> as lemmas

?1532 Tales & Quicke Answeres xxiii. sig. Biij He chaunced..to come acqueynted with one Conon a homely husbande man, and a plaine meanynge felowe.

1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue f. 2 Playne meaning men walk openly at noone.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 433 His plaine-pranckt stile he strengthens in such sort.

1613 R. Anton Moriomachia sig. A4 Haruest people..very courteously shewed him a playne beaten way, leading to a Noblemans house not farre off.

1753 tr. ‘L'Esprit Fort’ Deist Triumphant ix. 107 Her Table-Linnen must be all chequered, as if a plain-woven Rag would not do as well to wipe her greasy Lips.

1771 N. Hooker Six Discourses vi. 85 The plain living patriarchs.

1793 T. Carstairs Estimate of Cost in T. Jefferson Papers (1995) XXVI. 672 Plain Cut Stone at 4/. per foot.

1851 Empire (Sydney) 30 Jan. 2/2 The sable Australian..never contrived a defter thing than..his boomerang of plain-cut miall.

1870 D. G. Rossetti Let. 20 Apr. (1965) II. 849 I think the woodcut had better have been left out of the plain-bound copies, as it looks quaint and provoking without the binding.

1894 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Ebb-tide i. v. 96 I never could act up to the plain-cut truth, you see; so I pretend.

1908 Anat. Rec. 2 185 Every meeting was to be attended by a plain-dressed officer.

1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love xxix. 450 The two..daughters of the professor, with their plain-cut, dark blue blouses and loden skirts.

1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage i. 19 The embroidery completely alters the original plain-woven texture of the material.

1992 N.Y. Times Mag. 28 June 23/1 Many of Perot's Democratic friends compare him with Truman, the plain-talking leader who was not afraid to make tough decisions.