| 释义 |
▪ I. spoon, n.|spuːn|
Forms: α. 1 spoon, 1, 4–5 spon, 3–6 spone (5–6 sponne). β. 5 spoune, 6–7 spoun- (6 spown); 5– spoon, 6–7 spoone. γ. 5–6 north. and Sc. spoyn; north. 6 spoine, 9 spooin. δ. Sc. 5–6 spwne, 5–6, 9 spune, 9 speen; north. 5 spvne, 7, 9 speaun, 9 speun, speean, etc.
[Common Teutonic: OE. spón, = OFris. spôn (WFris. spoen, spoan, EFris. spōn, NFris. spōn, spön, spūn), MLG. and LG. spôn, ON. and Icel. spónn (Norw. spōn); the original stem *spǣnu- is differently (but normally) represented in ON. spánn (MSw. spān, Sw. spån, Da. spaan), OHG. and MHG. spân (G. span), MDu. spaen (Du. spaan). In OE., as in most of the Continental languages, the word has only the general sense of ‘chip’; sense 2 is specifically Scandinavian (Norwegian and Icelandic), but MLG. spôn had also the meaning of ‘wooden spatula’ as in botter-spôn.]
†1.
a. A thin piece of wood; a chip, splinter, or shiver. Obs.
c725Corpus Gloss. G 100, Gingria, spon. c900tr. Baeda's Hist. iii. ii. (1890) 156 Moniᵹe ᵹen to-dæᵹe of þæm treo þæs halᵹan Cristes mæles sponas & scefþon neomað. a1000Sax. Leechd. II. 292 Ᵹenim þone neowran wyrttruman, delf up, þwit niᵹon sponas on þa winstran hand. c1320Sir Tristr. 2039 Bi water he sent adoun Liȝ t linden spon. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 455 Of þe spones of þis croys beeþ i-doo meny vertues and wondres. Ibid. VI. 297 Þere was nouȝt oon spone þerof i-seie flete uppon þe water. c1400Beryn 3430 And wee hewe a-mys eny maner spone, We knowe wele..what pardon wee shull have. a1513Fabyan Chron. v. cxxx. (1811) 113 Of the spones of yt crosse ar tolde manye wounders, the which I ouer passe.
†b. A roofing-shingle. Also collect. Obs.
1316–7Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 514 In vc. Bord. et Spone colpand., xxvj s. viij d. 1357Ibid. 560 Et in ij mill. Spons faciend. ibidem. 1414–5Ibid. 611 Item in j Ml del spone empt. ad dictam Cameram (Prioris). 1475–6in Swayne Sarum Church-w. Acc. (1896) 361 Of William Edyngdon for spones of j elme, ix d.
2. a. A utensil consisting essentially of a straight handle with an enlarged and hollowed end-piece (the bowl), used for conveying soft or liquid food to the mouth, or employed in the culinary preparation or other handling of this.
Spoons are frequently distinguished according to the material of which they are made, as horn, silver, wooden spoon, or the special use for which they are adapted, as dessert-, marrow-, mustard-, salt-, soup-, table-, tea spoon.
αc1340Nominale (Skeat) 501 Cotel, saler et culier, Knyf, saler and spon. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 299 Þei bringen her cuppe and her spone, in tokene þat to drynke and pulment þei ben oblishid bifore oþer. a1400–50Bk. Curtasye 674 in Babees Bk., Two keruyng knyfes,..Þe thrydde to þo lorde, and als a spone. c1420Liber Cocorum (1862) 51 Breke ten egges in cup fulle fayre,..And swyng þy ȝolkes with spone. a1529Skelton Bouge of Court 436 In his other sleue, me thought, I sawe A spone of golde, full of hony swete. 1553Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 18 In the stede of spones, they vse leaues of trees.
β1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 23678 And the fatte away thei pulle with the spoon of cruelte ycalled Syngularyte. 1531Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 47, x spowns with dyomond Cnops. 1582Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees, 1835) 104 One dossen of silver spoones. 1605H. Plat Delightes for Ladies ii. x, This you muste now and then taste in a spoone. 1651in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. I. 38 A dissoun of spounis of mother of perill. 1681Bellon New Myst. Physick Introd. 57 This Extract is to be given of it self, in a Spoon. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 174 Utensils, as spoons, knives, writing instruments, &c. of foreign and distant nations. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) II. 191 The leaf of the first is rounded in form of a spoon. c1850Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 605, I began with some rice, which I took in the common way with a spoon. 1853A. Soyer Pantroph. 263 The Roman spoons..end on one side by a point, to pick shell-fish from their shell. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2288/1 Ancient Egyptian spoons were made shell-shaped.
transf.1706Stevens Span. Dict. s.v. Cuchara, When a Man makes a Spoon of a Crust, as soon as he has supp'd his Broath, he eats his Spoon.
γc1470Henry Wallace ii. 272 His fostyr modyr..with a spoyn gret kyndnes to him kyth. 1483Cath. Angl. 357/1 A spoyn, cocliar. 1527Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) I. 21 A sylver spoyn. 1561Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees, 1835) 193 A pistola of gold & a syluer spoine.
δc1475Cath. Angl. (A) 357/1 A Spvne, cocliar. 1492Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 200 To the Dwke of Ross, to bordour a spwne obowte, iij vnicornis. 1543Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 187 Ane masar of siluer, ane spwne of syluer. 1549Compl. Scot. vi. (1873) 43 Euyrie scheiphird hed ane horne spune. 1684,1818[see 3 a]. 18..Ballad, The Ram of Diram iv, The horns that war on the ram's head, Were fifty packs o' speens.
b. In allusion to the gift of a spoon to a child at its christening. Obs.
1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iii. 168 Come, come my Lord, you'd spare your spoones.
c. A spoonful of sugar or other substance.
1922Joyce Ulysses 69 He scalded and rinsed out the teapot and put in four full spoons of tea. 1944C. Himes Black on Black (1973) 200 By the time I find they was gettin' up for breakfast all the breakfast was gone but a spoon of grits. 1968P. Dickinson Skin Deep vii. 142 How many spoons shall I put in?.. Bob likes six. 1980R. Hill Spy's Wife iv. 22 Aspinall came in with a tea tray. ‘Three spoons for me,’ said Monk.
d. A dose or measure of an intoxicating drug, spec. two grammes of heroin. U.S.
1968–70Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) III–IV. 118 Spoon, a level teaspoon of heroin. (Drug users' jargon). 1977J. Cheever Falconer 46 Two spoons had been found, hidden in Farragut's toilet bowl.
e. pl. A pair of spoons held in the hand and beaten together as a simple percussion instrument.
1972Jazz & Blues Nov. 27/1 ‘Main line’ has added interest in that Shorty accompanies himself on spoons. 1977P. Carter Under Goliath xxvii. 147 It was a terrific party... Mr Mitchell played the spoons and Mr Gannon brought out his accordion and we had a singsong.
3. In proverbial and other phrases:
a. In the proverb he should have a long spoon that sups with the Devil, or variations of this.
c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 594 Therfore bihoueth hire a ful long spoon That shal ete with a feend. 1539Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 9 He had nede to haue a longe spone that shulde eate with the deuyl. 1597Jas. I. Dæmonol. i. v. 16 They that suppe keile with the Deuill, haue neede of long spoons. 1610Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 103 This is a diuell, and no Monster: I will leaue him, I haue no long Spoone. 1623Webster Devil's Law-Case iv. ii, Here's a latten spoon, and a long one, to feed with the devil! 1684Yorkshire Dial. 55 (E.D.S.), He mun heve a lang-Shafted speaun that sups kail with the Devil. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xlv, He suld hae a lang-shankit spune that wad sup kale wi' the deil. 1838Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. Lay St. Nicholas, Who suppes with the Deville sholde have a long spoone! 1886Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Paston Carew xxxvii, He had voluntarily supped with the devil, and his spoon had been too short.
b. In miscellaneous uses (see quots.).
1634Rowley Noble Soldier iii. iii. in Bullen Old Pl. (1882) I, Now! what hot poyson'd Custard must I put my Spoone into? a1635Corbet Poet. Strom. (1648) 69 When private Men gett sonnes they get a spoone, Without Ecclypse, or any Starr at noone. 1722–7Boyer Dict. Royal ii. s.v., To be past the Spoon, (to be beyond the State of Infancy). 1825Knapp & Baldwin Newgate Cal. IV. 283/2 Throws out with a shovel what he brings in with a spoon. 1859Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 437 ‘To do business with a big spoon,’ is the same as to cut a big swathe. 1863Trafford World in Ch. I. 296 Miss Sarah was always fond of putting her spoon into other people's broth.
c. to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth, to be born in affluence or under lucky auspices.
1801Deb. U.S. Congress 9 Jan. (1851) 905 It was a common proverb that few lawyers were born with silver spoons in their mouths. 1849Lytton Caxtons ii. iii, I think he is born with a silver spoon in his mouth. 1885E. Gosse Shaks. to Pope 50 There never was a child so plainly born with the traditional silver-spoon in his mouth as Waller.
d. to make a spoon or spoil a horn, to make a determined effort to achieve something, whether ending in success or failure. orig. Sc.
The making of spoons out of the horns of cattle or sheep was common in Scotland till late in the 19th cent.
1818Scott Rob Roy xxii, I aye said he was ane o' them wad make a spune or spoil a horn. 1820Hogg Tales (1866) 262 Cliffy Mackay will either mak a speen or spill a guid horn. 1860Trollope Castle Richmond xv, It's better to make the spoon at once, even if we do run some small chance of spoiling the horn. 1892Boy's Own Paper Dec. 87/1 Your son..will turn out something some day. He'll make a spoon or spoil a horn.
4. An implement of the form described above (sense 2), or something similar to this, used for various purposes:
a. As a surgical instrument.
a1425Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 24 Take þe instrument þat is called coclear—a spone. 1895Arnold & Sons' Catal. Surg. Instrum. Index, Spoons, Cataract. Spoons, Enucleation. Spoons, Erasion. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 293 The pus and decomposing clot are scraped away with a sharp spoon.
b. In melting, heating, or assaying substances. † Also, the bowl of a ladle.
1496Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 296 For a ladil of irne, for the plumbis ȝetting, and a spune of irne. 1692Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. ii. vii. 95 Eight, Is the Length of the Spoon of the Ladle. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xxiii. (1842) 577 The wires of deflagrating spoons may be passed through them. 1838T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 742 It does not burn by itself when heated in an open spoon. 1881Raymond Mining Gloss., Spoon, an instrument made of an ox or buffalo horn, in which earth or pulp may be delicately tested by washing to detect gold, amalgam, etc.
c. A wooden golfing-club having a slightly concave head. Also, a lofted stroke played with this club.
1790C. Jones Hoyle's Games Impr. 288 The Spoon..[is used] when in a Hollow. 1858[see gutta2 1 b]. 1878‘Capt. Crawley’ Football, etc. 80 (Golf), A variety of clubs, known as the long spoon, short spoon, putter, &c. 1897Encycl. Sport I. 459 Spoons, or wooden clubs of different lengths, with their faces hollowed out at various angles, are now almost obsolete. 1927Daily Mail 8 July 14/4 The 3 at the difficult twelfth, where he was five yards from the pin with a drive and a spoon and holed the putt, would have shaken any youthful rival. 1962Times 9 June 3/2 He struck a spoon, which ran pleasingly up on to the ninth green. 1971L. Koppett N.Y. Times Guide Spectator Sports vi. 128 The No. 3 wood, or the ‘spoon’, provides distance with more loft.
d. A kind of artificial bait having the form of the bowl of a spoon, used in spinning or trolling.
1851G. H. Kingsley Sp. & Trav. (1900) 449 In the broken water above I spun my spoon. 1867F. Francis Angling iv. 113 The spoon is an excellent lure; they may be had of all sorts, sizes, fashions, and colours. 1897Encycl. Sport I. 14 There is probably no better all-round artificial spinning⁓bait for salmon and pike than the spoon.
e. A part of a cotton drawing-frame.
1853Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) II. 830 The slivers from these pass over a series of conductors, termed ‘spoons’... These instruments are weighted guide levers, mounted so as to be capable of turning upon centres.
f. Cricket. A ball lofted by a soft or weak shot; a stroke which ‘spoons’ the ball. Cf. spoon v.2 2 b.
1871‘Thomsonby’ Cricketers in Council 3 A ball hit into the air is a ‘spoon’, unless it goes a long way, when it becomes a ‘skyer’. 1906A. E. Knight Compl. Cricketer 353 Spoon, a badly mistimed hit.
g. Surfing. = rocker1 5 e.
1963Pix 28 Sept. 62/4 Spoon, the slight upward slope in a surfboard. 1970Studies in English (Univ. Cape Town) I. 28 Rocker, or banana,..indicates the curvature of the surfboard along its length; in other words, the surfboard, when viewed from the side, is higher at both ends than in the centre. More specific is the word spoon, which applies to the upturn of the nose of the surfboard.
5.
†a. spoon of the brisket, the hollow at the lower end of the breast-bone. Obs.
1576Turberv. Venerie 129 The rauens morsell (which is the gryssell at the spoone of the brisket). Ibid. 135 There is a little gristle which is vpon the spoone of the brysket, which we cal the Rauens bone. 1637B. Jonson Sad Shepherd i. vi, He that undoes him; Doth cleave the brisket-bone, upon the spoone Of which, a little gristle growes. [1863Thornbury True as Steel III. 3 He scooped out the gristle from the spoon of the brisket.]
†b. spoon of the stomach, the pit of the stomach. Obs.—1
c1550H. Lloyd Treas. Health I v, Boyle Frankensence..and make a plaster thereof and bynd it to the spone of the stomake.
c. Zool. A spoon-shaped part or process.
1725Sloane Jamaica II. 317 Its [a spoonbill's] Head..ended in a round Spoon of two Inches Diameter. 1861in Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 1860 251 Anatina has the spoon [supra a spoon-shaped plate] supported by a clavicle at the umbos.
6. The student last in each class in the list of mathematical honours at Cambridge; spec. the ‘wooden spoon’ (see wooden a.).
1824Gradus ad Cantabr. s.v., The last of each class of the honours is denominated The Spoon... The Wooden Spoon, however, is κατ' ἐξοχην The Spoon. 1852C. A. Bristed Five Yrs. Eng. Univ. 125 There was more numerical difference between them than between the Second Wrangler and the spoon. Ibid. 225 The Senior Wrangler having perhaps 3,000 or 3,500 marks to the Spoon's 200.
7. slang or colloq. A shallow, simple, or foolish person; a simpleton, ninny, goose.
1799Carlton Ho. Mag. 217 The spoons or novices are permitted from prudential motives to be successful at the commencement. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v. Spoony, It is usual to call a very prating shallow fellow, a rank spoon. 1837Morier Abel Allnutt xxii. 130 ‘None but a spoon would ever think so,’ said the stranger. 1882Mrs. Houstoun Recomm. to Mercy ii, There now, you are going to cry!.. Now, that is being a spoon.
8. a. to be spoons with, about, or on, to be sentimentally in love with (a girl). slang.
c1859J. S. Coyne Everybody's Friend i. i. 7 It was one of my nonsensical effusions, when I was spoons about you... Mrs. F. Spoons! Feath. Well, when I was dying in love with you, my dear. 1860Slang Dict. 224 ‘When I was spoons with you,’ i.e., when young, and in our courting days before marriage. 1863E. Arden (parody) in Melbourne Punch, Philip Ray and Enoch Arden, Both were ‘Spoons’ on Annie Lee. 1883D. C. Murray Gate of the Sea I. i. 7 Tregarthen..has gone spoons on the Churchill.
b. pl. Without const.: Sentimental or silly fondness. Also applied to persons: Sweethearts. Rarely in sing., an instance of sentimental love-play; a fond lover.
1846Spirit of Times 18 Apr. 92/2 The girls are beautiful, with a very liberal allowance of ‘the spoons’, as our friend Smith would say. 1868E. Yates Rocks Ahead ii. ii, This time it's an awful case of spoons. 1882H. C. Merivale Faucit of B. III. ii. xii. 42 They were old spoons too when they were young. 1888Gunter Mr. Potter x. 127 The moment he saw Ethel it became a wonderful case of ‘spoons’ upon his part. c1921D. H. Lawrence Mod. Lover (1934) 188 A young chap goes out on Sunday night for a bit of a spoon. What is it but natural? Ibid. 195 Yes, his reputation as a spoon would not belie him. He had lovely lips for kissing. 1939Joyce Finnegans Wake 115 Some softnosed peruser might mayhem take it up erogenously as the usual case of spoons, prostituta in herba.
9. attrib.
a. In general use, as spoon-case, spoon-diet, spoon-food, † spoon-stele, etc.
1483Cath. Angl. 357/1 A *Spoyn case, cocliarium. 1534Wells Wills (1890) 91, ix coclearia argentea, que continentur in quodam loculo vocato ‘a spone case’. 1922Joyce Ulysses 30 And snug in their spooncase of purple plush, faded, the twelve apostles.
1826in A. C. Hutchison Pract. Obs. Surg. (ed. 2) 161 The rigid adherence to *spoon diet.
1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 185 The meal of it is seldom made into bread;..they use it mostly in *spoon-food. 1896Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 393 In case of mumps spoon-food only is to be given.
1601Holland Pliny II. 296 It is an usuall thing..to bore the same through with a *spoone stele or bodkin.
1765J. Wedgwood Let. 17 June (1965) 34 The articles are..teapot and stand, *spoon-tray, Coffeepot, [etc.]. 1977Fleming & Honour Penguin Dict. Decorative Arts 751/1 Spoon tray, a small oval or oblong dish used in mid-c18 England to hold tea-spoons.
1777Pennsylvania Even. Post 11 Feb. 73/2 Philip Clark..has a remarkable way of throwing his head back when he eats *spoon victuals. 1877C. Box Eng. Game Cricket 461 Spooning, getting under the ball. In derision, it is called ‘spoon victuals’, especially at Cambridge. 1880Spurgeon Serm. XXVI. 590 Spoon victuals and milk must always be in the house.
b. In the sense ‘resembling a spoon in shape’, as spoon-apparatus, spoon-bonnet, spoon-chisel, etc.
1846Holtzapffel Turning II. 539 The *spoon-bit, is generally bent up at the end to make a taper point.
1863Kingsley Water-Bab. iii. 90 People must always follow the fashion, even if it be *spoon bonnets.
1902Westm. Gaz. 2 Dec. 9/1 She will have the same *spoon bow and a long overhang aft and a modified fin keel.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2288/1 *Spoon-chisel , a bent chisel with the basil on both sides, used by sculptors.
1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 23 *Spoon-forks, as those articles,..furnished with four or five prongs, are denominated.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2288/1 *Spoon-gouge, a gouge with a crooked end, used in hollowing out deep parts of wood.
1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 139 Melt them together in a silver or brass *spoon ladle.
1851Kingsley Yeast iii, We show them where the fish lie, and then..they can't get them out without us and the *spoon-net.
1922Joyce Ulysses 653 He..drew two *spoonseat deal chairs to the hearthstone.
1758Elaboratory 45 *Spoon stoppers must be fitted to these necks.
1858Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Phil. 139 A horizontal wheel which has been much used in France, called roue à cuiller, or *spoon wheel.
10. Comb.
a. In parasynthetic adjs., as spoon-beaked, spoon-billed, spoon-fashioned, spoon-formed.
1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 6 b/2 That instrumente which we call the spoonewyse or spoonefashoned bullet-drawer. 1822J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 178 Myariæ—Bivalves;..a spoon-formed tooth on one or both valves. 1896Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. V. 513 The spoon⁓beaked sturgeon (Polyodon folius) of the Mississippi.
b. Miscell., as spoon-maker, spoon-manufacturer, spoon-warmer; spoon-like, spoon-wise adjs.
a1686Sir T. Browne Norf. Birds Wks. 1852 III. 314 They..are..remarkable in their white colour, copped crown, and *spoon or spatule-like bill. 1708Sewell ii, Lepelswyze, spoon-like. 1837Penny Cycl. VII. 430/1 On each side of this spoon-like process..is seen in each valve a large thick tooth. 1881Encycl. Brit. XII. 300/1 Its own point falls into a spoon-like indent.
1490Canterb. City Rec., Stephanus Rycards, *spoonemaker. 1647Hexham i, A spoone-maker, een lepel-maker. 1881Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 46 Domestic Implement Maker:..Spoon Maker.
1835Statist. Acc. Scot. (1845) III. 166 The *spoon-manufacturer, who must remain stationary to fabricate his wares.
1885Catal. Service of Plate 4 A *spoon warmer.
1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 7 b/2 With the little *spoonewyse bullet-drawer, we shalbe able to drawe forth the bullets.
11. a. Special Combs.: spoon-back, the back of a chair (of a type esp. popular in the late-18th and 19th cent.) curved concavely to fit the shape of the occupant; a chair of this style; hence attrib., as spoon-back chair; also spoon-backed a.; spoon-bait = sense 4 d; also fig.; spoon-bending, the distortion of a spoon-handle by apparently psychokinetic means; also spoon-bend v. intr. and spoon-bender; spoon bow, a ship's bow having full round sections reminiscent of the bowl of a spoon; so spoon-bowed a.; spoon bread U.S. (chiefly Southern) = egg bread s.v. egg n. 7 (of such a consistency that it is usu. served with a spoon); † spoon-brod, brads for nailing roof-shingles; spoon canoe Canad., a spoon-bowed canoe; spoon-child, a child which has to be fed with a spoon; spoon drain Austral., a shallow drain across a street; spoon-fashion adv., fitting into each other after the manner of spoons; † spoon-feather, -feathered a. (?); † spoon-hammer, -hand (see quots.); spoon-hook, a spoon-bait; spoon-nail, † (a) shingle-nails; (b) an irregular form of the human nail; † spoon-tree (see quot.); spoonways adv. = spoon-fashion; spoon-wood (see quots.).
1909G. O. Wheeler Old Eng. Furnit. (ed. 2) v. 167 In our illustration..we see one of those transitional specimens with cane-panels and *spoon-back. Ibid. v. 156 (caption) Queen Anne cabinet, and spoon-backed chair showing early cabriole legs. 1936Burlington Mag. July 42/2 Half-way between the spoon-back chair and the strapwork back of the George II period. 1969J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. (ed. 2) 636 Spoon back, sometimes used in America for the banded back chair, of the Queen Anne period, the term may have been suggested because the profile of the back resembles the curve of a spoon. In England a comparatively rare early 19th century chair with an open concave back and semi-circular top rail is called a spoon-back... Mid-Victorian single chairs with oval, waisted backs are also described as spoon-backed. 1979A. Scholefield Point of Honour 40 We sat down in two Victorian spoon-back chairs.
c1878J. Albery Crisis in Dram. Works (1939) II. 321 She has thrown away her heart..on..young Denham. Any cold, glittering thing does for *spoon-bait. 1883Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 195 Spoon-baits, trolling⁓spoons,..and insects for salmon..and pickerel fishing. 1888Goode Amer. Fishes 61 Uncultured brethren who prefer the ignominious method of trolling with hand-line and spoon⁓bait.
1975Nature 2 Oct. 354/3 Some of the children still claimed they could *spoon-bend without cheating.
1977Times 3 Nov. 6/1 Britain and Japan have a higher proportion of *spoon-benders a head than any other country..people who can distort cutlery simply by thinking about it.
Ibid. 6/4 The military implications of spoon-bending. 1979J. Wainwright Duty Elsewhere i. 7 He was ready to give E.S.P. the benefit of a man-sized doubt. He even claimed to have an open mind concerning the spoon-bending gag.
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl., *Spoon-bow. 1927[see bulb-keel s.v. bulb n. 5]. 1969Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 23 Nov. 11/2 She is still under construction, a 54-foot fishing schooner with the same spoon bow as the famous Bluenose and the Lunenburg schooners.
1900Westm. Gaz. 18 Aug. 6/3 It is so rarely that the..*spoon⁓bowed cruiser of modern build is seen with such a name at her stern.
1932Scribner's Mag. June 364/3 It was time for me to speed back to the *spoon bread and young broiled turkey that were being prepared for me now in Edith's kitchen. 1941W. A. Percy Lanterns on Levee i. 11 Oh, the poor little boys..never put a lump of butter into steaming batter-bread (spoon-bread is the same thing). 1960J. J. Rowlands Spindrift iii. 176 Spoon-bread made from coarse water-ground corn-meal. 1979M. G. Eberhart Bayou Rd. i. 17 We can have some flour and spoon bread and chicken.
1361–2Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 127 In cc *Sponbrod empt,..xij d.
1907T. Crosby Among An-ko-me-nums of Pacific Coast 141 The canoes of the Pacific coast are of the type usually called ‘dugouts’..[including] a ‘*spoon canoe’, flat-bottomed and nearly straight with hardly any bow or stern. 1976Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 13 June 5/3 Their graceful spoon canoes, hand hewn, 30 feet long, 3 feet 6 inches wide..were only used on the shallow draft, northern rivers.
1868W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 244 The waiter almost feeds one like a *spoon-child.
1934Bulletin (Sydney) 7 Mar. 21/1, I saw your ropes fly off when you went over the *spoon drain. 1972Advertiser (Adelaide) 13 June 5/8 To lessen level crossing accidents, a double spoon drain at the approaches to all level crossings may help.
1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. xxii. 222 Petersen and myself, reclining ‘*spoon-fashion’, cowered among them. 1879R. J. Atcherley Trip Boërland 162 All five were fast asleep ‘spoon fashion’ on the ground.
1648Hexham ii, Een duyfken,..a young Dove, or a Pigeon with *spoone feathers.
c1340Nominale (Skeat) 852 Poucynes enbrauncheez, *Spon⁓fytherede chykenes. 1657Reeve God's Plea 189 When your prosperity crept out of the nest, and first cast the shell from her spoonfeathered head.
1688Holme Armoury iii. 309 The *Spoon hammer..hath round Buttons at both ends.
1785Grose Dict. Vulgar T., *Spoon hand, the right hand.
1888Goode Amer. Fishes 465 The latter is taken by trolling with a..minnow bait, or a *spoon-hook. 1894Outing XXIV. 227/1 A swivel and a fluted or kidney⁓shaped spoon-hook.
c1310Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 511 In cccc de *Sponayl empt. pro camera Prioris, xij d.
1899Hutchinson's Arch. Surg. X. 148 The nail, instead of presenting a convex surface, is depressed into a slight hollow—‘the *spoon nail’.
1772J. R. Forster Kalm's Trav. I. 262 The *Spoon-tree never grows to a great height... The Indians..used to make their spoons and trowels of the wood of this tree.
1789Trotter Dis. Seamen 54 They are stowed *spoonways, and so closely locked into one another's arms, that it is difficult to move without treading upon them.
1814F. Pursh Flora Amer. Septentr. II. 362 Tilia glabra... This tree is known by the name of Lime- or Line⁓tree; Basswood; *Spoonwood. 1847Darlington Amer. Weeds, etc. (1860) 214 Kalmia latifolia. Mountain Laurel. Calico Bush. Spoon-wood.
b. In the names of animals, birds, etc., as spoon-beak, -egg, -goose, -hinge, -muscle, -shell, -worm (see quots.).
1893H. T. Cozens-Hardy Birds Norf. 49 *Spoonbeak, Shoveller duck.
c1711Petiver Gazophyl. x. xciv, Many girdled *Spoon-egg.
1782P. H. Bruce Mem. viii. 259 There is another kind called *spoon-geese; their beaks..at the extremity are flat like the mouth of a spoon beaten out.
c1711Petiver Gazophyl. x. xciv, Small, white, thin *Spoon⁓hinge.
Ibid., Small, white, thin, *Spoon-Muscle.
1867Lovell Edible Mollusks 155 On some parts of the Devonshire coast it [truncated mya] is known as the *spoon-shell.
1841E. Forbes Brit. Star-fishes 259 Gaertner's *Spoon⁓worm. Thalassema Neptuni. Ibid. 263 Common Spoon⁓worm. Echiurus vulgaris. 1855Kingsley Glaucus 83 That curious and rare radiate animal, the Spoonworm. 1879E. P. Wright Anim. Life 580 One..is known on the coast of the South of England as Neptune's Spoon-worm.
▪ II. spoon, v.1 Naut. Obs. (exc. arch.).
Also 6 spone, 7 spoone, spoune.
[Of obscure origin. See also spoom v.]
1. intr. In sailing, to run before the wind or sea; to scud. Also with away. (Common in 17th cent.)
1576in Hakluyt's Voy. (1904) VII. 206 We had so much wind that we spooned after the sea. 1588Parke tr. Mendoza's Hist. China 301 They sponed before the winde with their foresayle halfe mast hie. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 40 If she will neither Try nor Hull, Then Spoone, that is, put her right before the wind. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 17 The Ship lies very broad off; it is better spooning before the Sea, than trying or hulling. 1694Motteux Rabelais iv. xviii. (1737) 75 The next day we spied nine Sail that came spooning before the Wind. 1722De Foe Col. Jack xviii. (1840) 298 We went spooning away large with the wind for one of the islands. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. i. [copying quot. 1669], The ship lay very broad off, so we thought it better spooning before the sea, than trying or hulling. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Spooning. By the explanation of this term in our dictionaries, it seems formerly to have signified that movement in navigation, which is now called scudding. Be that as it may, there is at present no such phrase in our sea-language. [1886R. F. Burton Arab. Nts. (abr. ed.) I. 151 We ceased not spooning before a fair wind till we had exchanged the sea of peril for the seas of safety.]
fig.1671Crowne Juliana v, Whilst you set sail..And leave this floating world behind. Till spooning gently on,..You turn an angel unaware.
2. To move rapidly on or upon another vessel.
1608Admiralty Crt. Exam. 40, 20 Dec., The sea going high forced the Scottishe shipp to Spoone on borde the Elizabeth. Ibid., [It] came spooning uppon the Elizabeth.
3. trans. (See quot.)
c1635N. Boteler Dial. Sea Services (1685) 293 They use to set the Fore sail to make her the steddier, and this is called spooning the Fore-sail.
▪ III. spoon, v.2|spuːn|
[f. spoon n.]
I.
1. trans. To lift or transfer by means of a spoon. Chiefly with preps. and advs., as into, off, out, up.
1715Disc. Death 75 How must his meat be chewed for him, and Papp spooned into his Mouth. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. v, She negligently spooned her soup, and then, after much parade, sent it away untouched. 1845Alb. Smith Fort. Scattergood Fam. xxii, Mr. Bam at the sideboard..spooning up the [salad-]dressing. 1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. xix, He..spooned his soup into himself with a malignancy of hand and eye that blighted the amiable questioner. 1905Rec. St. Mary at Hill p. lxvii, The spoons were used to spoon out the incense.
fig. and transf.1840M. Edgeworth Let. 30 Dec. (1971) 574 At Coffee time she spooned out a fine compliment to Miss E about Frank and Rosamond. 1856Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh v. 161 A pewter age,..An age of scum, spooned off the richer past. 1870H. A. Nicholson Man. Zool. xxxiv. 193 The expanded epipodite of the second pair of maxillæ, which constantly spoons out the water from..the branchial chamber.
2. In games:
a. Croquet. (See quot. 1896.)
1865F. Locker Lond. Lyrics, Mr. Placid's Flirtation vii, Belabour thy neighbour, and spoon through thy hoops. 1872R. C. A. Prior Notes Croquet 56 Spoon is a term that could hardly have been suggested by any application of a mallet to a ball. 1896Encycl. Sport I. 254 The following are foul strokes..: To spoon i.e. to push a ball without an audible knock.
b. Cricket. To hit or lift (the ball) up in the air with a soft or weak stroke. Also, to hit (a simple catch).
1836E. Jesse Angler's Rambles 296 She had a perfect knowledge of what was a bad hit; and when her lover spooned a ball up into the air, which was of course caught, he generally walked off to a distant part of the field. 1879Boy's Own Paper 13 Dec. 168/2 To the younger boys he gave slow balls, which they were induced to ‘spoon’, and were caught out in consequence. 1882Daily Tel. 17 May, Having made five he spooned one to long off. 1912A. Brazil New Girl at St. Chad's vii. 115 She played too soon at a short-pitched ball, and spooned a catch to mid-on. 1976J. Snow Cricket Rebel 113 Soon afterwards he spooned a simple catch from a stroke ringsiders described as a ‘protective jab’.
c. Golf. To hit (a ball) in putting so as to lift it.
1896W. Park Game of Golf 217 The ball must be fairly struck at, and not pushed, scraped, or spooned.
3. To catch (fish) by means of a spoon-bait.
1888Mrs. H. Ward R. Elsmere 346 He had with him all the tackle necessary for spooning pike.
4. a. intr. To lie close together, to fit into each other, in the manner of spoons.
1887Harper's Mag. Apr. 781/2 Two persons in each bunk, the sleepers ‘spooning’ together, packed like sardines. 1894Outing XXIV. 343/2 The precision with which we could ‘spoon’ that sad night was truly beautiful to behold.
b. trans. To lie with (a person) spoon-fashion.
1887Harper's Mag. Dec. 49/2 ‘Now spoon me.’ Sterling stretched himself out on the warm flag-stone, and the boy nestled up against him.
5. To hollow out, make concave, after the fashion of a spoon.
1897Encycl. Sport I. 459 (Golf), The face of the brassy is often ‘spooned’ or sloped backward, so as to raise the ball in the air.
II.
6. intr. a. To make love, esp. in a sentimental or silly fashion. colloq.
1831Lady Granville Lett. (1894) II. 77 The billiard room, in which they spooned. 1864Meredith Emilia xxxvi, You might have—pardon the slang—spooned, who knows? 1872Lever Ld. Kilgobbin lxxix, So long as a man spoons, he can talk of his affection. 1898Wollocombe Fr. Morn till Eve vii. 84 Many danced, while others spooned under the influence of the summer moonlight.
b. Const. on (a person).
1882A. Edwardes Ballroom Repentance I. 68 The young woman with ribbons, you know, that you were spooning on.
7. trans. To court or pay addresses to (a person), esp. in a sentimental manner.
1877Mrs. Forrester Mignon I. 252 It was pleasant to spoon her when there was nothing else to do. 1894K. Grahame Pagan Papers 148 When a Fellow was spooning his sister once, they used to employ him to carry notes. |