gridironn.
/ˈɡrɪdʌɪən/ 1.
a. A cooking utensil formed of parallel bars of iron or other metal in a frame, usually supported on short legs, and used for broiling flesh or fish over a fire. †Also formerly: a girdle or griddle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > gridiron
roasting-ironc1350
roast-iron1354
brandiron1381
gridiron1382
broiler1393
griddlea1425
branderc1450
grate-iron1577
chaplet1664
grill1685
grid1875
parrilla1964
parrillada1975
robata1975
charbroiler1982
α.
β. 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Exod. xxvii. 4 Thow shalt make..a brasun gredyrne [a1425 L.V. gridele, Coverdale gredyron, 1551 gredyern, 1611 grate or networke] in the manere of a nett.c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1277 Þe gredirne & þe goblotes garnyst of syluer.c1450 Two Cookery-bks. 102 Kutte the chyne in ij. or in iij. peces, and roste him on a faire gredryn.1485 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 51 Ketle hokes ij., Grydirnes j., fflesh hokes j.?c1485 W. Barker & M. Worcester in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 607 A gredeyren of syluer of Parysse towche, not gylt.?1543 T. Phaer tr. J. Goeurot Regiment of Lyfe iii. f. xxii Fysh rosted vpon the grydyron.1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 6 Take the braynes of a hogge, rost the same vpon a grede yron.1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs 211 Broil'd rashers, that on wide gridirons lay.1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. x. iv. 30 The said Chicken was then at Roost.., and required the several Ceremonies of catching, killing, and picking, before it was brought to the Grid-iron . View more context for this quotationc1850 Arabian Nights (Rtldg.) 621 Our gridiron is only fit to broil small fish.γ. 1495 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 260 Brasyn pottes brokyn..Gyrdeyrons Brokyn.1528 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 255 A girdyrne, xij d.1557 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories Archdeaconry Richmond (1853) 100 One old brandrethe, one gerdyron, one pare of tongs.1599 Acc. Bk. in Antiquary XXXII. 243 A girde Iron.14.. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 626/7 Gredyre, craticula.
b. A similar structure employed as an instrument of torture by fire.As in the case of griddle n., this is the connection in which the word first appears in English.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > torture > instrument or place of torture > [noun] > gridiron
griddle?c1225
gridironc1290
parrilla1857
α.
β. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 248/1 The mynystres..leyd hym stratched oute uppon a gredyron of yron.1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. viii. f. 39v A certeyne frame of woodde much lyke vnto a hurdle or grediren.1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage ix. xv. 913 The Nobles and commanders, they broiled on gridirons.1631 R. Byfield Doctr. Sabbath Vindicated 51 The wheele, greediron, racke and faggot.1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar iii. xv. 92 S. Laurence accounted the coals of his Gridiron but as a Julip.1855 W. Irving Chron. Wolfert's Roost 9 The gridiron of the blessed St. Lawrence.1869 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. European Morals II. xi. 235 The devil was represented bound by red-hot chains on a burning gridiron.c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 344/154 Strong fuyr he lieth maken and gret, and a gredire þar-on sette.
c1305 St. Cristopher 202 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 65 Þe king het þat me scholde anon vpe a gridire him do And roste him wiþ fur & pich.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iii. 130 Laurens þe leuite lyggynge on þe gredire, Loked vp to oure lorde.
14.. S.E. Legendary (Bodl. 779) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen 82 325 Vppon a gerdyre he let here to rosty.
2. figurative and in phrases. †the gridiron grumbles at the frying pan: cf. ‘the pot calls the kettle black.’ on the gridiron: in a state of torment, persecution, or great uneasiness (cf. French être sur le gril); so to lay (a person) on the gridiron.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > in adversity [phrase]
on the gridiron1590
under a cloudc1605
down the weather1611
up the (also a) pole1897
on the mat1917
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > in a state of anguish or torment [phrase]
on the gridiron1590
on the rack1600
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > [phrase] > acutely anxious
on the gridiron1590
on the rack1600
on pins and needles1710
1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late ii. sig. Kv I was so scorched on the grediron of affection, that I had no rest.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. i. i. 19 He runs to weakness for excuse, and to sin for a comfort..and changes from side to side upon his grid-iron till the flesh drop from the bones on every side.
1672 R. Wild Poetica Licentia in Let. Declar. Liberty Conscience 27 The Calf at Bethel fears the Calf at Dan; The Gridiron grumbles at the Frying-pan.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) iii. vii. §30 525 It was past Three before the Chief Justice heard that his Name was upon the Gridiron at Westminster.
1834 T. B. Macaulay Let. 1 July in G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay (1876) I. vi. 369 While London is a perfect gridiron, here am I, at 13° North from the equator, by a blazing wood-fire, with my windows closed.
1859 W. Collins Queen of Hearts I. 33 When destiny has..heated his gridiron for him, he has nothing left to do..but to get up and sit on it.
1871 E. C. G. Murray Member for Paris II. 9 He proceeded to do what is called in journalistic phrase ‘laying a man on the gridiron’, which means that he..served him up every day to the readers of the Pavois, skewered through and through with an epigram.
3.
a. Applied to objects resembling or likened to a gridiron; †a grated weir or dam (obsolete); a grating or grille; a network of pipes, lines, etc.; the United States flag, the stars and stripes.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > standard > [noun] > flag > U.S. flag
Old Thirteen1792
Stars and Stripes1809
gridiron1812
star-spangled banner1814
Old Glory1862
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > intersection > [noun] > grating or lattice
latticea1382
trellisa1400
grate1412
trail1485
tresance1510
cradle1561
craticle1657
grillade1727
grating1739
treillage1836
grid1839
gridiron1854
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > intersection > [noun] > grating or lattice > something resembling a lattice
portcullisa1460
lattice1657
gridiron1854
1406–7 Winchester College Acc. Roll In stip. j carpentarii facientis j gredyre ad introitum aquæ de Lurteborne.
1812 Niles' Reg. 12 Sept. 31/2 The masts from which they flew, went over the side, while Hull's four ‘gridirons’ floated in the air triumphant.
1850 W. R. Grove On Correlation Physical Forces (ed. 2) 58 Between this glass and the plate is a gridiron of silver wire.
1854 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson Knapp's Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 378 To this pipe are attached a number of arms formed of inch pipe, the whole forming a sort of gridiron.
1863 M. E. Braddon Eleanor's Victory I. i. 9 He..wore a silver gridiron in his button-hole.
1866 E. A. Pollard Southern Hist. War II. 103 ‘It was,’ says a Charleston paper, ‘the identical “gridiron” carried from Fort Sumter in 1861.’
1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. ii. 13 He answered, in a whisper, through the gridiron of the gate.
1871 M. Schele de Vere Americanisms (1872) 258 Sailors laugh at it good-naturedly, and seeing it [sc. the Stars and Stripes] hoisted, say: ‘There goes the gridiron.’
1892 Harper's Mag. Feb. 435/1 Chicago is criss-crossed by a gridiron of railway tracks.
1893 J. A. Barry Steve Brown's Bunyip 29 Run the gridiron half-mast, Mr. Stokes.
1893 J. S. Farmer Slang Gridiron,..the bars on a cell window.
b. Nautical. A heavy framework of beams in parallel open order (suggesting a gridiron) used to support a ship in dock. (So French gril.)
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > slip on which ships built or repaired > framework on which vessel rests
stocks1422
trestle1612
cradle1627
boat cradle1829
gridiron1846
skid1856
grid1867
crib1883
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. Gridiron, a frame formed of cross beams of wood, for laying a vessel upon in order to inspect or repair her at low water.
1863 Q. Rev. 114 309 They raise a gridiron which is suspended between them at such a depth in the water as may be requisite to receive the vessel.
1896 Daily News 21 Dec. 2/1 A first-class gridiron, capable of taking vessels up to 300 feet long.
c. Theatre. A structure of planks erected above the stage and supporting the mechanism for the manipulation of drop-scenes, etc. (So French gril.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [noun] > parts above stage
shadow1600
fly1805
rigging loft1851
gridiron-floor1881
gridiron1886
fly-gallery1888
grid1927
1886 H. S. Jennings Stage Gossip 69 The ‘gridiron’ is the name for a number of planks running at a great height above the stage from R. to L.
1887 Standard 13 Sept. 6/4 Did the magistrates inspect what is known as the ‘gridiron’—the place immediately over the stage?
d. Architecture. = grid n. 6d. Usually attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > [noun] > town-planning or development > lay-out
gridiron1883
layout1888
grid1954
1883 R. Gower My Reminisc. II. xxvii. 204 The formal and gridiron-like plan of the streets of this city.
1910 Catal. Cities Exhib. in P. Geddes Cities in Evolution (1949) 167 The cities of the United States, with their monotonous gridiron-plans.
1938 Oxoniensia 3 85 Anything approaching a spider's web at the nucleus of an English town appears to be extremely rare, and apart from a few towns where the Roman street-plan influenced later development a proper gridiron system is uncommon in England.
1961 L. Mumford City in Hist. xiv. 424 In the gridiron plan, as applied in the commercial city, no section or precinct was suitably planned for its specific function.
1961 L. Mumford City in Hist. xiv. 425 The extension of the speculative gridiron and the public transportation system were the two main activities that gave dominance to capitalist forms in the growing cities of the nineteenth century.
1969 Geography LIV. 200 The grid-iron town plan of Ashburton.
e. = grid n. 10. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun]
American football1879
football1881
gridiron1896
grid1928
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > scoring > field of play
gridiron1896
grid1928
1896 Daily News 10 Dec. 3/4 The ground here is marked out by white lines..thus giving it the appearance of a gigantic gridiron—which, indeed, is the technical name applied to an American football field.
1900 Dial. Notes 2 39 Gridiron, foot-ball field.
1937 L. C. Douglas Forgive us our Trespasses vii. 126 He was gleefully welcomed by young Assistant Coach Roberts and the awkward assembly of prospective gridiron heroes.
1960 T. McLean Kings of Rugby 61 American, or gridiron, football.
1968 C. Drummond Death & Leaping Ladies i. 11 You can't just walk into a team like you can, say, in gridiron or soccer.
4. Short for gridiron pendulum n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > pendulum clock > pendulum
pendule1660
pendulum1660
simple pendulum1673
bob-pendulum1685
swing1696
quicksilver pendulum1726
pendle1741
gridiron pendulum1751
mercurial pendulum1786
gridiron1793
wanrest1794
seconds pendulum1795
conical pendulum1813
ticker1821
noddy1844
1793 Sir G. Shuckburgh in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 83 88 The pendulum..is a compound gridiron composed of five rods.
5. Short for gridiron manœuvre, etc.: a naval manoeuvre in which the paths taken by the vessels suggest the form of a gridiron.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > operations or manoeuvres > [noun] > formation of ships
gridiron1893
1893 Daily News 26 June 6/1 In executing the ‘gridiron’ movement the vessels would at times be very close to each other.
1894 Times 30 July 8/1 The Admiral felt justified in twice putting it [the fleet] through the much-discussed evolution known as the ‘gridiron’.
Compounds
gridiron carrier n. an open iron framework fixed on a bicycle to carry parcels (cf. grid n. 9).
ΚΠ
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 270/1 Large parcels should be carried on a ‘gridiron’ carrier..clamped to the head socket.
gridiron-floor n. = sense 3c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [noun] > parts above stage
shadow1600
fly1805
rigging loft1851
gridiron-floor1881
gridiron1886
fly-gallery1888
grid1927
1881 L. Wagner Pantomimes 57 From the flies a ladder communicates with the gridiron-floor, at the very roof of the stage, frequently at a height of sixty or seventy feet above the footlights.
gridiron pendulum n. a compensation pendulum composed of parallel rods of different metals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > pendulum clock > pendulum
pendule1660
pendulum1660
simple pendulum1673
bob-pendulum1685
swing1696
quicksilver pendulum1726
pendle1741
gridiron pendulum1751
mercurial pendulum1786
gridiron1793
wanrest1794
seconds pendulum1795
conical pendulum1813
ticker1821
noddy1844
1751 Prof. Bliss Let. Jan. in Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) (1753) 47 493 Your pendulum takes off the effect of heat and cold as well as either the gridiron-pendulum (as it is commonly called) or the quicksilver pendulum.
1854 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circle Sci., Chem. 115 Another means of avoiding this source of error is the gridiron pendulum..—an invention of Harrison.
1877 G. F. Chambers Handbk. Descr. Astron. (ed. 3) viii. 771 Gridiron compensation pendulum.
Categories »
gridiron track n. a set of short tracks arranged like a gridiron, used for sorting and shifting railway-carriages (cf. quot. 1892 at sense 3a).
gridiron valve n. a sliding valve in which the cover and seat are both composed of parallel bars with spaces between them.
ΚΠ
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Gridiron valve.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
gridironv.
transitive. To mark with parallel lines or a pattern suggesting the form of a gridiron; said esp. of railways with reference to their appearance on a map. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > intersection > intersect [verb (transitive)] > a line > mark or trace with crossing lines
criss-cross1818
gridiron1832
1832 Reg. Deb. Congress 4 Apr. 2390 With this revenue we could gridiron our states with railroads.
1857 E. M. Whitty Friends of Bohemia II. 34 Newland has been a blessing to the country..and gridironed the country with railways.
1867 M. E. Braddon Birds of Prey (1868) v. ii. 246 A breakneck gallop across dreary fields gridironed with dykes and stone walls.
1887 J. J. Hissey Holiday on Road i. 17 Railways have gridironed the land all over.
1901 Daily Chron. 5 Apr. 5/2 He won the right to gridiron its hills with an electric system.
1914 Chambers's Jrnl. June 415/2 The Park is gridironed with its own railway system.
1932 R. Kipling Limits & Renewals 110 An open square, near by, eased the pressure before long. Here the Patrol broke into fours, and gridironed it, saluting the images of the Gods at each corner and in the centre.
Derivatives
ˈgridironing n. New Zealand (see quot. 1910).
ΚΠ
1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. 176/1 Gridironing, a term used in the province of Canterbury, New Zealand. A man purchased land in the shape of a gridiron, knowing that nobody would take the intermediate strips, which later he could purchase at his leisure.
1910 Le Rossignol & Stewart State Socialism in N.Z. iii. 37 ‘Gridironing’ consisted in buying a series of 20-acre sections so surveyed as to leave 19 acres unbought between each two sections bought; and as no one could buy less than 20 acres without going to auction, the alternating 19-acre sections were left to be occupied by the runholder.
ˈgridironer n. New Zealand one who practises gridironing.
ΚΠ
1941 S. J. Baker N.Z. Slang iii. 26 Land was purchased in strips,..so that the intervening land was rendered useless to another prospective settler and might be bought at the gridironer's leisure.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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n.c1290
v.1832- honey tree
- honey tube
- honey wagon
- honey water
- honey wine
- honey word
- honey-balm
- honey-bearer
- honey-bearing
- honey-blob
- honey-blonde
- honey-bloom
- honey-brown
- honey-bun
- honey-bunch
- honey-coloured
- honey-covered
- honey-dewed
- honey-eating
- honey-flowing
- honey-fly
- honey-gathering
- honey-glazed
- honey-gold
- honey-golden