelle fulle, of gode berkyne: so sore they hale and pulle. c1450Cov. Myst. xiv. (Shaks. Soc.) 142 Syr, in good ffeyth oo draught I pulle. 1595Locrine ii. ii. 147 This makes us work for company To pull the tankards cheerfully. 1608Healey Discov. New World 59 Now so many stoopes must hee pull of, or else hee is held an vngratefull, vnmannerly fellow. 1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins xxviii. (1883) 79/2, I set a bowl of punch before them..which they pulled off plentifully. 1820J. H. Reynolds Fancy 22 Give us the keg, we'll pull a little Deady.
b. intr. To draw or suck at (a pipe, cigar, etc.). Also const. on.
1861Dickens Gt. Expect. xv, Joe..pulled hard at his pipe. 1888Rider Haggard Col. Quaritch v, He sat there..and pulled at his empty pipe. 1897T. De Leon Novelette Trilogy v. 44 He..strode rapidly homeward; pulling hard..on the dead cigar between his lips.
c. trans. To draw (beer) from a keg, etc., by means of a pump or tap.
1969Sydney Morning Herald 24 May 1/10 During Thursday's strike by hotel staff, the manager..pulled 17½ 18-gallon kegs from two taps between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. 1975M. Kenyon Mr Big v. 46 The muscled barmaid pulled pints.
13. trans. Uses implying an adv.
†a. = pull down (25) (obs.).
b. = pull off (27 a).
a.1607Shakes. Cor. iii. ii. 1 Let them pull all about mine Eares, present me Death on the Wheele. a1621Fletcher Isl. Princess ii. i, I'le pull your courage, King. a1623― Wife for Month v. iii, His ranke flesh shall be pull'd with daily fasting. 1655Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 158 These last fitts of discontent..have soe pulled the Queene that she may want strength to see another sommer.
b.1888Bryce Amer. Commw. II. App. 641 They pull their coats. The field is worked row by row and hill by hill.
III. In technical senses, with specific objects expressed or understood.
14. trans. Printing. In the old hand-press, To draw (the bar of the press) towards one, so as to press down the platen upon the sheet or forme; also intr. or absol. Hence, To print upon (a sheet) or from (a forme) in this way; to make or take (an impression, proof, or copy) by printing; to print off.
a. trans.1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxiv. ⁋7 Then..Running in the Carriage, [he] Pulls that Sheet. Ibid., If the Impression of the last Pulled Side, stands within the Impression of the first Pulled Side. 1771Luckombe Hist. Printing 336 He lays another sheet..upon the Tympan-sheet.., and Pulls these two sheets. Then he..turns the other side of the Register-Sheet..and Pulls upon that the second side of the Register-sheet. Ibid. 357 The Press-man..Pulls the Bar towards him. 1876Trevelyan Macaulay (1880) I. 172 The sheets had been pulled. 1881Times 4 Jan. 3/6 The remainder of the bitumen film is removed and impressions are pulled from it like any other etched plate. 1882J. Southward Pract. Print. (1884) 418 One of them pulls or works the [hand] press. 1900Pall Mall Mag. Oct. 179 A few copies were pulled before the disaster occurred.
b. intr. or absol.1653Urquhart Rabelais i. li, He appointed them to pull at the Presses of his Printing-house, which he had set up. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxiv. ⁋7 He..turns down the Frisket and Tympan on the Form..and Pulls as before. 1771Luckombe Hist. Printing 365 His Companion that Pulls..casts his eye upon every single sheet.
15. a. intr. or absol. To pull an oar so as to move a boat; to row; to transport or convey oneself in a boat; to proceed by rowing.
1676Shadwell Virtuoso ii. 20 Come along, pull away, Boys. Now, my choice Lads. 1697W. Dampier Voy. round World (1699) 498 Pull away, an expression usual among English Seamen, when they are Rowing. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. ix. 230 They exerted their utmost strength in pulling out to sea. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 511 He ordered his men to pull for the beach. 1859Green Oxf. Stud. i. (O.H.S.) 17 Familiar to Oxford men pulling lazily on a summer's noon to Godstow. 1907G. John Voice fr. China xi. 222 We pulled out and anchored in mid-stream.
b. trans. To pull (an oar or sculls); hence, to row, to propel (a boat) by rowing; to transport or convey in a boat by rowing.
to pull one's weight, to row with effect in proportion to one's weight; also fig., to perform one's share of work, to take one's share of responsibility; also to pull weight. to pull stroke: see stroke n.
1820J. H. Reynolds Fancy (1906) 35 And oft on Sundays, scorning land,..I've pulled a girl, with blister'd hand, And bleeding heart, through Chelsea Reach! 1835Marryat Jac. Faithf. xxi, You know old deaf Stapleton, whose wherry we have so often pulled up and down the river? 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xiv. 36 The next day we pulled the agent ashore. 1854Thackeray Newcomes xxx, Lady Kew still pulls stroke oar in our boat. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. i, The girl rowed, pulling a pair of sculls very easily. 1897Daily News 10 Feb. 6/3 In boating phraseology, he ‘pulled his weight’..; he was not a mere passenger. 1904Kipling Traffics & Discov. 278 They need a lot of working up before they can pull their weight in the boat. 1921[see weight n.1 10 c]. 1925E. F. Norton Fight for Everest: 1924 98 No members of the climbing party pulled more weight in the team than these two by their unostentatious unselfish gruelling work. 1931Times 27 Feb. 16/5 Referring to people in the administrative grade who did not ‘pull their weight’, Sir Alfred Woodgate said that assistant principals who had been twice passed over for promotion to principals were a menace to the office and should not be allowed to remain. 1948M. Laski Tory Heaven x. 138 Lord Starveleigh asked him down to address the electors... We're all expected to pull our weight, you know. 1976J. B. Hilton Gamekeeper's Gallows xii. 115 How long was he going to put up with me living off the fat of the land in his kitchen, not pulling my weight with his other servants?
c. Of a boat: (a) intr. with passive sense, to be pulled or rowed. (b) trans. to pull (so many) oars, to be fitted for, or be rowed with (so many) oars.
1804in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1845) V. 496 She should be fitted so as to pull thirty-eight sweeps and two skulls. 1805J. Smith in Naval Chron. XV. 75 The other [boat], from pulling heavy, not being able to get up. 1829Chron. in Ann. Reg. 127/1 She pulls six oars. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xiii, The boats pulled in shore.
16. trans. To arrest in the name of justice. Also, to make a raid on (a gambling house, etc.). slang. Cf. pull up (35 d) and pull in (sense 26 e).
1811Lex. Balatr. s.v., To be pulled; to be arrested by a police officer. c1811in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 77 He had twice been pull'd,..but got off by going to sea. 1871Figaro 15 Apr. 5/2 The police ‘pulled’ every Keno establishment in the city. ‘Pulling’ is the slang for seizing the instruments, and arresting the players and proprietors. 1888Rider Haggard Col. Quaritch xxxiv, He pulled me, and I was fined two pounds by the beak. 1907J. Masefield Tarpaulin Muster 205 The police entered..and ‘pulled the joint’—that is, they arrested and fined the proprietor. 1931‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route 189 He's pulled for a vag, his excuses won't do. ‘Thirty days,’ said the judge. 1950Wodehouse Nothing Serious 244 Doom had come upon The Cedars... The joint had been pulled. 1970G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 10 They..pulled drunks and bathed tramps, saw children across the road and directed traffic.
17. a. Racing. To hold in or check (a horse), esp. so as to cause it to lose in a race. Also absol. In quot. 1906 fig. to check, keep back.
c1800S. Chifney in H. H. Dixon Post & Paddock v. (1856) 84 The phrase at Newmarket is, that you should pull your horse to ease him in his running... He should be enticed to ease himself an inch at a time. 1861G. J. Whyte-Melville Good for N. xxviii, If you were there [at the Derby], you'll agree with me that Belphegor was pulled. 1888Sir C. Russell in Times 26 June 4/4 If jockeys pulled horses in order to prevent them from winning. 1889Tablet 6 July 11/2 Whether a jockey rides to win or has been bribed to pull. 1906R. Kipling in Westm. Gaz. 20 Oct. 16/1 My point is that the books were ‘pulled’ simply and solely because they were not sold to the ‘Times’ on terms which would have enabled the ‘Times’ to undersell the booksellers.
b. Boxing. In phr. to pull one's punches, to hold back or check one's blows. Also fig., to use less force than one is capable of exerting, to be gentle or lenient, esp. in criticism or punishment.
1934in Webster. 1937H. L. Ickes Secret Diary (1954) II. 88 He talked about the judiciary and he didn't pull his punches at any time, although neither was he in any degree personal. 1939L. Jacobs Rise of Amer. Film 459 Either because Vidor ‘pulled his punches’ at the revolution or because..he was confused. 1947People 22 June 5/3 Two of his boys recently fought for two solid hours—and no pulled punches—to provide a minute and a half's action in the actual film. 1955A. L. Rowse Expansion Eliz. Eng. 133 He charges Ormonde with..pulling his punches in pursuit of the rebels. 1957D. J. Enright Apothecary's Shop 209 The fact—not a new one—that Eliot doesn't pull his punches. 1960Times 4 Feb. 11/2 Lady Albemarle's committee have not pulled their punches. 1973P. O'Donnell Silver Mistress xi. 191 It was a demonstration match. The kicks, chops and punches were pulled at the last instant. 1977Time Out 28 Jan.–3 Feb. 33/3 The film pulls all its political punches, settling instead for sentimental narrative.
18. Cricket. To strike (a ball) from the off to the leg side; also transf. with the bowler as obj. So in Golf, to drive a ball widely to the left. Also absol. = draw v. 14. Subsequently also used in Baseball (see quot. 1976).
1851W. Clark in W. Bolland Cricket Notes 143 Never try to pull a straight ball across you. 1884Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 122 His tendency to pull lost him his wicket more than once. 1892Daily News 17 June 3/7 In trying to pull a ball, he was easily caught at mid-on. 1894Westm. Gaz. 30 June 6/2 At 119 Briggs was bowled in attempting to pull Martin. 1897Ranjitsinhji Cricket 156 There are players who can pull with great effect. 1899Westm. Gaz. 25 Aug. 3/1 Errors of style which cause you to top, slice, or pull your strokes [at golf]. 1901Scotsman 9 Sept. 4/7 At the fifth Vardon pulled his second under a fence. 1943Amer. Speech XVIII. 105 If he can pull or place the ball he has a better chance of getting a hit. 1976Webster's Sports Dict. 334/1 Pull,..[in baseball] to hit the ball to the field on the same side of the plate as the batter stands when he takes his normal position in the batter's box.
19. Oil Industry. To pull up or withdraw (casing, etc.) from a well.
1916Johnson & Huntley Princ. Oil & Gas Production xiv. 154 The hole in most cases gradually fills up at the bottom with cavings from the walls and sometimes from the roof of the oil sand. This makes it necessary to pull the tubing and clean the well. 1938L. V. W. Clark in A. E. Dunstan et al. Sci. of Petroleum I. ix. 434/2 In this position the string may be rotated as well as pulled or lowered. 1960C. Gatlin Petroleum Engin. x. 170/1 A sudden decrease in penetration rate..may mean that the inner barrel is jammed or plugged and the assembly should be pulled for inspection. 1974P. L. Moore et al. Drilling Practices Man. xii. 308 If the well kicks when pulling the drill string, the formation fluid will enter the entire well bore below the drill string.
IV. Phrases.
20. a. to pull a face, pull faces: to draw the countenance into a grimace, to distort the features: see face n. 6 b; to pull a (sanctimonious, etc.) face, to put on an expression of the specified kind; to pull a long face: see long a.1 1 c.
1828Craven Gloss. (ed. 2), Pull-faces, to distort the features. a1845Hood T. Trumpet xxviii, Just suppose..You see a great fellow a-pulling a face. ― Ode to Rae Wilson iv, No solemn sanctimonious face I pull. 1855Thackeray Rose & Ring vi, The Lord Chancellor..pulled a very long face because the prince could not be got to study the Paflagonian laws. 1877Mrs. Forrester Mignon I. 162 Don't pull sucht a long face.
b. to pull foot, also to pull it, to run away, to take to one's heels; to run with all one's might; see foot n. 29. to pull one's freight (U.S.) to depart quickly. colloq.
1804Fessenden Yankee Doodle Poems 96 She flew straight out of sight As fast as she could pull it. 1818[see foot n. 29]. 1833M. Scott Tom Cringle xi. (1842) 251 The whole crew pulled foot as if Old Nick had held them in chase. 1876Whitby Gloss., Pull feeat. ‘Thoo'l hae te pull feeat te owertak 'em’. 1895F. Remington Pony Tracks 252 The wily old fellow..had discreetly ‘pulled his freight’. 1905‘O. Henry’ in Everybody's Mag. XIII. 814/2 The Kid..considered it not incompatible with his indisputable gameness to perform that judicious tractional act known as ‘pulling his freight’. 1913J. London Valley of Moon ii. xvii. 277, I guess we got a celebration comin', seein' as we're going to pull up stakes an' pull our freight from the old burg. 1926in J. F. Dobie Rainbow in Morning (1965) 84 He pulled his freight in a hurry.
c. to pull a boner (etc.), to make a foolish mistake (boner2). U.S. slang.
1913[see boner2]. 1926Scribner's Mag. Sept. 246/1 The Washington newspaper correspondents are the pick of the land, and their dinners are not the softest spots in the lives of the speakers. It is no place to pull a bloomer. 1929M. Lief Hangover xv. 234, I pulled an awful boner when I was up in Newport last summer. Ibid., That's nothing... I pulled a dumber thing than that once. 1967Boston Sunday Globe 23 Apr. b41/1 Apart from the shabby methods used by construction workers, who have been known to pull some boners, Moscovites are subjected to some truly baffling beauts from bumbling builders.
d. In various colloq. phrases denoting action or speech intended to deceive, shock, or amuse, as to pull a fast one (see fast a. 11), to pull a gag, to pull a trick, etc.
1914‘High Jinks, Jr.’ Choice Slang 17 Pull a punk one (to), to tell a poor joke. 1915[see dope n. 4]. 1922G. Ade Let. 11 Oct. (1973) 83 The plot of the piece was that George and Frank both loved the same girl and Frank pulled a lot of dirty stuff and deceived the girl for a while but eventually virtue triumphed. 1929M. Lief Hangover xv. 235, I can tell you about the gag one of our better⁓known critics pulled in his review of Dillingham's new musical comedy. 1932E. Wallace When Gangs came to London xxiii. 232 ‘Fantastical,’ suggested Jiggs. ‘I'm getting quite used to the word. It's the one you pull when any hard-sense suggestion is made to you.’ 1937G. Heyer They found him Dead xiii. 260 Not that I think anyone would pull the same trick twice. 1940Wodehouse Eggs, Beans & Crumpets 238 Your aunt..has a right to early information about any rough stuff that is being pulled on the premises. 1957H. Roosenburg Walls came tumbling Down ix. 208 Just be a little more careful about your company next time you pull a stunt like that. 1976M. Machlin Pipeline xxviii. 333 For Christ sake, don't think about pulling any movie-type heroics. 1978Guardian Weekly 2 Apr. 6/5 Many [U.S. coal] miners are now threatening to pull wildcat strikes.
e. to pull a job, robbery (etc.), to commit a crime, usu. theft. colloq. (chiefly U.S.).
1915Policeman's Monthly Dec. 17/3 He replied that he had often noticed just before they were going to ‘pull a job’ his partner was happy. 1923‘B. L. Standish’ Lego Lamb, Southpaw viii. 58 Yet, by your own confession, you came over here to ‘pull a job’. 1937Research Stud. State Coll. Washington Mar. 19 Some boys think its an honor..to say..that they pulled jobs with such and such gangsters. 1967[see graft v.4]. 1972J. Wambaugh Blue Knight (1973) i. 28 A federal fugitive who..carried a gun and pulled stickups. 1973E. Bullins Theme is Blackness 160 Tootsie didn't work steady but we still ran together. Even pulled an occasional job. 1973Philadelphia Inquirer (Today Suppl.) 7 Oct. 14/1, I even pulled three robberies in one night—two drugstores and a haberdashery. 1978Detroit Free Press 5 Mar. b 1/1, I suggested we pull a robbery.
f. to pull leather, to grasp the saddle horn in order to avoid being thrown from a bucking horse (see also quot. 1933). U.S.
1916Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 19 July 5/4 They [sc. bad horses] are still outlaws and..are guaranteed to send almost any rider to pulling leather. 1923J. H. Cook 50 Yrs. Old Frontier 16 He certainly made me ‘pull leather’, and I clung to his mane as well in order to keep in close touch with him. 1925C. E. Mulford Cottonwood Gulch v. 60, I'm pullin' leather, but I'm stickin' to the saddle. 1933J. V. Allen Cowboy Lore iii. 59/2 Pulling leather, holding on to the saddle with the hands while riding a bucking animal, prohibited by the rules of all contests and scorned by all real cowboys.
g. to pull (one's) rank, to employ (one's) superior status in exacting obedience, co-operation, or privilege. Also to pull stripes (etc.). orig. U.S.
1923Amer. Legion Weekly 23 Feb. 18 Don't pull your rank on him, K.P. You were only a private yourself, once. 1926Amer. Speech II. 62/2 Give him..officers who do not ‘pull rank’, and he is well content. 1958V. Canning Dragon Tree 90 He disliked pulling his rank to claim any personal privileges. 1958M. K. Joseph I'll soldier no More xiii. 242 Don't you pull your stripes on me, sarge. 1959N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 228 Teddy pulled seniority and they gave him his way. 1976H. MacInnes Agent in Place xiv. 148 ‘What if he refuses to go with them?’ ‘They'll be senior men, they'll pull rank.’
h. to pull a (proper name), to imitate, to behave in the manner of (the person named). colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1927New Republic 9 Mar. 72/1 The following is a partial list of words denoting drunkenness now in common use in the United States... To pull a Daniel Boone. 1931Technol. Rev. Nov. 67/1 To pull a Lindbergh means to do something heroic, but to go Lindbergh means to get the flying fever in a rather callow manner. 1935Wodehouse Luck of Bodkins xiii. 133 He'll be much happier in the long run if he gets it into his bean that he can't pull a James Cagney on me every time he's a mite upset.
i. to pull one's pud(ding) or wire: to masturbate. slang.
1944[see pud n.3 2]. 1961Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1101/2 Pull one's pudding,..may have originated pull one's wire. 1970J. Osborne Right Prospectus 30 Remember what I said about sex. Keep away from the maids and pretty boys. As for pulling your wire, that's no occupation for a gentleman. 1970W. Smith Gold Mine xxvi. 61 Jesus... That was ugly. I felt like a peeping tom, watching someone, you know, pulling his pudding.
j. to pull the rug (out) from under (a person or thing), and varr., to weaken or unsettle (something) by an unexpected withdrawal of support or by some other action; to let down or betray (someone). colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1946Time 23 Dec. 17/3 Strikes, for instance, would pull the rug out from under the best of prospects. 1948Sun (Baltimore) 15 Dec. 8/3 Although both are reported to feel that United States commitments in western Europe preclude the ‘bailing out’ of Chiang's regime..they have chosen to say nothing that would ‘pull the rug out’ from under Chiang. 1952Manch. Guardian Weekly 14 Aug. 3/2 What the President [sc. Truman] was talking about was his own part in clinching the nomination of Governor Stevenson. It entailed pulling the rug out from under Mr. Harriman. 1966‘W. Haggard’ Power House xvi. 179 James Mott had Victor's story... At the worst it could pull the carpet out. 1967A. Hunter Gently Continental ix. 132 The mat is pulled from under Shelton when he dares to assent to this point. 1973Physics Bull. Feb. 75/2 Professor Jewkes..proceeds to pull the rug from under many of the assumptions and arguments used to justify government support of ‘high technologies’. 1974W. Garner Big enough Wreath xiii. 196 He did his last job for you... Not too successfully..which is another reason for pulling the rug from under. 1978Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. c 12/2 When the rug was pulled out from under me in movies and television I went back to the theater.
k. Other phrases mentioned under senses.
pull caps, wigs: see sense 2; p. a crow, 5; p. by the ear, the nose, etc., 7 b; p. a finch, 6; p. one's coat, 7 b; p. on one's head, 8 b; p. one's leg, p. the long bow, 7 d; p. the other one, 7 d; p. in or to pieces, 8 b; p. a pigeon, a plover, 6; p. for prime, 3; p. one's punches, 17 b; p. the strings, the wires, 7 e; p. a train, 11 g; p. one's weight, 15 b.
V. With adverbs.
21. pull about. trans. To pull from side to side, this way and that way; colloq. to treat roughly, unceremoniously, or as a subject for arbitrary operations.
17..Cock Robin's Courtship, In came the Cuckoo..He caught hold of Jenny, and pulled her about. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Pulling-time, the evening of the fair-day when the wenches are pulled about. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 230 More than three years before, they had pulled him about and called him Hatchetface. 1865W. White E. Eng. II. 67 He's hevin' his place pull'd about. 1905E. F. Benson Act in Backwater xix, If there is one thing I dread, it is being pulled about by a professional man [i.e. a surgeon].
22. pull apart, asunder. trans. To separate by pulling.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 100 And Pers, for puire teone pollede hit a-sonder. 1545Elyot Dict., Distractio, separacion, alienacion, or pullynge away, or a sunder. 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Distrahere cohærentia, to pull a sunder or seperate thyngs ioyned. 1796C. Marshall Garden. v. (1813) 68 Either carefully pulled, or cut asunder with a sharp instrument; as the case may require.
23. pull away.
a. trans. To pluck or snatch away; to withdraw or remove by force.
† pull away the shoulder, to turn away, turn a deaf ear.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 185 Þe grave i-pulled away, he spak to seint Cuthbert. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas iv. vi. (1554) 104 Whan he gan away the mantel pul. c1440Pallad. on Husb. iv. 152 Pulle euery blacke away that thou may fynde. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. 290 The Azamoglans, tribute children,..are collected from among the Christians, from whom..they are pulled away yeerely perforce. 1611Bible Zech. vii. 11 They refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace ix. 187 If men..pull away the shoulder from you, and will not be concerned about your troubles.
b. intr. (Cf. 15 and away 7.)
c. Of a vehicle: to draw away, as from the kerb on starting. Also absol.
1955H. Kurnitz Invasion of Privacy (1956) iv. 32 The grey convertible..pulled away from the curb. 1974Sunday Post (Glasgow) 14 Apr. 6/2 As it [sc. a bus] pulled away I was horrified to see a man..pick up the old gents shopping bag and hurry away. 1976‘P. B. Yuill’ Hazell & Menacing Jester iv. 44 He was pulling away from the kerb before my reggie reached the upholstery.
24. pull back.
a. See simple senses and back adv.b. trans. To draw or keep back (in space or in progress).
c. To date further back.
†d. To subtract.
†e. To remove, withdraw.
1559Bp. Scot in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. App. vii. 12 Ther be two thinges that do..as it were, pull me backe from speaking. 1574Bourne Regiment for Sea xix. (1577) 51 You must pull backe so much from the poynt that the shippe hath sayled by, as the heygth of the pole doth shewe vnto you. 1610Willet Hexapla Dan. 298 Then must the beginning of Cyrus raigne be pulled back an 11. yeares. 1656Ridgley Pract. Physick 217 The cause must be pulled back by opening the Liver Vein. 1701Stanhope tr. Augustine's Medit. ii. 6 The wickedness of my own heart dismays and pulls me back. Mod. He caught cold on the way home, which has pulled him back considerably.
f. Sport. To score (a goal) restoring, or serving towards restoring, level terms between two teams.
1976Northumberland Gaz. 26 Nov. 20/6 Nicholson was on hand to score from the rebound. Annitsford pulled one back but Nicholson was then again on target with a magnificent shot. 1978Lochaber News 31 Mar. 20/3 In the 60th minute Donald Murchison pulled one back. Five minutes later Mike MacPherson equalised.
25. pull down.
a. See simple senses and down adv.
[1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 73, I prayed pieres to pulle adown an apple.] 1530Palsgr. 669/1 Pull hym downe out of the tre. 1695J. Edwards Perfect. Script. 554 That temporal punishment which the Corinthians pull'd down upon their heads. 1861Dickens Gt. Expect. xlvi, He should pull down the blind.
b. trans. To demolish, lay in ruins, destroy (a building).
1513in G. P. Scrope Castle Combe (1852) 291 note, Saynd hye wold polle don the tyllys of my hos. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 219 The house should be pulled downe. 1560Bible (Genev.) Luke xii. 18, I wil pul downe my barnes, and buylde greater. 1677Providence Rec. (1895) VIII. 16 Such as haue set vp fences in ye Common..the Councell shall cause them to be pulled downe. 1712Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 294 This Day they began to pull down the Printing House by the Theater. 1891Law Rep., Weekly Notes 78/2 Desirous of pulling the house down and building a new one on its site.
c. To seize and bring to the ground; to overcome (a hunted animal).
1709Steele Tatler No. 76 ⁋1 The last Stag that was pull'd down. 1886H. Smart Outsider i, You weren't within half a field of the fair unknown when they pulled the fox down.
d. To lower or depress in health, spirits, size, strength, value, etc.; also, to ‘bring low’, to humble, humiliate. † to pull down a side = to pluck down a side: see pluck v. 3 b.
a1586Sidney Ps. xxxv. vi, I did pull down my self, fasting for such. 16073rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 53/2 They haue two tons of sassafras, which if thrown on the market..will pull down the price for a long time. 1636Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence iv. ii, If I hold your card, I shall pull down the side, I am not good at the game. 1743Blair Grave 260 A fit of common sickness pulls thee down With greater ease. 1822Cobbett Weekly Reg. 9 Mar. 600 Paper-money pulls down the value of gold. 1890Spectator 23 Aug., To pull down the average.
e. To depose or dethrone (a sovereign) violently; to overthrow (a government) by force.
1828Macaulay Ess., Hallam (1872) 71 In such times a sovereign like Louis the Fifteenth..would have been pulled down before his misgovernment had lasted for a month. 1855― Hist. Eng. xiv. III. 442 One at least of the Apostles appears to have lived to see four Emperors pulled down in little more than a year. Ibid. xviii. IV. 163 That the author..wished to pull down the existing government there could be little doubt.
f. To earn (money, esp. as a wage or salary). slang.
1917S. Lewis Job xiii. 192 Good job, too, assistant book-keeper, pulling down his little twenty-seven-fifty regular. 1919Wodehouse Damsel in Distress xxi. 256 George pulls down in a good year, during the season—around five thousand dollars a week. 1922[see berry n.1 1 c]. 1933D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise v. 78 ‘So you have become one of the world's workers.’.. ‘Yes; I'm pulling down four solid quid a week.’ 1968New Yorker 9 Nov. 56 How much does your average cornettist pull down per year? 1976N. Thornburg Cutter & Bone i. 21 He..had been pulling down twenty-five thousand a year.
26. pull in.
a. See simple senses and in adv. to pull in one's horns: see horn n. 5 b.
b. trans. To get into one's possession. Cf. prec. sense.
1529S. Fish Supplic. Beggers (1871) 2 Whate money pull they yn by probates of testamentes. 1841Punch 17 July 6/2 I'm a boy in a school, with a bag of apples, which..I naturally sell at a penny a-piece, and so look forward to pulling in a considerable quantity of browns. 1973Scotsman 13 Feb. 8/2 The Archbishop of York..pulls in {pstlg}6000 a year.
†c. To withdraw from use or view. Obs.
1549Cheke Hurt Sedit. (1641) 5 You say, pull in the Scriptures, for we will haue no knowledge of Christ. 1622Fletcher Sea Voy. iii. i, All my spirits..Pull in their powers, and give me up to destiny.
d. To rein in (one's horse); hence fig. Also intr. or absol. To check or bring oneself to a stop in any course.
1605Shakes. Macb. v. v. 42, I pull in Resolution, and begin To doubt th' Equiuocation of the Fiend. 1780T. Twining in Recreat. & Stud. (1882) 78, I must pull in, or my letter will never end. 1792Southey Lett. (1856) I. 9, I pull in pretty sharply, and slowly descend. 1875W. S. Hayward Love agst. World 11 Let us pull in a little, and take it quietly.
e. To arrest (a person); = sense 16.
1893S. Crane Maggie x. 89 ‘I'll tump 'im till he can't stand.’.. ‘What's deh use! Yeh'll git pulled in!’ 1923E. Rice Adding Machine vi. 101 You read in the paper all the time about guys gettin' pulled in for annoyin' women. 1933D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise ix. 162 We could pull him in any day, but he's not the real big noise. 1956[see heeled ppl. a. 2]. 1973W. M. Duncan Big Timer xxiii. 159 If you hadn't come voluntarily, I'd have pulled you in.
f. intr. Of a locomotive train: to enter a station.
1905D. G. Phillips Plum Tree 91, I didn't know you till you took out your watch with the monogram on the back, just as we were pulling in. 1929S. Leacock Iron Man 143 That's your train pulling in now.
g. absol. or intr. Of a driver: to drive a vehicle to the side of a road or off a road (for some specified purpose). Also of the vehicle itself.
1938G. Greene Brighton Rock iii. iii. 122 Notices said: ‘Pull in Here’, ‘Mazawattee tea’, ‘Genuine Antiques’. 1959I. Jefferies Thirteen Days i. 13, I was forced to pull off the road on the way back... I would have pulled in thereabouts anyway. 1975M. Russell Murder by Mile viii. 81 Pulling in for a truck to pass, Hamilton sat tapping the wheel.
27. pull off.
a. See simple senses and off adv. to pull off one's hat, etc., to uncover the head in salutation or reverence.
c1000[see sense 1]. c1450M.E. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 92 Pul of þe croppes, and clippe hem wyþ a peyre sheris on smale peces. 1508Dunbar Flyting 157 Thow plukkis the pultre, and scho pullis off the pennis. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 83 Pull off my bootes and spurres. 1673[R. Leigh] Transp. Reh. 82 Every man has not the good fortune..to pull off his hatt and make a leg with an air. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. iv. 57, I pulled off my clothes. 1776Withering Brit. Plants (1796) I. 259 Carefully and slowly pull off the petals. 1834L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine 42 They pulled off their hats to one another with great civility.
b. Musketry. to pull off, to pull the trigger so as to deflect the shot from its true aim.
c. Sporting. To win (a prize or contest); hence (colloq.) to secure (some benefit); to succeed in gaining or effecting (something).
1870Figaro 9 Nov. 5/1 These sweepstakes, in which the commissioners are always to ‘pull off’ the money. 1883Mrs. E. Kennard Right Sort v, Now and again..Jack Clinker managed to pull off some ‘good thing’ on the turf. 1887Black Sabina Zembra 126 We haven't pulled it off this time, mother. 1902E. Banks Newspaper Girl 44 ‘I've got a fine thing for you, if you can pull it off!’ 1918Policeman's News 25 Feb. 3/2 Criminals can no longer dispose of loot in Reading without the sleuths having a pretty good insight as to who pulled off the job. 1923H. G. Wells Men like Gods i. i. 6 He was not really clever enough to pull such a thing off. 1968Times 15 Oct. 16/8 Having succeeded in their earlier experiments, there seems no reason why they should not pull off another major ‘first’. 1977Time 15 Aug. 13/2 Both looked as if they had just pulled off some master stroke of détente.
d. To steal (something). Cf. sense 2 b. slang.
1883[see leather n. 2 e (a)].
e. Usu. refl. To cause (a person) to ejaculate by masturbation. coarse slang.
1922Joyce Ulysses 745 How did we finish it off yes O yes I pulled him off into my handkerchief pretending not to be excited. 1961Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1236/1 Pull oneself off, (of the male) to masturbate: low: late C. 19–20. 1966L. Cohen Beautiful Losers i. 4 Can an old scholar find love at last and stop having to pull himself off every night so he can get to sleep? 1971‘V. X. Scott’ Surrogate Wife 139 Spasms shook his entire body as I pulled him off.
f. intr. Surfing. To end a ride by bringing one's surfboard out of a wave. Cf. sense 29 g below.
1964B. Cooper in P. L. Dixon Men & Waves (1966) 189, I can't really recall my first wave, but I'm sure I caught an edge and had to pull off. 1967S. Reid in J. Severson Great Surfing 22/2 If someone were sliding faster than you, you had to pull off.
28. pull on.
a. See simple senses and on adv.
†b. trans. To induce, promote, cause; to pull on wine, to provoke thirst. Obs.
a1586Sidney Ps. vi. vi, Age, pul'd on with paines, all freshness fretteth. 1592Nashe P. Penilesse G iij, To haue some shooing horne to pull on your wine, as a rasher of the coles, or a redde herring. 1609Tourneur Fun. Poem Sir F. Vere 282 Punishments that justly pull On death. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes 37 For a whetstone, to pull on a cup of wine, we have dryed Neats tongues. 1670Dryden 2nd Pt. Conq. Granada iv. iii, That crime thou knowest..Shall an unknown and greater crime pull on. 1814Scott Wav. lx, Boots pulled on without stockings. 1894Doyle Mem. S. Holmes i. 7 He pulled on his large macintosh.
29. pull out.
a. See simple senses and out adv.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1914 Yf þat tre war tite pulled oute..with al þe rotes aboute. a1400–50Alexander 938 He prekis in-to þe palais to pull out þe quene. 1526Tindale Luke xiv. 5 Whiche of you shall haue an asse, or an oxe, fallen into a pitt, and will nott straight waye pull him out on the saboth daye? 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 19 We are like to haue biting Statutes Vnlesse his teeth be pull'd out. 1642J. Eaton Honey-c. Free Justif. 206 The Dogge..will presently flie in ones face, and bee ready if he can to pull out ones throat. 1711Hearne Collect. 10 Mar. III. 133 He pull'd out a pen-knife & stabb'd Mr. Harley. 1742P. Francis tr. Hor. Art Poetry 626 He fell in on purpose, and..Will hardly thank you if you pull him out.
†b. trans. To draw the lining out through slashes in (a sleeve or garment) so as to display it. Const. with, usually in the pa. pple. See puller 2, pulling vbl. n. 4. Obs.
1553in J. C. Jeaffreson Middlesex County Rec. (1886) I. 14 Unum par calligarum de panno laneo pulled oute with sarsenett. 1558in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 38 Undersleves of playne yellowe clothe of gowlde pulled oute under the armes with greene golde sarsenet. a1603Q. Eliz. Wardr. in Leisure Ho. (1884) 677/2 A pair of sleeves of gold, pulled out with lawn.
†c. To extend in length; to draw (a line). rare.
1571Digges Pantom. i. xxxv. L ij, Pull out from the centre a right line to the like number of degrees.
d. absol. or intr. Of a locomotive engine or train: To move out of a station; to draw out; hence, of a person: To go away, take one's departure; cf. 9 e; to row out: see 15. Also, to withdraw from an undertaking, to ‘get out’. orig. U.S. Also of a ship: to sail out of a harbour or port; of an aeroplane: to emerge from a dive; of a vehicle: to move outwards into another lane of traffic. Also of the driver, etc., or occupants of these means of transport.
1868Harper's Mag. Feb. 293/1 Breakfast over we ‘pulled out’, for the next station. 1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxviii. 287 We got under way..and pulled out for the summit again, with a fresh and vigorous step. 1884Missouri Republican 24 Feb. (Farmer Amer.), He knows that if he keeps his money in the..business..he will lose it all, and so he has pulled out. 1887F. Francis Saddle & Mocassin viii. 146 For a minute or two they stood looking at one another, and then Doc ‘pulled out’. 1891C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 18 The train that was to take me on..was nearly ready to ‘pull out’, as the phrase goes in America. 1902C. J. C. Hyne Mr. Horrocks, Purser 105 We pull out from here next Tuesday. 1917‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 46 We swerved violently, and they pulled out of their dive well away from us. 1938G. Greene Brighton Rock vii. ix. 349 A bus came upon them and pulled out just in time. 1942T. Rattigan Flare Path i. 30, I put the old Wimpey into a dive and..pulled out only a few feet above his head. 1951Manch. Guardian Weekly 15 Mar. 13/2 In the Far West, the San Francisco ‘Chronicle’ blanketed its whole page with the headline—‘Wage board approved increase of 10 per cent—labour members pull out’. 1961Listener 7 Dec. 962/1 Today they must choose—either to stay under an African government or to pull out..to face a new life. 1972‘A. York’ Expurgator i. iv. 59 The Mercedes was immediately in front of him. He pulled out, into the middle of the road,..and saw the lorry coming at him. 1977D. Bagley Enemy xx. 162 We can pull out and leave Ashton to sink or swim..or we can get him out ourselves.
e. colloq. To extend oneself vigorously; to work hard. Cf. to pull the stops out s.v. stop n.2
1866Trollope Belton Est. III. x. 272 There's no getting people really to pull out in this country.
f. Of a drawer, etc.: to be capable of being pulled open.
1943A. G. Hatcher in Mod. Lang. Notes LVIII. 12 Drawers pull out..easily.
g. intr. Surfing. (See quot. 1963.) Cf. pull off (sense 27 f above).
1963Surfing Yearbk. 42/2 Pull out, ending a ride by getting your board out of a wave. There are many different ways of pulling out. 1964J. Severson Mod. Surfing xvii. 157 You may also have the opportunity of pulling out before reaching the section. 1968D. Kahanamoku World of Surfing xiii. 127 You can also get wiped out when the wave begins to break in front of you. It's time to pull out of it and avoid an unwanted and unscheduled swim. 1971Studies in English (Univ. Cape Town) Feb. 27 This is called being locked in, because in such a condition it is virtually impossible to pull-out.
30. pull over.
a. See simple senses and over adv.
b. Of a driver: to bring a vehicle to the side of a road or street, or to some other place. Cf. sense 26 g above.
1930Morning Post 12 June 5, I considered that I had not time to pull over to my near side. 1932Sun (Baltimore) 24 Sept. 8/6 Notify him that you are actually about to pass. In most cases he will pull over for you. 1971It 2–16 June 8/1 He's signaling me to pull over! 1972D. Delman Sudden Death (1973) v. 135 The rain so heavy that..the wipers..were unable to cope... ‘Can't see too well,’ I said. ‘I better pull over.’
31. pull round.
a. See simple senses and round adv.
b. intr. To recover from sickness or fainting; to come round.
1891R. Buchanan Come, live with Me II. xx. 253 The danger's over..and the little one is pulling round. 1896Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 70 He thinks he's going to pull round again; but I'll bet on his not being alive this day week.
c. trans. To restore (a person) to health after sickness, etc.; to put into a healthier or better condition. Also transf.
1900E. Grey Outrageous Fortune iv. 37 The attack of meningitis..was fortunately only slight, and the excellent nursing I received..served to quickly pull me round. 1928Sunday Express 29 Apr. 20/1 In the second half Cardiff made a valiant attempt to pull the game round. 1955A. L. Rowse Expansion Eliz. Eng. 230 Smith had pulled the colony round at its lowest point. 1978Country Life 27 July 236/3 'Twas my turn to need help. Denwood pulled me round.
32. pull through.
a. See simple senses and through adv.
b. trans. To get (a person) through a difficult, dangerous, or critical condition or situation; to bring (a thing) to a successful issue; to accomplish.
1856Reade Never too late li, Youth and a sound constitution began to pull him through. 1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. viii, ‘We shall pull him through, please God’, said the Doctor. 1884Pall Mall G. 16 Oct. 3/2 The work..is now in good hands, and will be pulled through.
c. intr. (? for refl.) To get through sickness, a trial, or an undertaking with effort or difficulty; to succeed in accomplishing or enduring something difficult or severe. Also with through prep.
1852Dickens Bleak Ho. xxxvii, Bless your heart,..I shall be all right. I shall pull through, my dear. 1856Reade Never too late xv, You pulled through it, and so will he. 1879E. K. Bates Egypt. Bonds I. x. 233 She is very ill..but she may pull through after all. 1885Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 2 June 2/3 He is likely to pull through and pay a hundred cents on a dollar. 1891Kipling Light that Failed 172, I must pull through the business alone.
33. pull to. trans. To shut (a door, etc.) by drawing it towards oneself.
1898[see to adv. 4]. 1910[see listen v. 2 c]. 1922Joyce Ulysses 57 He pulled the halldoor to after him. 1946W. de la Mare Three Royal Monkeys v. 67 He skipped out and pulled-to the door-flap behind him.
34. pull together.
a. trans. See sense 8 and together. Also transf.
A rider is said to ‘pull his horse together’, when, by means of his legs and his reins, he makes it ‘collect’ or gather itself together.
1894W. Archer in World 15 Aug. 25/1 The last act wants a great deal of working-up and pulling together. 1925J. G. Bruce in E. F. Norton Fight for Everest: 1924 iii. 63 If the first party of porters could be pulled together again in twenty-four hours' time, they were then to be utilized to keep Camp III supplied from Camp II. 1952Listener 31 Jan. 189/1 He has tried to pull together all that has been said and written about the political struggle between the western allies and Moscow. 1978Amer. N. & Q. XVI. 142/1 A corpus of paintings not pulled together in any previous work.
b. to pull oneself together: to gather with an effort one's faculties or energies; to rouse or recover oneself; to rally. Also (non-refl.), to restore (a person) to a normal condition.
1872Punch 29 June 269/1 The process of pulling myself together and picking myself up. 1878Besant & Rice Celia's Arb. xiii, I realized this in a moment, and pulled myself together with an effort. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. III. xcvi. 349 It [the Republic] can pull itself together in moments of danger. 1906W. S. Maugham Bishop's Apron viii. 132 Now come and have tea... I know it'll pull you together.
c. intr. To act in unison; to work in harmony; to co-operate; also, to agree, ‘get on’ together.
1799Hist. in Ann. Reg. 302/2 In the marine language of admiral Mitchel, they pulled heartily together. 1805Wordsw. Waggoner i. 133 Ye pulled together with one mind. 1830Marryat King's Own xiii, It was a ship's company which pulled every way, as the saying is, when there was nothing to demand union: but let..danger appear..then they all pulled together. 1884Sir R. Baggallay in Law Times Rep. 14 June 467/2 Where tenants for life and trustees did not pull together, sales could not in such cases be effected.
35. pull up.
a. See simple senses and up adv.
c1400Destr. Troy 10858 And pull vp a port, let hom passe furthe. 1451J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. (E.E.T.S.) 13 Þat same nyth þei pulled up sail & stole þe schip from hir. 1488Nottingham Rec. III. 268 To pulhope pylys that was dryuen downe with flodys. 1766G. Williams Let. in G. Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) II. 42 After he has pulled up his stockings. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. xxvi. 264 One by one we pulled up the boats.
b. To drag out of the ground, or from where it is rooted or set, with the object of removal or destruction; to root out, demolish.
1382Wyclif Jer. i. 10, I haue set thee to dai vp..that thou pulle vp, and destroȝe, and springe abrod, and waste. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop i. xx, Whanne the flaxe was growen and pulled vp. 1532Act 23 Hen. VIII, c. 18 The said fishgarthes, piles, stakes,..and other engines..to be auoyded, and pulled vp. 1668Plymouth Col. Rec. (1857) VII. 143 Molesting him..in pulling vp his fence. 1765A. Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 112 The weeds themselves must be pulled up by the root. 1860Bartlett Dict. Amer. 348 The allusion is to pulling up the stakes of a tent.
†c. To lift up, raise with an effort. to pull up one's head, pull oneself up, to assume an erect attitude. Also, to pluck up, rouse up (one's heart, spirits, courage). Obs.
1390Gower Conf. I. 219 With that he pulleth up his hed And made riht a glad visage. a1400–50Alexander 2074 Þan pullis him vp þe proude kyng. c1430Freemasonry 606 Into the churche when thou dost gon, Pulle uppe thy herte to Crist, anon. 1460Lybeaus Disc. 1178 Up he pullede hys herte. 1586J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 161/2 Now they pull vp their spirits. 1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts, Joel iii. 10 Let those that are weake and fearefull pull up their spirits. 1737Whiston Josephus, Hist. iv. vi. §1 The people..pulled up their courage for a while.
d. To cause to stop; to stop; to arrest, to apprehend; esp. to apprehend and take before a magistrate; hence, to reprimand, reprove, rebuke.
1623in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) II. 392 A man, thinking nothing, pulled up his coach, and so made the horse start a little. 1800in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. IV. 254 A few evenings since I had pulled him up on Hounslow Heath. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Pull or pull up, to accost; stop; apprehend; or take into custody; as to pull up a Jack, is to stop a post-chaise on the highway. 1825C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 170 He was next day pulled up before the big wigs. 1836–9Dickens Sk. Boz, Last Cab-driver, [He] avowed his unalterable determination to ‘pull up’ the cab⁓man in the morning. 1864M. Creighton Let. 24 Aug. in Life & Lett. (1904) I. i. 12 Fellows won't stand being pulled up for breaking one school rule, when they know you break another. 1884J. Hall Chr. Home 119 It is difficult..before the company, to ‘pull up’ a boy, or to lecture a girl.
e. To tighten (reins) by drawing them towards oneself; to bring (a horse) to a standstill by doing this; also transf. to check (a person) in any course of action, esp. a bad course.
1787‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 35 Of course you drop the reins entirely on that side, and pull them up sharp, with both hands, on the other. 1827Disraeli Viv. Grey vi. i, Two horsemen pulled up their steeds beneath a wide oak. 1874Mahaffy Soc. Life Greece x. 295 Socrates is at once pulled up if he whispers. 1892Zangwill Bow Mystery 169 Well, I'll go slower; but pull me up if I forget to keep the brake on.
f. absol. Of a driver, etc.: To bring a horse or vehicle to a stop; also, of a horse or vehicle: To stop, come to a standstill.
1844J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. lv, The coachman pulled up. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xxii, He pulled up at an inn. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 314 [The horse] took fright, and galloped off... After he had gone about three-quarters of a mile, he pulled up, and one of the men was sent to secure him. 1874Burnand My Time x. 86 A carriage pulled up..close by the bridge.
g. refl. and intr. for refl. To check or stop oneself in any course of action.
1808E. S. Barrett Miss-led General 42 He pulled up now, surely?—No—played upon tick. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xliii, He pulled himself up short, in the fear lest he were going again to be false. 1883R. Churchill Sp. Edinb. 20 Dec., It is time, and high time, to pull up. Concede nothing more to Mr. Parnell.
h. intr. To advance one's position in a race or other contest. Also transf.
1893Outing (U.S.) XXII. 155/1 At forty yards Harding invariably led by a yard or more, but from this onward Cary pulled up, passing him at about sixty yards. 1936N. Streatfeild Ballet Shoes xvii. 276 The death of King George in January cut the audiences down to about a quarter..and they never really pulled up again.
Sense 6 a in Dict. becomes 6; sense 6 b is deleted. Add: [I.] [1.] g. Computing. To retrieve (a piece of data, etc.) from the ‘top’ of a stack (stack n. 1 f). Also const. up and absol. Opp. *push v. 1 o. Cf. *pop v.1 11.
1967Proc. AFIPS Conf. XXX. 495/1 The cycle time is 1 µsec for either write and push down one step or read and pull up one step. 1980Redbook Oct. 4/2 I've learned recently how to collapse data, how to pull tables and how to scan the banners. 1985Austral. Personal Computer Oct. 181/3 The inverse operation, taking a number from the stack, is called ‘pulling’ the number, or ‘popping’ it from the stack.
[III.] [17.] c. N. Amer. Sport. To withdraw (a player) from the game; to pull the goalie (Ice Hockey), to replace the goalkeeper during the course of a game with an additional attacking player. Also, to disqualify (a competitor).
1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §645/2 Retire a player...pull. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. 18/7 Marlboros pulled goalie Gerry McNamara and Obie O'Brien fired the puck into an empty net. 1976Washington Post 19 Apr. d3/2 With..Quebec goalie Richard Brodeur pulled in favor of a sixth attacker, McLeod stopped a blistering shot from Serge Bernier. 1980Running Sept. 40/3 We saw..the sensational disqualification of joint leaders Bautista and..home favourite, Anatoly Solomin. In fact, four of the leading eight at 5 km were later ‘pulled’, along with three others from the pack.
d. intr. Amer. Football. Of a lineman (esp. a guard): to withdraw from and cross behind the line of scrimmage to block opposing players and clear the way for a runner.
1942J. Da Grosa Functional Football (ed. 2) vi. 144 The defensive man can pull to either direction. 1956A. Danzig Hist. Amer. Football iii. 19/1 We started doing this in 1934 and found that a center could snap the ball and pull in one movement. 1969Bengtson & Hunt Packer Dynasty ii. 16 A former guard, he knew well who it is who opens holes..‘pulls’ suddenly from his usual position to complete special assignments. 1991Don Heinrich's Pro Preview 96/2 Surprisingly, he does his best work running and pulling. He plays too high to be a consistent in-line drive blocker.
e. trans. To take back into one's possession or control; to recall or rescind (a document); hence, to withdraw from publication, circulation, or use; spec. to cancel or revoke (a business deal, esp. a share issue). Also absol. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1967S. Faessler in Atlantic Monthly Apr. 107/1 One day a month was given over to repossessing merchandise from deadbeats. ‘Today I am pulling,’ he would say grimly. 1972H. Kemelman Monday the Rabbi took Off xlv. 263 ‘They [sc. the police] pulled his passport, didn't they?’ ‘No... Officially they had just mislaid it.’ 1973R. Hayes Hungarian Game lii. 312 He had moved easily in dip circles until the..State pulled his visa. 1978G. Bordman Amer. Musical Theatre ii. 96 Previous commitments forced it to be pulled when its initial booking ended. 1986Times 11 Oct. 21/5 Some dealers were convinced the deal had been pulled at the last minute after a disagreement over the price. 1987Economist 24 Oct. 29/2 Many in the City thought the chancellor..would lose his nerve and pull the issue.
Add:
7. e. to pull the lever: see *lever n.1 2 c. |