soakn.
/səʊk/, U.S. /soʊk/ 1.
a. The condition or process of being or becoming soaked; a spell of soaking. Chiefly in the phrase in soak: cf. a-soak adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > condition of being or making very wet > [noun] > action or process
soak1598
drenching1626
sobbing1664
saturation1732
flooding1799
swamping1802
drench1807
water-soaking1849
soddening1852
soakage1867
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes To steepe or lay in soke.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq4v/1 You need give it but one good Soke.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 350 He also lays the Ball Leathers in soak to supple them.
1787 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 283 I am not without hopes that a good rod is in soak for Prussia.
1887 T. E. Brown Doctor & Other Poems 47 Fixin the die, very slow in the soak,..But takin the colour through and through!
b. A liquid used for maceration; a steep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > action or process of soaking or steeping > [noun] > substance in which to soak or steep
steeping1585
soak1850
1850 R. L. Allen Amer. Farm Bk. ii. 48 As a soak or steep for seeds..there is no doubt of their possessing some value.
c. A vat in which hides are macerated.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for working with skins or leather > [noun] > equipment for softening hides or leather > vat or receptacle
layer1797
softening machine1875
soak1876
stock1882
milla1884
pinwheel1885
wheel vat1885
1876 tr. Schultz' Leather Manuf. 17 Before any portion is put into the soaks.
1897 C. T. Davis Manuf. Leather (ed. 2) vi. 80 Dry salted hides, kips, etc,..are generally put into a pit of water kept for the purpose, called a soak.
d. A heavy saturating rain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > [noun] > a or the fall of rain > downpour
floodc1275
spate1513
spout1554
gourder1565
squata1640
downpouring1669
deluge1720
pash1722
plout1740
on-ding1776
pelt1785
soaker1789
pelter1791
teem1793
pour1794
oncome1808
downpour1811
plash1820
slashing1829
plungec1841
dispunging1876
steeper1878
splurge1879
soak1891
drencher1892
toad-strangler1938
1891 Daily News 20 Aug. 5/1 The long steady soak that finds out the weak spot..in canvas.
2.
a. A percolation of water; water which has oozed through or out of the ground, strata, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > [noun] > water in or percolating through soil > a percolation through ground
soak1707
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) II. 191 In dry Ground that is not annoyed with any Spring or soak of Water.
1821 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 10 Nov. 1134 A sort of river..the water proceeding from the soak of the higher ground on both sides.
1838 F. W. Simms Public Wks. Great Brit. 19 Springs, soaks, or streams of water.
1883 Specif. Alnwick & Cornhill Railway 22 Wherever springs, soaks, or streams appear and issue from the face of the slopes.
b. spec. in Lincolnshire. (Cf. sock n.3 2.) Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > [noun] > water under the ground
under-water1672
soak1799
sub-water1810
1799 A. Young Gen. View Agric. County Lincoln 15 The sock or soak among the silt is sometimes brackish.
1799 A. Young Gen. View Agric. County Lincoln 235 Through all the fens of Lincolnshire we hear much of the soak,..the subterranean water which is found..usually but a very few feet below the surface.
c1818 J. Britton Lincs. 557 The sea water.., unable to pass by the drains, rises on the surface, and is known by the name of soak.
1851 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 12 i. 285 Upon digging down into the sharp silt the soak oozes from the side of the hole.
c. dialect. A piece of marshy, swampy ground.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > wet place, mire, or slough
sloughc900
mooreOE
letch1138
mire1219
sougha1300
dew1377
slop?a1400
flashc1440
slothc1440
slonk1488
slot?a1500
rilling1610
slab1610
water-gall1657
slunkc1700
slack1719
mudhole1721
bog-hole1788
spew1794
wetness1805
stabble1821
slob1836
sludge1839
soak1839
mudbath1856
squire-trap1859
loblolly1865
glue-pot1892
swelter1894
poaching1920
1839 G. C. Lewis Gloss. Words Herefordshire 96 A ‘green soak’, or ‘a warm soak’, is a small spot of marshy ground, in which a spring rises.
1849 J. Lloyd Eng. Country Gentleman 6 Where the soak its emerald fringe displays.
1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. Soke, a patch of marshy land.
d. Australian. A depression holding moisture after rain; a damp spot where water may be obtained.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > small body or puddle > [noun] > soak-hole
soak-hole1883
soak1894
mickery1898
soakage1898
1894 Westm. Gaz. 30 Oct. 4/2 A prospecting party comes along to one of the clay-pans or soaks.
1899 Times 24 Feb. 13/1 The rock holes and soaks on which the lives of themselves and their animals depended.
3. A heavy drinker; a tippler.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > one who drinks to excess
houndOE
drinkerc1200
keach-cup?c1225
gulchcupa1250
bollerc1320
taverner1340
ale stake?1515
wine-bibber1535
bibber1536
swill-bowl1542
malt-wormc1550
rinse-pitcher1552
bibblera1556
ale knight1556
tosspot1568
ring-pigger1570
troll-the-bowl1575
malt-bug1577
gossip-pint-pot1580
black pot1582
alehouse knight1583
worrier1584
suck-spigot1585
bezzle1592
bezzlera1593
cup-leech1593
soaker1593
carouser1596
barley-cap1598
swiller1598
rob-pot1599
Philistine1600
sponge1600
wine-knight1601
fill-knaga1605
reel-pot1604
faithful1609
fill-pot1609
bouser1611
spigot-sucker1611
suck-pint1611
whip-can1611
bib-all-night1612
afternoon man1615
potling1616
Bacchanalian1617
bombard1617
pot-shot1617
potisuge1620
trougha1625
tumbrila1625
borachioa1627
pot-leech1630
kill-pota1637
biberon1637
bang-pitcher1639
son of Bacchusc1640
shuffler1642
suck-bottlea1652
swill-pot1653
poter1657
potatora1660
old soaker1665
fuddle cap1666
old toast1668
bubber1669
toper1673
ale-toast1691
Bacchant1699
fuddler1699
swill-belly1699
tickle-pitcher1699
whetter1709
draughtsmanc1720
bender1728
drammer1740
dram-drinker1744
drammist1756
rum-bud1805
siper1805
Bacchanal1812
boozera1819
rum-sucker1819
soak1820
imp of the spigot1821
polyposist1821
wineskin1821
sack-guzzler1823
sitfast1828
swill-flagon1829
cup-man1834
swiper1836
Lushington1851
lushing-man1859
bloat1860
pottle pot1860
tipsificator1873
tipsifier1873
pegger1874
swizzler1876
bibulant1883
toss-cup1883
lusher1895
stew-bum1902
shicker1906
stiff1907
souse1915
booze-hound1926
stumblebum1932
tanker1932
lush-hound1935
lushy1944
lush-head1945
binge drinker1946
pisshead1946
hophead1948
1820 J. Clare Poems Rural Life (ed. 3) 93 And hearty soaks oft hand the bottle round.
1889 Lisbon (Dakota Territory) Star 15 Feb. 2/5 I think I'll corral a lot of chronic old soaks,..and experiment with them.
4. A prolonged draught or drinking-bout.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > drinking-bout
cups1406
drinking?1518
banquet1535
Bacchanal1536
pot-revel1577
compotation1593
rouse1604
Bacchanalia1633
potmealc1639
bout1670
drinking-bout1673
carouse1690
carousal1765
drunk1779
bouse1786
toot1790
set-to1808
spree1811
fuddlea1813
screed1815
bust1834
lush1841
bender1846
bat1848
buster1848
burst1849
soak1851
binge1854
bumming1860
bust-out1861
bum1863
booze1864
drink1865
ran-tan1866
cupping1868
crawl1877
hellbender1877
break-away1885
periodical1886
jag1894
booze-up1897
slopping-up1899
souse1903
pub crawl1915
blind1917
beer-up1919
periodic1920
scoot1924
brannigan1927
rumba1934
boozeroo1943
sesh1943
session1943
piss-up1950
pink-eye1958
binge drinking1964
1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. Soke,..a long draught. ‘A good soke.’
1855 C. G. Parsons Inside View Slavery iv. 51 When the Southron intends to have a ‘soak’, he takes the bottle to his bed-side.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
soakv.
/səʊk/, U.S. /soʊk/ I. intransitive.
1. c1440 [implied in: Promptorium Parvulorum 463/2 Sokynge, or longe lyynge in lycure, infusio, inbibitura. (at soaking n. 1a)].1674 D. Brevint Saul & Samuel 314 The other water which did cure the Palsie, when the little Image of Montague..had soakt in it.1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq4v/1 To lay a Thing a-soking.1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 313 The Sea, in which they soak every Tide.1833 J. Rennie Alphabet Sci. Angling 68 Before using them let them soak about half an hour in water.1853 A. Soyer Pantropheon 160 As soon as the goose was killed, the liver was put to soak in milk and honey.1889 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 25 234 A spoonful of water in which a clove of garlic has soaked for half an hour.
a. To lie immersed in a liquid for a considerable time, so as to be saturated or permeated with it; to become thoroughly wet or soft in this manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > action or process of soaking or steeping > be soaked or steeped [verb (intransitive)]
soakc1000
fleet1297
steepc1412
swimc1450
soga1552
macerate1612
sug1633
sapple1836
marinate1984
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 240 Dweorge dwostlan weorp on weallende wæter, læt socian on lange.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 252 Asete þonne on hate sunnan..þæt hit sipige & socige.
b. transferred and figurative.
ΚΠ
a1510 G. Douglas King Hart i. xx Ryse, fresch Delyte, lat nocht this mater soke.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. i. sig. Oo2v/1 This Potage must be kept soaking upon a Chafing-dish, or the like.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 65. ¶8 Because it is Vulgar to Lye and Soak together, we have each of us our several Settle-Bed.
a1791 J. Wesley Serm. (1825) II. xcviii. 475 By soaking (as it is emphatically called) so long between warm sheets, the flesh..becomes soft and flabby.
1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl Shooting viii. 142 Now, put these little hints ‘to soak’, as they say out here.
c. To allow moisture to percolate. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (intransitive)] > through > through a porous medium > allow to
soak1694
1694 Philos. Trans. 1693 (Royal Soc.) 17 981 It being Sandy Land, soaks and drains admirably well.
d. Of metal: to become heated uniformly throughout its mass.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > metal in specific state or form > [verb (intransitive)] > become heated uniformly
soak1843
1843 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. I. 241 The work..should be allowed ample time to get hot, or as it is called, to ‘soak’.
1939 J. Dearden Iron & Steel Today x. 134 Here the ingots are allowed to ‘soak’ until they are the same heat all through, and then they are rolled.
2. † c. Of currents: To flow slowly. Obsolete.
a. To percolate; to penetrate by saturation or infiltration; to ooze. Also with in, through, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > percolation > pass through by percolation [verb (intransitive)]
oozea1398
soakc1440
filter1576
percolate1684
infiltrate1828
leach1883
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (intransitive)] > through > through a porous medium
sipec1000
oozea1398
soakc1440
filter1576
strain1590
transude1664
percolate1684
transudate1684
filtrate1686
seep1790
leach1883
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > heat > uniformly > said of heat
soakc1440
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 463/2 Sokyn yn, as lycure yn dyuerse þyngys, or drynkyn yn.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 21 For weede & the water, so soeketh & sucks: that [etc.].
1587 G. Gascoigne Hundred Flowers in Wks. (1907) I. 116 [Floods of tears] Whose fountaine..soketh so, that all my face is styll on flowe.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 238 When the raine descended, it filled the hornes, and soked to the roote of the Vine.
1657 R. Austen Treat. Fruit-trees (ed. 2) 64 A Barrow-full of Rotten Muck,..the fatnesse whereof will soke in among the roots.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 116 If sweat remains Unwash'd, and soaks into the empty Veins. View more context for this quotation
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 74/2 The Structure..may..be rotted by the moisture lying continually soaking upon it.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 42 The Pit..quite free from Water, except some small Quantity that soaked from the Bed of the River.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 31 A narrow channel, through which soaked, rather than flowed, a small stagnant stream.
1884 Law Times Rep. 51 229/2 The water..soaked under the wall and wetted the mud below it.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xiii. 14 b God will make them to soke away like water.
1599 N. Breton Miseries Mavillia in Wks. (1879) II. 36/1 Sorrow sokes long ere it slayes.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 3 The grace of that spirit..might soke and sinke into the soules of men.
1675 J. Smith Christian Relig. Appeal ii. 6 To repel the thought of future Judgment, from soaking into the Spirits.
1881 Times 21 May 11/4 The controversialists have separated to give time for them to soak into the minds..of nations.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flow [verb (intransitive)] > slowly or gently
trinkle1513
glide1526
soak1699
lapse1832
slumber1868
1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. iii. viii. 103 The Sea-Breezes and the Currents, that soak down between Africa and Brazil.
d. With cognate object: To make (way) by percolation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > through > pass through the pores of > make way by
soak1815
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 106 The rivulet beneath..soaked its way obscurely through wreaths of snow.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island iii. xiv. 111 The nearest of the little rivers soaked its way into the anchorage.
e. transferred. Of heat: to penetrate through the mass of an ingot until it is at a uniform temperature.
ΚΠ
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 587/1 Bringing such an ingot..to the rolling temperature is not really an operation of heating,..but one of equalizing the temperature, by allowing the internal excess of heat to ‘soak’ through the mass.
1970 E. N. Simons Dict. Ferrous Metals 191 Soaked steel, steel heated in a furnace and held at the chosen temperature sufficiently long for the heat to have ‘soaked’ right through to the centre of the mass, which is only then uniformly heated.
3. To drink immoderately; to saturate oneself with liquor.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (intransitive)]
to drink deepa1300
bousec1300
bibc1400
to drink drunk1474
quaff1520
to set cock on the hoopa1535
boll1535
quass1549
tipple1560
swillc1563
carouse1567
guzzle1579
fuddle1588
overdrink1603
to drink the three outs1622
to bouse it1623
sota1639
drifflec1645
to drink like a fisha1653
tope1668
soak1687
to play at swig1688
to soak one's clay (or face)1704
impote1721
rosin1730
dram1740
booze1768
to suck (also sup) the monkey1785
swattle1785
lush1811
to lift up the little finger1812
to lift one's (or the) elbow1823
to crook one's elbow or little finger1825
jollify1830
to bowse up the jib1836
swizzle1847
peg1874
to hit the booze, bottle, jug, pot1889
to tank up1902
sozzle1937
to belt the bottle1941
indulge1953
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 78 You keep soaking in Taverns, and come and make such Complaints to me.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. ii. 42 You do nothing but soak with the guests all day long, whereas..I never touch a drop.
1828 J. Ruddiman Tales & Sketches 133 A' your sodger gentry..sit soaking and drinking.
1883 19th Cent. Oct. 594 The shambling and scrofulous shirk whom you may find any night soaking at the pothouse.
II. transitive.
4.
a. Of liquid or moisture: To permeate thoroughly; to saturate with wet. Frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > condition of being or making very wet > make very wet [verb (transitive)] > of liquid or moisture
soaka1340
(a)a1340 [see sense 4b]. c1440 [see sense 4b].
(b)1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 128 Where..deep Galesus soaks the yellow Sands. View more context for this quotation1785 W. Cowper Task i. 215 When Winter soaks the fields.1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. II. 303 The quantity..should be sufficient to soak the grain.1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 730 Hyperidrosis..soaking the boots and stockings with a stinking material.1544 T. Phaer Bk. Children (1553) S iij b Stepe it in suffycyent rosewater, tyll it bee wel soked.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. vi. i. 156 The..barleie..is steeped in a cesterne..vntill it be throughlie soked.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 567 The ground standeth not drenched and soked with water.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1726 Let us go find the body where it lies Sok't in his enemies blood. View more context for this quotation
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. iv. 157 Several of her casks had rotted, and her bags were soaked through.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) II. 334 The herbage and the trees are soaked in water.
1876 J. S. Bristowe Treat. Theory & Pract. Med. ii. i. 276 Not when the marshy ground is thoroughly soaked, but when, after it has been thus soaked [etc.].
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter iii. 5 I am soked in my synne.
c1440 Generydes 234 The kyng..was febyll and sokyd with sekenesse.
a1626 N. Breton Daffodils & Primroses 14/1 in Wks. (1879) I My tree of true delight is sokde with sorrow.
a1628 J. Preston Serm. before His Majestie (1630) 30 Soaked and surfetted with pleasures.
1902 M. Barnes-Grundy Thames Camp 88 I am literally soaked in sunshine.
5. absolute.1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 49 If you must soak, be sure to go over the face of the plate with a wet pledget.
a. To lay or place in, to wet with, a liquid so as to produce thorough saturation; to steep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > action or process of soaking or steeping > soak or steep [verb (transitive)]
imbibec1386
steepc1400
soaka1425
temper1490
delay1526
imbruea1575
seethe1599
embalm1623
imbute1657
infund1657
elixate1658
puddle1701
sug1706
sop1853
a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 40 It availeþ mich þat þe yuel or sore be wele fomented or soked wiþ vinegre and watre.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 463/2 Sokyn yn lycure..to be made softe.
1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 39v Beate the Saffron in poulder, stiepe, and soke it.
1652 J. Mayne tr. Donne Bk. Epigr. 94 The ground..Her Temples now steept in sea-water sokes.
1659 H. More Immortality of Soul iii. vii. §8 It is not unlikely, but that they soak their Vehicles in some vaporous or glutinous moisture or other.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 52 If you put Wormwood into the Brine you soak your Corn in.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 350 The purpose of soaking them is only to supple them.
1829 J. Togno & E. Durand tr. H. Milne-Edwards & P. Vavasseur Man. Materia Medica vii. 282 It is..covered over with lint, which is afterwards soaked with the same caustic liquid.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 443 It consists in soaking the positive or negative on glass in a special solution.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1648 G. Daniel Eclog. iii. 193 You soake your soules, and by too large a flood.
1879 ‘G. Eliot’ Theophrastus Such x. 183 We soak our children in habits of contempt.
1895 I. Zangwill Master 439 He must soak himself in Paris and forget her.
c. reflexive with reference to excessive drinking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (reflexive)]
overdrinkOE
soak1817
swattlec1826
binge1854
to drink oneself silly1907
to tank up1951
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. xii. 278 Habitual topers..acquire the power of soaking themselves with a quantity of liquor [etc.].
1891 E. Roper By Track & Trail xvii. 256 Even..where people can get what they choose to drink, they do not soak themselves in beer.
6.
a. To bake (bread, etc.) thoroughly. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > cook [verb (transitive)] > bake > bake thoroughly
soak1686
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. vi. 22 The One baketh, the Other as it were soketh (that I may use Pastery Terms) the Fruits of the Season.
1736 Compl. Family-piece i. ii. 111 A Haunch of 12 Pounds Weight will take up three full Hours to be well soak'd.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Soak, to bake thoroughly. It is particularly applied to bread.
1872 M. S. De Vere Americanisms 548 Bread..is said ‘to be well soaked’, if it is dry and thoroughly well baked.
b. To maintain (metal or ceramics) at a constant temperature for a period to ensure that they are uniformly heated.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > pottery-making or ceramics > make pottery [verb (transitive)] > other processes
whave1611
throw1698
slap1786
deliver1809
blungec1830
frit1832
saggar1839
sling1853
boss1860
porcelainize1863
kaolinize1874
soak1925
jigger1931
press-mould1971
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > heat > uniformly
soak1925
1925 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 112 491 The ingots should be stripped, soaked, and forged before reaching the temperature of the critical range.
1956 A. K. Osborne Encycl. Iron & Steel Industry 392/1 The pit was for soaking the ingots or permitting the heat contained in the still molten steel in its interior to penetrate to the outer portions until the temperature of the entire ingot was reasonably uniform.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) VII. 346/1 In this type of kiln the cycle of setting ware in the kiln, heating up, ‘soaking’ or holding at peak temperature for some time, cooling and removing or ‘drawing’ the ware is repeated for each batch.
7. colloquial or slang.
a. to soak one's clay (or †face), to drink (heavily).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (intransitive)]
to drink deepa1300
bousec1300
bibc1400
to drink drunk1474
quaff1520
to set cock on the hoopa1535
boll1535
quass1549
tipple1560
swillc1563
carouse1567
guzzle1579
fuddle1588
overdrink1603
to drink the three outs1622
to bouse it1623
sota1639
drifflec1645
to drink like a fisha1653
tope1668
soak1687
to play at swig1688
to soak one's clay (or face)1704
impote1721
rosin1730
dram1740
booze1768
to suck (also sup) the monkey1785
swattle1785
lush1811
to lift up the little finger1812
to lift one's (or the) elbow1823
to crook one's elbow or little finger1825
jollify1830
to bowse up the jib1836
swizzle1847
peg1874
to hit the booze, bottle, jug, pot1889
to tank up1902
sozzle1937
to belt the bottle1941
indulge1953
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink intoxicating liquor > freely
wassailc1300
waught?a1513
quaff1520
to drink (it) all outa1522
bibblea1529
quaught1530
to set cock on the hoopa1535
quass1549
tipple1560
swillc1563
carouse1567
to drink, quaff (pledge one) carouse1567
troll-the-bowl1575
to take one's rousea1593
pot1622
tope1668
toot1676
compotate1694
to soak one's clay (or face)1704
birlea1800
to splice the mainbrace1805
jollify1830
brimmer1838
to give it a bit of a nudge1966
nudge1966
1704 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 180 Sober and meek under disgrace,..Now he's advanced he soaks his face.
1770 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 559 He is said to..[have] Soaked his face.
1840 R. H. Barham Look at Clock in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 54 Mr. David Pryce had been soaking his clay.
b. To ply with liquor. Also in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (transitive)] > make drunk
fordrenchc1000
indrunkena1300
mazec1390
distemper1491
whittle1530
swill1548
inebriate1555
disguise1560
intoxicatea1566
tipple1566
overtake1577
betipple1581
seethe1599
fuddlec1600
fox1611
wound1613
cupa1616
fuzzle1621
to gild overa1625
sousea1625
tip1637
tosticate1650
drunkify1664
muddle1668
tipsy1673
sop1682
fuzz1685
confound1705
mellowa1761
prime1788
lush1821
soak1826
touch1833
rosin1877
befuddle1887
slew1888
lush1927
wipe1972
1826 J. Banim & M. Banim Tales by O'Hara Family 2nd Ser. II. 272 Well?..you pumped him? and soaked him?
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Aug. 4/1 He was..so drunk he could not stand. His friend..was also pretty well soaked.
c. To spend (money) in drink.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (transitive)] > drink intoxicating liquor > waste time or money in drink
drink1492
tipplea1625
wine?1624
to knock down1852
soak1903
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (transitive)] > spend (time or money) in drinking
fuddle1756
soak1903
1903 Daily Chron. 31 Aug. 3/4 When you meet him give him sixpence... He will soak it, of course, but that is long past mending.
d. To put (something) in pawn.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > borrowing money > borrow money [verb (transitive)] > pawn
to give (also have, lay, put, take) to pledgec1384
to set, put, lay to or in wedc1384
engage1525
pawn1570
to lay (up) in lavender1584
impawn1598
oppignorate1622
pignorate1623
dip1640
to put to lumber1671
vamp1699
pop1731
sweatc1800
spout1811
lumber1819
up the spout1819
hock1878
soak1882
to put away1887
1882 G. A. Sala Amer. Revisited (1885) 382 ‘Soak my gems,’ and ‘Walker my diamonds’.
e. U.S. slang. To punish, beat, pummel, strike hard, etc.; to criticize harshly, to ‘knock’; to soak it to (one) = to sock it to at sock v.2 1c(b) (one).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > [verb (transitive)]
threac897
tighta1000
beswinkc1175
punisha1325
chastise1362
paina1375
justifya1393
wage1412
reformc1450
chasten1526
thwart over thumba1529
chastifyc1540
amerce?1577
follow1579
to rap (a person) on the knuckles (also fingers)1584
finea1616
mulcta1620
fita1625
vindicate1632
trounce1657
reward1714
tawse1790
sort1815
to let (a person) have it1823
visit1836
to catch or get Jesse1839
to give, get goss1840
to have ita1848
to take (a person) to the woodshed1882
to give (one) snuff1890
soak1892
give1906
to weigh off1925
to tear down1938
zap1961
slap1968
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)] > specific animate object
drepeOE
smitec1200
buffet?c1225
strike1377
rapa1400
seta1400
frontc1400
ballc1450
throw1488
to bear (a person) a blow1530
fetch1556
douse1559
knetcha1564
slat1577
to hit any one a blow1597
wherret1599
alapate1609
shock1614
baske1642
measure1652
plump1785
jow1802
nobble1841
scuff1841
clump1864
bust1873
plonk1874
to sock it to1877
dot1881
biff1888
dong1889
slosh1890
to soak it to1892
to cop (a person) one1898
poke1906
to hang one on1908
bop1931
clonk1949
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > beat
threshOE
beatc1000
to lay on?c1225
chastise1362
rapa1400
dressc1405
lack?c1475
paya1500
currya1529
coil1530
cuff1530
baste1533
thwack1533
lick1535
firka1566
trounce1568
fight1570
course1585
bumfeage1589
feague1589
lamback1589
lambskin1589
tickle1592
thrash1593
lam1595
bumfeagle1598
comb1600
fer1600
linge1600
taw1600
tew1600
thrum1604
feeze1612
verberate1614
fly-flap1620
tabor1624
lambaste1637
feak1652
flog1676
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slipper1682
liquora1689
curry-comb1708
whack1721
rump1735
screenge1787
whale1790
lather1797
tat1819
tease1819
larrup1823
warm1824
haze1825
to put (a person) through a course of sprouts1839
flake1841
swish1856
hide1875
triangle1879
to give (a person or thing) gyp1887
soak1892
to loosen (a person's) hide1902
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person
to-beatc893
threshOE
bustc1225
to lay on or upon?c1225
berrya1250
to-bunea1250
touchc1330
arrayc1380
byfrapc1380
boxc1390
swinga1400
forbeatc1420
peal?a1425
routa1425
noddlea1450
forslinger1481
wipe1523
trima1529
baste1533
waulk1533
slip1535
peppera1550
bethwack1555
kembc1566
to beat (a person) black and blue1568
beswinge1568
paik1568
trounce1568
canvass1573
swaddle?1577
bebaste1582
besoop1589
bumfeage1589
dry-beat1589
feague1589
lamback1589
clapperclaw1590
thrash1593
belam1595
lam1595
beswaddle1598
bumfeagle1598
belabour1600
tew1600
flesh-baste1611
dust1612
feeze1612
mill1612
verberate1614
bethumpa1616
rebuke1619
bemaul1620
tabor1624
maula1627
batterfang1630
dry-baste1630
lambaste1637
thunder-thump1637
cullis1639
dry-banga1640
nuddle1640
sauce1651
feak1652
cotton1654
fustigate1656
brush1665
squab1668
raddle1677
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slam1691
bebump1694
to give (a person) his load1694
fag1699
towel1705
to kick a person's butt1741
fum1790
devel1807
bray1808
to beat (also scare, etc.) someone's daylights out1813
mug1818
to knock (a person) into the middle of next week1821
welt1823
hidea1825
slate1825
targe1825
wallop1825
pounce1827
to lay into1838
flake1841
muzzle1843
paste1846
looder1850
frail1851
snake1859
fettle1863
to do over1866
jacket1875
to knock seven kinds of —— out of (a person)1877
to take apart1880
splatter1881
to beat (knock, etc.) the tar out of1884
to —— the shit out of (a person or thing)1886
to do up1887
to —— (the) hell out of1887
to beat — bells out of a person1890
soak1892
to punch out1893
stoush1893
to work over1903
to beat up1907
to punch up1907
cream1929
shellac1930
to —— the bejesus out of (a person or thing)1931
duff1943
clobber1944
to fill in1948
to bash up1954
to —— seven shades of —— out of (a person or thing)1976
to —— seven shades out of (a person or thing)1983
beast1990
becurry-
fan-
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > criticize [verb (transitive)] > severely
to be sharp upon1561
crossbite1571
scarify1582
canvass1590
maul1592
slasha1652
fib1665
to be severe on (or upon)1672
scalp1676
to pull to (or in) pieces1703
roast1710
to cut up1762
tomahawk1815
to blow sky-high1819
row1826
excoriate1833
scourge1835
target1837
slate1848
scathe1852
to take apart1880
soak1892
pan1908
burn1914
slam1916
sandbag1919
to put the blast on (someone)1929
to tear down1938
clobber1944
handbag1952
rip1961
monster1976
1892 Columbus (Ohio) Evening Dispatch 29 July 1/4 To-day's Washington Post ‘soaks’ it to the Southern Democrats in the House who were so rallied in 1885 in their support of the bill making an appropriation to the New Orleans Exposition, but are now opposed to a similar appropriation for the World's Fair.
1896 Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 29 July 1 Embezzlers Soaked. The Fines and Sentences Given the Pittsburgh Defaulters.
1896 S. Crane George's Mother xiii. 152 At the gang's corner, they asked: ‘Who soaked yeh, Fidsey?’
1904 G. H. Lorimer Old Gorgon Graham 18 The unspeakable Turk hadn't been soaked hard enough to suit him [sc. an Armenian].
1908 G. H. Lorimer Jack Spurlock ii. 44 Yes, he done it! Soak it to him good!
1908 G. H. Lorimer Jack Spurlock vi. 107 My troubles came at me from all sides, and soaked it to me till my conscience fairly ached.
1915 H. L. Wilson Ruggles of Red Gap (1917) xii. 210 If he gets fancy with you, soak him again. You done it once.
1919 P. G. Wodehouse Their Mutual Child ii. xiv. 270 Soak it to him, kid!
1925 H. L. Foster Trop. Tramp with Tourists iii. 21 I found that we had on board..the man whose newspaper soaked my last book.
1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas ii. 27 He soaked him on the button, don't you know.
f. slang (originally U.S.). To impose upon (a person, etc.) by an extortionate charge or price; to charge or tax heavily; to borrow or extort money from; to cost a high price. Frequently const. for or with indirect object expressing a sum of money. Hence soak-the-rich phr. attributive applied to a policy of progressive taxation (progressive adj. 2d); also in similar phrases, as soak-the-poor, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (transitive)] > overcharge
overchargea1400
surcharge1429
overset?1533
sauce1602
hoist1607
over-reckon1615
extortionc1650
sock1699
fleece1719
soak1895
slug1925
rob1934
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > [adjective] > types or schemes of taxation
ad valorem1772
progressive1792
discriminative1797
indirect1801
progressional1883
degressive1886
regressive1888
soak-the-rich1935
wraparound1968
(a)
(b)1935 J. Warburg Hell Bent for Election 72 He [sc. F. D. Roosevelt] thought he was being ‘clever’ when he tried to steal Huey Long's thunder by suddenly coming out with his ‘soak the rich’ tax message.1935 H. L. Ickes in Lit. Digest 14 Dec. 6/3 Soak the Rich (Antonym, Soak the Poor)—Newspaperese for a system of taxation founded upon the absurd and revolutionary theory that a man should be assessed taxes in proportion to his ability to pay.1949 A. Christie Crooked House i. 8 No Soak-the-rich taxes would have any effect on him. He'd just soak the soakers.1959 Economist 7 Feb. 498/1 The Democratic cry that this is a ‘soak-the-poor’ Budget.1970 Wall St. Jrnl. 29 Apr. 1/5 Soak-the-sinner tax policy remains a stand-by... Taxes on alcoholic beverages and on cigarets have been the most frequent targets for increases.1972 Listener 28 Dec. 898/3 Advocates of populist soak-the-rich policies.1895 N.Y. Dramatic News 23 Nov. 2/2 This little scheme sometimes..enables the photographer to ‘soak’ them.
1899 New York Jrnl. 19 Apr. 6/1 That's all right, Let's soak New York. She can stand it.
1904 Newspaperdom 21 Apr. 8 When a local merchant asks you to give his business a friendly notice, soak him 10 or 15 cents a line.
1911 J. F. Wilson Land Claimers xiii. 178 I know he feels pretty sore over his claim and the way you soaked him.
1915 P. G. Wodehouse Something Fresh ii. 37 Especially after poor old Percy had just got soaked for such a pile of money.
1931 W. Martyn Scarlett Murder vii Maybe there's more money in mushrooms than I knew... Just buy a dish anywhere and see what they soak you.
1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase xiii. 164 Poor, but not mercenary or dishonest, since he refused to soak Mrs. W.
1936 N. Coward To-night at 8.30 ii. 60 She soaked her old man plenty, I'm sure—before he took to soaking himself!
1949 P. G. Wodehouse Mating Season viii. 79 What did he soak him? Five quid?.. And Gussie brassed up and was free?
1958 Times 17 Mar. 12/6 I hope the Court-Leet soaked the Air Ministry, and I expect it did, for these Berkshire men knew their own value.
1966 ‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 101 Can I soak yer fer a coupler bob?
1971 Farmers Weekly 19 Mar. 42/3 If you think this is a soak-the-housewives review, nobody knows more about soaking the housewives than you.
1977 Time 21 Nov. 59/2 Then add the investment in sophisticated equipment: a single stainless-steel 1,000-gal. vat can soak the vintner for some $6,000.
III. Causative and related uses.† 10. To cause to sink in. Obsolete. rare.
8. † c. To drain, exhaust, impoverish. Also to soak dry or up. Obsolete.
a. To draw out, cause to ooze out, by means of soaking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > action or process of soaking or steeping > soak or steep [verb (transitive)] > draw out or cause to ooze out by soaking
soakc1430
c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 25 Take howhys of Vele, & ley hem on water to soke out þe blode.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Clear-Starching Lay it in a dry Cloth to soak out the Sudds.
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 114 Put half the Planks into Water, two or three Weeks, to soak out their Sap.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 179 The bichromate of potash is next soaked out by immersion in water for about four hours.
b. To draw or suck out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > by or as by suction
to suck out1398
soak1577
exorb1657
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 22v Sowe it with lighter seede, that soketh out lesse the substance of the ground.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §346 As well by Strengthning the Spirits, as by Soaking out the loose Moisture.
1824 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. I. xiv. 243 The people you describe to me, soak out all the juices of our dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > make poor or impoverish [verb (transitive)]
destroy1297
poverisha1382
apoora1400
impover1418
poora1425
dispurveyc1430
impoverish1440
beggar1528
weaken1530
ruinate1547
ruin1560
depauper1562
depoverish1569
craze1573
soak1577
sift1591
waste1599
impoor1613
uncluea1616
depauperate1623
disenrich1647
necessitate1647
erumnate1676
straiten1699
poorify1711
pauperize1806
pauperate1839
pauper1841
to clear out1884
immiserate1956
penny-pincha1961
immiserize1971
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > use up, expend, or consume [verb (transitive)] > use up completely or exhaust
stanch1338
exhaust1541
soak1577
tire1589
to suck dry1592
to run away with1622
exantlate1660
to spin out1718
rack1778
overteem1818
deplete1850
to stream out1894
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. ii. vi. sig. L.iij/1 And sucks & sokes the marow bones vntill they feeble waxe.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 2 Whereby they myght..soake hys purse to reape commoditie.
1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. Bii His bounty amongst souldiers sokes him dry.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §480 All Plants that doe draw much Nourishment from the Earth, and so soake the Earth, and exhaust it.
1661 Sir Harry Vane's Politicks 9 It fares with those..as it doth with Gaming Houses, where the Box soaks the Gamesters.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq4v/1 A Woman that sokes up a Man,..qui epuise un Homme.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq4v/1 To soke (or drain) ones Pockets, epuiser les Poches.
d. To allow to drain or ooze away.
ΚΠ
a1764 R. Lloyd Poetry Professors in Poet. Wks. (1774) I. 34 Fellows! who've soak'd away their knowledge, In sleepy residence at college.
9.
a. To allow to sink in; to absorb; to take in by absorption.
ΚΠ
1553 Short Catech. in Lit. & Doc. Edw. VI (1844) 518 He ought..[to] endeavour himself to hear and soak into his mind the word of the Lord.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande ii. f. 7/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Rather we followe the spider in soakyng the poyson, then in imitatyng the Bee by sucking the hony.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 33 The paper..was sleeked..; and this kept it from soaking the ink.
1796 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) II. 33 Losing the water soaked by its Crystals.
b. With up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > action or process of absorbing > absorb [verb (transitive)]
to suck up1530
haust1542
soakc1555
to take up1597
absorb1604
imbibe1651
inhale1836
sop1888
c1555 Manifest Detection Diceplay sig. Diiv Sone after yt this likor was..dried, & soked vp in the boies face.
1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 3v They soke vp the superfluous humours of the earth.
1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. ii. i. 22 Plants..dried..betwixt sheets of paper, which help to soak up the superfluous moisture.
1740 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (ed. 2) App. p. lix When dry, throw it into the composition,..and stir it about, till it has soak'd it up.
1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 273 One great mountain that soaked up all the rose of sunset.
c. To drink, imbibe, esp. to excess.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (transitive)]
bibc1400
swill1563
tipple1581
tun1589
bezzle1612
tope1654
soak1697
bibulate1767
to go a bust1939
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xv. 419 The men come home fat with soaking this Liquor.
1865 Reader No. 117. 339/3 The quantity of port soaked there.
d. passive with in: to be imbued with, to be profoundly acquainted with (a subject of study).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > intellectual command, mastery > have mastery of [verb]
canOE
knowc1300
to be mistress ofc1440
possess1607
soak1937
1937 Ann. Reg. 1936 56 It was generally agreed that the best speeches were made more or less extempore by speakers who were ‘soaked’ in their subject.
a1960 E. M. Forster Maurice (1971) i. i. 4 Mr Ducie would smile, for he was soaked in evolution.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > idea, notion, or concept > occur to [verb (transitive)] > impress
soak1599
estamp1658
1599 E. Sandys Europæ Speculum (1632) 28 They cast about gently to soake and settle them in mens..consciences.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
soak-dike n.
ΚΠ
1970 S. J. Hallam in C. W. Phillips Fenland in Roman Times 23 Settlers clung tenaciously to these rich soils, and we can read from the air the story of their constant efforts to cope with deteriorating drainage: silting, the digging of soak-dykes, renewed silting, re-digging.
soak-ditch n.
ΚΠ
1970 S. J. Hallam in C. W. Phillips Fenland in Roman Times 33 The modern soak ditches take the drainage from the field ditches and discharge it into the main channel at regulated points; the Roman soak ditches must have had a similar function.
soak-drain n.
ΚΠ
1963 Times 1 Feb. 13/7 The southern fringes of the planned settlement went first; water courses were provided with parallel soak-drains, which in their turn proved inadequate.
1970 P. Salway in C. W. Phillips Fenland in Roman Times 18 On the silts, continued occupation must have depended on keeping the system of soak-drains in operation. These drains imply sluices to let the water drain out of field and settlement ditches into the main watercourses at low tide and to prevent or control river water entering the ditches at high tide.
C2. † soakpit n. = soakaway n. (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > other types of drainage > pits
cesspool1671
catch-pit1811
catch basin1855
soakpit1898
soakaway1916
soakway1956
1898 E. C. S. Moore Sanitary Engin. i. 5 If made in porous soils so that the liquid soaks away they are called soak~pits; they are dangerous to neighbouring wells.
soakway n. [way adv.] = soakaway n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > other types of drainage > pits
cesspool1671
catch-pit1811
catch basin1855
soakpit1898
soakaway1916
soakway1956
1956 C. D. Pigott in D. L. Linton Sheffield 83 Now only Sphagnum recurvum is at all frequent and this is no doubt due to its occupation of the wettest soakways which are avoided by sheep.
1978 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 126 438/2 These latter [sc. rain water channels]..empty into soak~ways at the base of the building.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1598
v.c1000