saucern.adj.
/ˈsɔːsə/, U.S. /ˈsɔsər/, /ˈsɑsər/ A. n.
1.
a. Originally: a receptacle or dish, usually made of metal, used for condiments, sauces, or salt at a meal. Subsequently: any round dish or deep plate used for food, esp. a small one (cf. sense A. 1b).Some later evidence may represent contextual use of sense A. 1b from which this sense is now often indistinguishable.
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the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > dish or plate > sauce dish
saucer1348
boat1464
sauceboat1728
1348 in C. Welch Hist. Pewterers of London (1902) I. 3 Be it vnderstonde that al maner vessells of peauter as disshes Saucers platers..be made of fyne peauter.
1434 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 101 ij sauseres of peautre.
1504 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 97 Item I wyll that myn executors shall geve to xxti maydens..xij pecys of pewtyr, that ys to sey, iiij platers, iiij dysshys, and iiij sawssers.
1674 T. P. et al. Eng. & French Cook 31 And send with the serving it up some Saucers of Green-sauce.
1851 Gaz. of Union 27 Dec. 419/2 My little boy cries for a saucer of your food every morning.
a1854 W. North Slave of Lamp (1855) i. 20 Dipping their oysters into the saucers of salt and red pepper.
1910 B. Fuller Stud. Indian Life & Sentiment ix. 151 China or glass is not in use, and meals are served in platters or saucers of brass and bell metal.
2019 Toronto Star (Nexis) 9 Nov. (Travel section) t8 He hands me one [roti] on an orange plate along with a saucer of curry sauce.
b. A small, round, shallow dish with a circular indentation in the centre on which a cup (esp. a teacup or coffee cup) is placed and which catches any spilled liquid.
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the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > tea-cup or saucer
saucer1693
teacup1700
tea-dish1711
tea-saucer1762
tea-china1790
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > dish or plate > saucer
cup-plate1674
saucer1693
1693 A. Pitfield tr. S. de la Loubère New Hist. Relation Kingdom Siam I. 22 When they would have no more Tea, they turn the Cup down on the Saucer.
c1702 C. Fiennes Journeys (1947) iii. v. 177 I went to this Newcastle in Staffordshire to see the makeing the fine tea-potts cups and saucers of the fine red earth.
1774 H. Walpole Descr. Villa Strawberry-Hill 16 Six coloured handle cups and saucers..of Chantilli china.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xvi. 112 Don't pour your tea in your saucer? that's vulgar!
1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris (U.K. ed.) v. 106 Coffee cups, saucers and crisp crescent rolls in our hands.
2006 R. Everett Red Carpets & Other Banana Skins xiv. 128 He sat with his knees crossed, his cup and saucer in one hand, a teaspoon in the other.
2.
a. A similar dish or receptacle used for any of various purposes; spec. (a) †a receptacle for blood in bloodletting (obsolete); (b) a small dish in which a stick of ink or cake of paint is combined with water and ground into a liquid.See also pink saucer n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > [noun] > shallow vessel or dish > small or shallow saucer
saucer1566
cockle1648
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xlviii. f. 288 Her Father deliuered to her a sawser full of black die, or stayning.
1584 A. W. Bk. Cookry f. 16v Cut the throte of your Carp and saue the blood in a saucer.
1600 L. Lewkenor tr. A. de Torquemada Spanish Mandeuile iii. f. 89 They lookt on the bloode which was in the sawcer, still remaining in theyr sight without beeing remoued, and they found in euery drop a liue worme bubling therein.
1607 B. Barnes Divils Charter Prol. sig. A2v Presently the Pronotary strippeth vp Alexanders sleeue and letteth his arme bloud in a saucer.
1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 118 The last Blood was received in a Sawcer, which turned white immediately, like the white of a Custard.
1755 Compl. Drawing-bk. 6 Mix your Indian Ink, by rubbing it in an earthen Saucer with Water, till it is pretty black.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. iii. 61 Rubbing Indian ink, or cake colours, in a very smooth saucer.
1907 J. P. Genthon Assistant Engineer I. 41 The ink is introduced between the blades of the pen by means of a quill dipped in the bottle or saucer.
2008 D. L. Martin Best-ever Backyard Birding Tips vi. 181/1 You can use clear plastic saucers as well, as long as they're thick and rigid, not the thin, flexible kind.
b. A shallow dish or tray placed under a plant pot, which either holds water to be drawn up through a hole in the bottom of the pot, or catches water that drains out of the bottom of the pot.
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1797 M. E. Jackson Bot. Dialogues 195 What is that very little plant, mamma, in that little blue saucer of water?
1811 New Family Receipt-bk. (new ed.) xxvi. 248 The practice of placing flats or saucers under plants, and feeding them by the roots,..is highly improper.
1860 Amer. Agriculturist 19 367/2 Aquatic plants, as the Villarsia, require to be constantly wet; the saucer of the pot should always have water standing in it.
2003 Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (Nexis) 15 Feb. 5 e Water will run..out the bottom of pots with drain holes. Set these plants in a saucer to catch the overflow.
3. † b. Anatomy and Zoology. Any of the vascular structures, thought to resemble a saucer or cup, by which the endometrium of the uterus and the placenta are attached; = cotyledon n. 1. Obsolete.Cf. also acetabulum n. 2b.
a. Botany. Any of several saucer-shaped parts or structures of a plant; esp. an inflorescence.
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the world > plants > part of plant > part defined by form or function > [noun] > parts of specific shape
finger?a1425
saucer1578
umbrella1658
neck1673
discus1687
cord1776
wing1776
starlet1787
ribbon1854
rat-tail1871
peltation1881
rod1884
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. xxix. 356 The flowers are yellow and grow out of litle dishes or sawsers.
1792 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 199 Saucers rather paler and whiter than the leaves, brownish with age.
1862 C. Darwin On Var. Contrivances Orchids Fertilised vi. 277 In Dendrobium chrysanthum the nectary consists of a shallow saucer.
1978 J. Lees-Milne Diary 17 June in Through Wood & Dale (2001) 265 Everything this year is out at the same time—now the elder flower in fat, cream saucers, and the eglantine, better than I remember it.
2019 telegraph.co.uk (Nexis) 12 Apr. Silver-washed, serrated foliage and white saucers on strong stems begin in midwinter before fading to rose pink.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > [noun] > ruminant > parts of > cotyledon
cotyledon1540
acetabulum1615
saucer1662
acetable1689
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > membranes, etc., of embryo or fetus > [noun] > placenta > part of
saucer1662
syncytium1877
symplasma1908
1662 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anatomy i. xxviii. 68/1 The Mouths of these Vessels or Pipes rather, do enter into the Cavity of the bottom, and are called Acetabula or Cotylidones Cups or Saucers.
1683 A. Snape Anat. Horse i. xxviii. 62 Any of those Glandules that are..called Cotyledons or Sawcers.
1684 tr. T. Bonet Guide Pract. Physician i. 2 Slimy humours which loosen the acetabula (or saucers) of the womb.
4. Mechanics. A device, component, etc., resembling a saucer; spec. (a) Nautical a shallow socket for the spindle of a capstan (capstan n. a); (b) †a large shallow iron structure which can bear a ship out of the water for examination and repair (see quot. 1857) (obsolete).
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1669 H. Brayne Inventorie Shipp Carolina 17 Aug. in L. Cheves Shaftesbury Papers (2000) 140 Carpenters Stores... One Iron Saucer for Capstan.
1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. S Sawcers, those round Pieces of Iron fixt on the Sawcer-hooks, on which the Leathern Suckers are put in Chain-Pumps.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 8 Saucer, a bolt with a flat head.
1857 E. Clark Brit. Patent 159 5 When a large number of ships have to be raised by one raising machine, then I do not execute the repairs on the raising machine, but previously to floating the ship over I sink on to the girders a large shallow iron vessel, which I call a saucer, and I raise the ship and the saucer together.
1867 Inst. Mech. Engineers: Proc. 88 The girders being down and the saucer upon them, the ship is floated and adjusted over it.
1892 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 487 The croosie, a triangular metal saucer with an upright hook at the base to be hung by.
1934 U.S. Patent 1,982,939 3/1 The lower end of the stub shaft extends below the bottom of the saucer and is formed with a pinion.
2003 K. H. Marquardt Global Schooner vii. 197/2 The spindle, cone-shaped between deck and step, had a pointed iron peg inserted into its lower end and turned in an iron saucer imbedded in the capstan's step.
5. Originally colloquial. An eye, esp. a widely opened one. Chiefly in plural.In quot. 1858 punning on sense A. 1b and the common collocation of cup and saucer.In later use with allusion to phrases likening eyes to saucers, e.g. eyes like saucers, eyes as big as saucers, etc. Cf. Phrases and sense B.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [noun]
eyeeOE
the fleshly eyec1175
balla1400
window1481
glazier1567
light1580
crystal1592
orb1594
glass1597
optic1601
twinkler1605
lampa1616
watchera1616
wink-a-peeps1615
visive organa1652
ogle1673
peeper1691
goggle?1705
visual orb1725
orbit1727
winker1734
peep?1738
daylights?1747
eyewinker1808
keeker1808
glimmer1814
blinker1816
glim1820
goggler1821
skylight1824
ocular1825
mince pie1857
saucer1858
mince1937
1858 Athenæum 8 May 592/3 I always know when he has been in his cups by the state of his saucers.
1919 H. C. Witwer Smile a Minute i. 23 Her eyes openin' till each one was the prettiest saucer I ever seen in my life.
2005 K. Crawford Other Women xi. 155 As he gazed at her from those bright saucers of blue, a huge grin spread across his face.
6. A disc-shaped flying craft supposedly flown or occupied by extraterrestrial beings; a UFO. Frequently as a modifier. Cf. flying saucer n.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > [noun] > flying saucer or UFO
flying saucer1947
saucer1947
unidentified (flying) object1950
UFO1953
1947 Decatur (Alabama) Daily 30 June 2/2 (heading) Saucer row still raging.
1947 El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post 2 July (Home ed.) 1/2 (heading) Albuquerque CC chief sees ‘saucer’ in flight.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) V. 363/2 Light reflections from material objects account for most reports of saucers.
1999 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 21 Mar. (Final ed.) c3 (caption) Mysterious burn marks on the highway outside Area 51 are signs of a saucer landing to UFO enthusiasts.
2002 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 10 Mar. 12 As the saucer landed a door opened and a stairway lowered. From a trapdoor emerged a four-foot alien in a green space suit.
B. adj. (in attributive use).
Of the eyes (or sometimes an eye): resembling a saucer; large and round; (hence) wide open; staring. Of a look or expression: wide-eyed; characterized by large, round eyes. Chiefly in saucer eyes. Cf. Phrases.In early use chiefly with reference to ghosts, spectres, devils, and monstrous or supernatural beings; in later use often indicating awe, surprise, alarm, etc.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > by size, shape, etc.
steepc1000
standing1340
glazenc1380
glassy1412
ungladlyc1450
sparklinga1500
goggle1540
pinking1566
whally1590
vailed1591
unweeping1598
dejected1600
unwet1601
glossed1602
haggard1605
saucer-like1612
saucer1618
glaring1622
uncast1629
startling1648
poppinga1696
upraised1707
glancy1733
glazed1735
almond1786
open-eyed1799
bald1807
glazing1808
lustreless1810
unfathomable1817
vague1820
soulless1824
beady1826
socketless1833
fishy1836
glazy1838
popped1849
agoggled1860
uprolled1864
unfaceted1893
shoe-button1895
poppy1899
googly1901
slitty1908
bead-berry1923
1618 R. Brathwait Good Wife sig. F7 Those saucer eyes plast in that witty skonse, Which vs'd to looke some twenty waies at once.
1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. i. 11 Some have mistaken Blocks and Posts, For Spectres, Apparitions, Ghosts With Sawcer-eyes, and Horns.
1718 M. Prior Hans Carvel 77 The devil..without saucer-eye or claw Like a grave Barrister at Law.
1808 J. Wolcot One more Peep at Royal Acad. in Wks. (1812) V. 371 With mealy face and saucer eyes.
1846 C. Boner tr. H. Andersen Danish Story-bk. sig. K 6v He struck the flint, and the well-known dog with saucer-eyes stood before him.
1931 B. Fitzpatrick Frail Anne Boleyn xxvii. 58 Henry's saucer stare and beatific smile.
1966 Sunday Times Mag. 26 June 11/2 Street barkers swing the door back and forth long enough for the stripper's glazed eye to meet the saucer gaze of pavement tourists.
1976 G. Moffat Short Time to Live v. 48 ‘This is the astonishing thing—’ she turned to Miss Pink with saucer eyes.
2020 Express Online (Nexis) 2 Dec. It was her side-swept elfin crop and saucer eyes, so beguiling in Lategan's photos, that created her enigmatic appeal.
Phrases
In similative phrases, comparing the eyes to saucers, esp. in being large and round, and in later use typically indicating awe, surprise, alarm, or other strong emotion, as in eyes like saucers, eyes as wide (also big, large, etc.) as saucers, etc. [The phrase originally showed sense A. 1a. Compare similarly Anglo-Norman les oyls granz com deus saucers (13th cent.).]
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a1425 (?a1350) Seven Sages (Galba) (1907) l. 3110 (MED) With eghen þat war ful bright and clere And brade ilkone als a sawsere.
1598 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 3 Last Bks. vi. i. 95 Her eyes like siluer saucers fayre beset, With shining Amber and with shady-Iet.
1659 T. St. Serfe tr. S. de Cyrano de Bergerac Σεληναρχια sig. Gv In Water there is Fire, and in Fire there is Water; in Air, Earth; and in Earth, Air; and though this opinion make your Scholars open their eyes as big as sawcers, yet it is easier to prove, then to perswade them to it.
1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant v. i. 74 We met three or four hugeous ugly Devils, with eyes like Sawcers.
1679 tr. Trag. Hist. Jetzer 3 The eyes of these Dogs as Jetzer thought,..were bigger than Saucers.
1789 ‘P. Pindar’ Subj. for Painters 40 I thought That thou a pair of horns hadst got, With eyes like saucers staring!
1818 Morning Post 6 Feb. He spoke, and like saucers expanded all eyes In wonderment, scanning the orator's size.
1844 A. Marsh-Caldwell Triumphs of Time I. iii. 94 To my surprise, he answered with a sort of smile, ‘that perhaps it might’. I stared with eyes as large as saucers.
1921 S. F. Gowing Man with Brooding Eyes iv. 42 He dropped her hands as if they burned him, and moved back a step, staring at her with awe and incredulity. Ted Hartopp's eyes were like saucers.
2007 R. Bowen Dublin's Fair City (2015) xxxiii. 271 The frightened groom nodded, his eyes as wide as saucers.
Compounds
C1. As a modifier, designating something with a round shape, likened to a saucer, as in saucer cap, saucer head, etc.See also saucer dome n., saucer hat n.
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1706 J. Petiver Classical Catal. 83 Edg'd saucer shell.
1815 W. Burney Falconer's New Universal Dict. Marine (rev. ed.) at Bolt Those..have commonly small round heads, somewhat flatted, called saucer heads.
1885 C. Lowe Life Bismarck I. 17 He got himself up in the traditional long-boots, velvet jacket, and saucer cap.
1911 H. Walpole Mr. Perrin & Mr. Traill iv. 72 Faint blue skies, dim and shining like clear glass with a hard yellow sun stuck like a tethered balloon between saucer-clouds.
2010 J. Manick Incoming vi. 42 My winter green uniform, wool overcoat and saucer cap, while providing excellent insulation from below freezing temperatures, offered little protection from the rain.
C2. Forming adjectives with the sense ‘that has a —— like a saucer’; ‘that has a saucer's ——’, by combining with a noun + -ed, as in saucer-headed, saucer-shaped, saucer-sized, etc.See also saucer-eyed adj.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved surface > [adjective] > concave > like specific object
camois1664
pouch-likea1676
scaphoidal1681
spoon-likea1686
umbilicated1693
umbilicate1698
saucer-shaped1753
boat-shaped1760
pouchy1786
cupped1796
urn-shaped1796
naviform1816
spoon-shaped1817
urn-like1826
vase-shaped1832
bag-shaped1836
basin-like1836
trough-like1839
urceiform1840
vase-like1840
saucered1847
bag-like1849
sac-like1849
pouch-shaped1854
basin-shaped1859
trough-shaped1871
bucketed1886
spooned1890
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Fungoides The saucer shaped angular Fungoides.
1815 W. Burney Falconer's New Universal Dict. Marine (rev. ed.) at Anchor Saucer-headed bolt.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 273 A muckle great saucer-headed cutlugged stane, that they ca' Charlies Chuckie.
1848 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. IV. 213/2 At the bottom of the sac is situated a saucer-shaped body.
1901 Athenæum 27 July 132/1 The same church has a saucer-shaped paten, 1652.
1908 Amer. Architect & Building News 10 Apr. 525/2 Its open cupola surmounting its saucer domed ceiling.
2002 enRoute Oct. 30/2 It's three baby asparagus tips per person, two jumbo shrimp in lime and papaya sauce..and, for dessert, a saucer-sized gateau sliced five ways.
C3.
saucer barrow n. Archaeology a type of Bronze Age round barrow found in southern Britain consisting of a low, wide, circular mound covering one or more burials, surrounded by a ditch and an external bank; cf. round barrow n.
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1872 W. C. Borlase Nænia Cornubiæ 119 The Flat Barrow is a second variety of the Bowl Barrow, and might quite as appropriately be compared to an inverted saucer.]
1908 Proc. Dorset Nat. Hist. & Antiquarian Field Club 29 p. lxxiv On the way from Bridehead to Dorchester time may remain to visit an earth circle called the Saucer barrow, and the ‘Nine Ladies,’ who stand by the roadside.
2002 G. Cooney in G. Varndell & P. Topping Enclosures in Neolithic Europe (2017) viii. 77/2 Just to the north of the site is a bowl barrow with a saucer barrow built onto the west side.
saucer-blue adj. (esp. of eyes) blue in colour.Perhaps with reference to the shade of blue characteristic of blue and white porcelain ware. Cf. china blue adj.
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1838 Sunday Times 23 Dec. 3/1 His eyes distended into saucer-blue globularities.
1892 Punch Christmas No. 10/1 His hair was soldier-scarlet, and his eyes were saucer blue.
2015 J. McGregor in K. Barry & O. Smith Winter Pages I. 64 We bent around Lough Fee and Leenaun and under the shoulders of Croagh Patrick, the still waters as we passed perfectly reflecting the saucer-blue sky.
saucer brooch n. Archaeology a circular, metal, saucer-shaped brooch of a type dating to the 5th and 6th centuries, typically gilded and consisting of a central plate decorated with chip carving (chip carving n. 1b), surrounded by an upturned rim.Brooches of this type are known particularly from Anglo-Saxon England and from contemporary sites in north-west Germany.
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1893 Proc. Soc. Antiquaries London 1891–3 14 315 The other remains include..a small saucer brooch of bronze gilt with human face, .72 inches in diameter.
1912 Archaeologia 63 167 The find included no less than four saucer brooches, one decorated with the star with incurved sides..and three with spirals.
1965 A. H. Smith in J. B. Bessinger & R. P. Creed Medieval & Ling. Stud. 61 The presence of artifacts in the Avon valley cemeteries, like applied, disc, and saucerbrooches..has been interpreted as a mixed culture.
2010 Searcher Feb. 19/1 Mr A Llewellyn sent in the photographs of this copper-alloy Anglo-Saxon saucer brooch, which we assume is a metal detecting find.
saucer burial n. a burial for which funds are raised by collecting donations in a dish laid on or near the corpse.Only with reference to DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy (see quot. 1925) and the subsequent opera Porgy & Bess which feature such a burial, apparently inspired by the practices of the Gullah communities in Charleston, South Carolina.
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the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > types of burial or entombment > [noun] > burial paid for by donations
saucer burial1927
1925 D. Heyward Porgy i. 24 The body lay upon a bed in the corner of the room, sheeted to the eyes, and upon its breast rested a large blue saucer.]
1927 Dial Dec. 530 A ‘saucer burial’ is being provided—a widow and her friends sit around the bed on which the dead man lies, singing and praying for sufficient money for the funeral.
2001 W. Mellers Singing in Wilderness xiii. 185 Porgy and Bess come in to make their contributions to Robbins's ‘saucer burial’.
saucer-buried adj. rare having a burial paid for by donations placed in a dish laid on or near one's corpse.Only in or with reference to the work of DuBose Heyward. See note at saucer burial n.
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the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > types of burial or entombment > [adjective] > paid for by donations
saucer-buried1925
1925 D. Heyward Porgy i. 25 It had even become a grievous reproach to have a member of the family a ‘saucer-buried nigger’.
saucer dome n. Architecture a dome with a shallow profile of less than half a circle.
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1894 Baedeker's London & Environs (ed. 9) 86 On the saucer-dome is the Creation of the Birds.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 7 Oct. 8/2 Work has been begun upon the third saucer-dome.
2016 Constr. Hist. 31 177 The decorated saucer dome that covers the hall of the theatre.
saucer-eyed adj. having large, round eyes; staring, wide-eyed, esp. with awe, surprise, alarm, etc.; (in extended use) awestruck, surprised, alarmed, etc. (cf. Phrases).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > by size, shape, etc. > having
goggle-eyedc1384
well-eyed1483
pink-eyed1519
hollow-eyeda1529
small-eyed1555
great-eyed1558
bird-eyed1564
out-eyed1570
large-eyed1575
full-eyed1581
bright-eyed1590
wall-eyed1590
beetle-eyed1594
fire-eyed?1594
young-eyed1600
open-eyed1601
soft-eyed1606
narrow-eyed1607
broad-eyed?1611
saucer-eyed1612
ox-eyed1621
pig-eyed1655
glare-eyed1683
pit-eyed1696
dove-eyed1717
laughing-eyed1784
almond1786
wide-eyed1789
moon-eyed1790
big-eyed1792
gooseberry-eyed1796
red-eyed1800
unsealed1800
screw-eyed1810
starry-eyed1818
pinkie-eyed1824
pop-eyed1830
bead-eyed1835
fishy-eyed1836
almond-eyed1849
boopic1854
sharp-set1865
bug-eyed1872
beady-eyed1873
bias-eyed1877
blank-eyed1881
gape-eyed1889
glass-eyed1889
stone-eyed1890
pie-eyed1900
slitty-eyed1908
steely-eyed1964
megalopic1985
1612 T. Dekker If it be not Good sig. L4 Saucer-eyde Lucifer, Has drunke to thee this deepe infernall boule off, Wut pledge his vglines?
1622 T. Dekker & P. Massinger Virgin Martir iii. sig. Hv Clouen footed, Blacke, saucer-eyde, his nostrils breathing fire.
1843 Ainsworth's Mag. 4 5 The frightful, open-mouthed, saucer-eyed expression of wonder.
1883 T. Hardy in Longman's Mag. July 268 A thin saucer-eyed woman of fifty-five.
1934 A. Woollcott While Rome Burns 57 He rushed at me in saucer-eyed excitement.
1979 N. Freeling Widow xvii. 108 I've been shot at... Don't look so saucer-eyed..don't let's dramatize.
1988 Times (Nexis) 23 May A marvellous exhibition of saucer-eyed innocence from Eileen Atkins.
1994 S. Murphey Bean Blossom Dreams iv. 61 The little girls, ranging in age from two to four, crept up the stairs, saucer-eyed.
2002 Time Out N.Y. 29 Aug. 117/1 The Japanese-originated animation style—marked by cute, saucer-eyed characters..and densely detailed fantasy settings—is poised to go mainstream in America.
saucer hat n. a circular or elliptical hat with a very low, dome-shaped crown, and often a wide brim, typically worn at an angle.
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1860 N. Brit. Rev. May 307 Shall we come back in time to that old style, as we are come back to hoop-petticoats and inverted saucer-hats?
1866 Arthur's Home Mag. July 72 Round saucer hat of white fancy chip, ornamented with straps of green velvet.
1940 M. Sadleir Fanny by Gaslight i. 30 My own tartan frock..and tiny saucer hat.
1965 J. Potts Only Good Secretary iv. 68 Her head, topped with its black saucer hat.
2016 Express Online (Nexis) 16 Mar. The Princess sported a vast array of styles from pill box and saucer hats to veiled fascinators.
saucerman n. a being imagined or believed to be the pilot or occupant of a flying saucer; an extraterrestrial, an alien.
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society > travel > air or space travel > people who fly in aircraft or spacecraft > [noun] > astronaut or traveller in space > traveller in imaginary spacecraft
saucerman1949
saucerian1950
1949 Iola (Kansas) Reg. 19 Sept. 5/5 (heading) The saucer men.
1967 Time 4 Aug. 40/2 Barney and Betty Hill..whose ‘abduction’ by saucermen during an auto trip was described in the fast-selling book.
1971 New Scientist 30 Sept. 722/1 Visiting saucermen from Mars.
1997 Interzone July 34/1 Longing for the abductee experience, but tired of waiting for the saucermen to call?
saucer pass n. Ice Hockey a pass in which the puck travels through the air at a low trajectory, spinning in a manner likened a flying saucer, and lands flat on the ice. [Compare slightly earlier saucer v. 4.]
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > ice hockey > [noun] > actions
goaltending1891
stick-handling1891
assist1925
body-checking1936
screenshot1940
slap shot1942
poke-check1945
spearing1957
deke1960
penalty killing1960
body check1962
poke-checking1963
takeaway1967
saucer pass1986
1986 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. 16 Oct. c7/1 Then it's on to passing (the Forehand, Backhand, and the ever-useful Saucer Pass), shooting, and body checking.
1998 R. MacGregor Screech Owls' Home Loss 84 Travis sent a saucer pass over Jesse's stick that was perfectly timed.
2015 Walrus Dec. 61/3 On any given night..thousands file into arenas to watch future stars of the game take slapshots and drop saucer passes.
saucer sled n. originally and chiefly North American a large shallow circular sled without runners, made of plastic or metal and used for sliding downhill over snow or ice.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > tobogganing > [noun] > toboggan or luge
toboggan1829
bobsleigh1841
bob1856
coaster1869
bobsled1886
bobsleigh1894
luge1905
boblet1914
saucer sled1951
skeleton bob1954
1951 Manitowoc (Wisconsin) Herald-Times 15 Dec. 16 m/2 (advt.) The latest thing! Your child will be delighted with a Snowflake Saucer Sled.
1953 Bradford (Pa.) Era 8 Jan. 3/3 (advt.) Saucer Sleds. The sled that needs very little snow, and gives a merry spinning ride.
2008 T. Spelling & H. Liftin Stori Telling i. 2 Randy and I spent Christmas running up the hill and zooming down in red plastic saucer sleds.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2022).
saucerv.
/ˈsɔːsə/, U.S. /ˈsɔsər/, /ˈsɑsər/ 1.
a. transitive. To cause (something) to resemble a saucer in some way, esp. in being concave or turned up at the edges. Also with out.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved surface > form curved surface [verb (transitive)] > make concave
hollowc1450
incavate1727
to jaw away1802
dish1805
concave1818
saucer1855
spoon1897
cup1909
1855 H. A. Murray Lands of Slave & Free I. App. E. 461 A simple conical bullet imperceptibly saucered out in the base.
1860 ‘C. Cummerbund’ From Southampton to Calcutta iv. 63 Happy days, ere liver and lost opportunities had soured our natures and saucered our cheeks!
1936 Explosives Engineer Oct. 305/1 Pat was dejected as he walked down the middle of the mine track, whose ties had been saucered out by the mules when the property had been in its heyday.
1977 Whitaker's Almanack 1058/1 The site has been successfully ‘saucered’ to disguise the bulk and reduce the overall height.
1995 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 28 Oct. 11 This practice of ‘saucering the soil surface’ around the base is not advisable in areas with high rainfall such as in tropical regions.
b. intransitive. To have the shape of a saucer; to dip in the centre; to be concave. rare.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved surface > form curved surface [verb (intransitive)] > curve concavely
valleya1552
sag1777
cup1830
hollow1862
saucer1925
1925 W. de la Mare Broomsticks 112 The immense starry sky that saucered in the wide darkness of the Moor.
1949 Motorship Jan. 23/2 The Wilson Line designs did not permit a sheer angle of this degree or pattern, but rather one that saucered smoothly from the bow to midships, rising again to the stern.
c. intransitive. Stock Market and Economics. Of a commodity, price, or market: to level out and begin to recover after a decline in value. Of a recession: to end. Frequently as to saucer out.With reference to a line on a graph tracking such a movement in value resembling the cross-section of a saucer.
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1934 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 29 Sept. 7/3 The time to choose..is when an intermediate general market reaction..has lasted the normal period of several months, and is again showing signs of saucering out and making for another new high level on the graph.
1937 Financial Times 6 July 10/4 Satisfactory confirmation of the recent better action of the Industrial and Rail averages is currently being given by the Bond average,..and the Utility average, which appears to be saucering out.
1977 Times 19 Nov. 1/6 They prophesy that the rate is now ‘saucering’ and that after a brief dip into single figures it will rise again.
1981 Economist 11 Apr. 25/2 The ‘pessimists’ are saying that higher bank lending means the recession may already be saucering out.
1999 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 21 Aug. (Late ed.) 12 It's a brave call, but the gold price looks like it is saucering. Since hitting $US252.20 on July 20, the price has tottered up to $US259.
2. transitive. To pour (a hot drink, esp. tea or coffee) into a saucer to cool.
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the world > food and drink > drink > providing or serving drink > serving tea or coffee > [verb (transitive)] > pour into saucer
saucer1878
1878 Sunday Times 31 Mar. 2/4 Mr. Parsons..was in the very act of ‘saucering’ his tea after the fashion of Mrs. Gamp.
1938 Atlantic Oct. 552/2 ‘Want a sasser o' sorghum?’.. The visitor would ‘sasser’ some sorghum.
1951 H. Giles Harbin's Ridge x. 100 Granny saucered her coffee and blew on it.
1978 New Yorker 9 Jan. 41/3 If a cowboy's coffee is too hot, he puts some in a saucer and blows on it. A cowboy will say to a friend, ‘Take mine, it's already saucered and blowed.’
2017 Paris (Texas) News 19 Jan. 9/6 Doc saucered his coffee and slurped.
3. intransitive. Of eyes: to widen, esp. with awe, surprise, alarm, or other strong emotion.
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1895 Boston Daily Globe 27 Nov. 9/7 The young man's eyes saucered with wonder at her words.
1905 R. Bedford Snare of Strength (1906) xxiii. 158 The colour came into her face again, her blue eyes saucered at him.
2002 In these Times (Nexis) 21 Jan. 24 The doorman's eyes saucered in disbelief.
4. transitive. Ice Hockey. To hit (a pass) so that the puck travels through the air at a low trajectory, spinning in a manner likened to a flying saucer, and lands flat on the ice; to make a saucer pass with (the puck). Cf. saucer pass n. at saucer n. and adj. Compounds 3.
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1985 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. 18 Nov. c2/3 I was going to saucer a pass to MacTavish but I just pulled it across and backhanded the shot.
2011 Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 29 Oct. 4 b/3 A perfect pass from linemate Nick Saracino, who saucered the puck from just inside the blue line ahead to Mayhew between the circles.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2022).
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n.adj.1348
v.1855