sudsn.
/sʌdz/, U.S. /sədz/ Chiefly with plural agreement.† 1. Dregs, leavings; hence, filth, muck. Also figurative or in figurative context. Obsolete.† 2. Flood-water; the water of the fens; water mixed with drift-sand and mud; drift-sand left by a flood. Also transferred (quot. 1599). Obsolete.The authors here quoted belong to East Anglia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > [noun] > specific impurities > sediment
drastc1000
groundsa1340
ground-sopec1440
hovec1440
faecesa1475
groundingsa1475
fex1540
suds1548
grummel1558
foot1560
grout1697
sludge1702
faecula1815
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Pref. 2 b He had so infected the clere fountaine of Goddes woorde with the suddes of humain tradicions.
1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Rivers iv Oft causyng good to be reported yll, Or dround in suddes of Lethes muddy swyll.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxxv. 93 Perchance the fight..Amasde your mynde, and for a whyle did draw Your noble eyes, to settle on such suddes.
1581 in G. J. Piccope Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1860) II. 3 I geue and bequeath vnto James hamer my sone all the dust and sudes towardes the keepinge of a swine.
1594 in Court Leet Rec. Manch. (1885) II. 90 That Roberte Marshall shall not cast any suddes or bludye water one..his backside.
1596 J. Norden Progr. Pietie f. 94 The dangerous estate of thy Church which is much pestered & infected wt the suds of errour.
1609 J. Davies Humours Heau'n on Earth clix. 153 Swimming in Suddes of all sordiditie.
a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1959) IV. 211 Those that lye in the suddes of nature.
1647 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. 8 The base suds which vice useth to leave behind it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > body of water > flood water > [noun]
watersOE
water floodOE
suds1599
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 43 Leander..when hee sprawled through the brackish suddes to scale her [sc. Hero's] tower.
1621 F. Quarles Hadassa xvi. sig. L3v [God's]..lesser breath..can drowne The spacious Vniuerse in suds of Clay.
1629 H. C. Disc. Drayning Fennes sig. B To be surrounded, or to lye in the suds, as we say, three quarters or halfe a yeere..doth mischiefe..the ground.
1635 F. Quarles Emblemes iv. 185 Thus am I driv'n upon these slippry Sudds,..My life's a troubled sea, compos'd of Ebbs and Floods.
1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. 109 Suds, floods. Water mixed with sand and mud; formerly applied to the water of the fens.
3.
Thesaurus »
a. Water impregnated with soap for washing, esp. when hot.
b. The frothy mass which collects on the top of soapy water in which things are washed; in early use esp. a barber's lather. (More fully soap-suds n.) Also in figurative and allusive use (cf. sense 5).
ΚΠ
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. 41 b Hee which washeth his mouth with his owne praise, soyleth him~selfe with the suddes that come of it.
1593 G. Harvey New Let. in Wks. (1884) I. 281 I haue some suddes of my mother witt, to sowse such a Dish clowte in.
1594 H. Plat Diuerse Sorts of Soyle 34 in Jewell House Maister Barnabe Googe will haue all the suddes of his landery conueied thereon.
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden Ep. Ded. sig.Cv Thou that hast made so manie men winke whyles thou cast suds in their eyes.
1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London vi. sig. F1 Barbers..throwing all their Suddes out of their learned Latin Basons into my face.
1606 J. Marston Parasitaster iv. i Alas my miserable maister, what suds art thou washt into?
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Savonné,..frothie like sope-suds, or a lather of sope.
1612 J. Webster White Divel v. iii She simpers like the suds A collier hath been wash'd in.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 98/2 Beating the Soap and Water together, to make it rise to a Froth, which they [sc. Laundresses] call Suds.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. iv. 168 The Shaver was very tedious in preparing his Suds . View more context for this quotation
a1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 268 Let them be washed in strong clear suds.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xxix. 346 He lathered him bountifully. Mr. Bailey smiled through the suds.
1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country ii. 104 The brilliant bubble burst in suds!
1887 G. Meredith Young Reynard i, in Poet. Wks. (1912) 286 Light as a bubble that flies from the tub, Whisked by the laundry-wife out of her suds.
a1893 W. B. Thomson Reminisc. Med. Mission Work (1895) 33 She stroked the suds off her hands and arms.
c. singular. A soap solution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing agents > [noun] > water or solutions > types of solution > soap and water
graith1513
suds1581
lather1583
soap-suds1611
bumble broth1624
soap-sud1699
sapples1821
soap and water1837
suds1884
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 129 It [sc. the grease of the fleece] serves to facilitate the scouring of wool by means of water alone, with which it forms a kind of sud or emulsion.
1884 W. S. B. McLaren Spinning Woollen & Worsted (ed. 2) 32 A moderately good washing in a warm sud, with a neutral soap.
d. The waste liquors produced in the scouring of wool before bleaching.
ΚΠ
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 129 It [sc. the grease of the fleece] serves to facilitate the scouring of wool by means of water alone, with which it forms a kind of sud or emulsion.
1907 Watt's Art of Soap-making (ed. 7) 28 Recovered grease, or Yorkshire fat, is obtained from the suds and washing waters of the fulling mills.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 158 Sud purifier.
4.
a. Foam, froth. Also singular.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > gas or air in liquid or effervescence > [noun] > foam or froth
foama700
scuma1250
frothc1384
spume1390
rial1440
escume1527
suds1592
balderdash1596
yeasta1616
cremor1657
cream1669
1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. D4v They lookte like foure blowne bladders..washt ouer with the suds of an old stale die.
1608 T. Middleton Familie of Love (new ed.) iii. sig. D3 Like the suds of an Alefat, or a washing Bole.
1906 F. S. Oliver Alexander Hamilton iv. ii. 279 Opinions which never at any point touched a firm bottom, but merely swam like a kind of ‘sud’ upon the stream of expediency.
1913 J. G. Frazer Golden Bough: Balder the Beautiful II. 231 While one medicine-man whirls a bull-roarer, another whips up a mixture of water and meal into frothy suds symbolic of clouds.
b. Whaling. The foam churned up by a wounded whale.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > whaling and seal-hunting > whaling > [noun] > harpooned whale > foam churned by
suds1850
1850 H. T. Cheever Whale & his Captors xii. 185 Let us be up among the suds.
c. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.) Beer.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > beer > [noun]
beerc1000
jug1715
swipes1796
gatter1818
pongelo1859
neck oil1860
pig's ear1880
slop1904
suds1904
hop1929
wallop1933
keg1945
turps1945
brewski1977
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > beer > [noun] > weak or inferior beer
small beer1498
small drinkc1525
tap-lash1623
pritch1673
grout1674
belch1706
whip-belly1738
penny-whip1786
swipes1796
strike-me-dead1824
inky-pinky1835
swankey1841
suds1904
near-beer1909
1904 G. V. Hobart I'm from Missouri iii. 52 Who..hoists a few dippers of suds?.. Dad!
1907 Daily Chron. 16 May 6/7 A ‘tub of suds,’ the name for a glass of low quality beer.
1924 Truth (Sydney) 27 Apr. 6 Suds, beer.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 273 Suds, ale.
1926 Flynn's 16 Jan. 638/2 The boozeclerk give us th' high sign he had doped th' suds or skat.
1931 ‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route 177 Fill up on ‘suds’ for a dime.
1943 C. L. Sonnichsen Roy Bean 171 The bear..was still consuming his free bottle of suds.
1962 Radio Times 17 May 43 Let's split to your pad for some suds.
1975 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 8 Feb. 1/2 Before then, Labatt had only a marginal share of the suds market in Quebec.
1977 Mod. Boating (Austral.) Jan. 30/1 The figure propped half-standing on a bar stool, with his face in a glass of suds.
1979 Tucson (Arizona) Mag. Sept. 60/3 Sip suds out of glass jars while you wait.
5. in suds ( †in suds, in the sud): chiefly in to lie or be in the suds; to lay, leave in the suds.† b. Undone; done for; in disgrace. Similarly, into the suds. Obsolete.† d. In an unfinished state or condition. Obsolete.† f. Slightly intoxicated, fuddled. Obsolete.
a. In difficulties, in embarrassment or perplexity. Obsolete or slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [phrase] > in a difficult position > in straits
waterOE
straitly steadc1400
need-stead?c1450
at the worst hand1490
in suds1575
lock1598
at a bad hand1640
in a wood1659
in bad bread1743
up a stump1829
in a tight (also awkward, bad, etc.) spot1851
up shit creek1868
in the cart1889
in the soup1889
out on a limb1897
in a spot1929
up the creek1941
consommé1957
1575 G. Gascoigne Fruites of Warre ciii, in Posies sig. Iiiii He..sought with victuall to supplie, Poore Myddleburgh which then in suddes did lie.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 426 Whilest Scodra thus lay in the suds.
1617 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1849) (modernized text) I. 468 The Lord Coke is left in the suds.
1653 H. More Second Lash of Alazonomastix (1713) 230 After the hurry of his inordinate pleasures and passion, when he was for a time left in the suds, as they call it.
1735 J. Swift Death & Daphne in Wks. II. 406 Away the frighted Spectre scuds, And leaves my Lady in the Suds.
1775 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions (1783) IV. cxxxiv. 216 This proves, logicè, that you are in the suds; which is, Anglicè, being interpreted, that you will be hanged.
a1800 Jolly Beggar xii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1894) V. ix. 114/2 When that some have got their wills They'l leave you in the suds.
1816 U. Brown Jrnl. 28 Sept. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1916) XI. 234 We both in the sudds pretty much.
1816 U. Brown Jrnl. 29 Sept. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1916) XI. 235 Thinking that I was not out of the sudds yet.
1838 Southern Lit. Messenger 4 522 You perceive I am now in the suds—but I shall soon be relieved from this predicament.
1887 R. T. Cooke Happy Dodd xxvii. 295 I shan't leave Mis' Payson in the suds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [adjective]
fellc1330
undone1340
ruinous?a1439
violablea1470
perniciousc1475
destructive1490
confusible1502
destroying1535
exitiable1548
ruinate1562
peremptory1567
wrackful1578
slaughterous1582
ruinating1595
ruining1605
corrumpent1607
wracksome1608
in suds1611
destructory1614
poisonousa1616
wrakefulc1625
predatory1626
predatorious1641
demolishing1648
untwined1649
undoing1654
destructionable1656
destructful1659
mortal1670
wreckinga1677
fatal1692
quadrumanous1704
interdestructive1805
annihilatory1825
demolitionary1834
ruinatious1845
consumptive1860
thunderous1874
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > disgrace or dishonour > [adverb] > in disgrace
in suds1611
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xxiv. 862/1 The glory of the Spaniards laid in the suds.
a1625 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Captaine iii. vi, in Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Hh3v/1 I'le fuddle him Or lye 'ith sudd [2nd Fol. suds].
1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd xxi. 197 Our solace is in the suds! our joy is turn'd into annoy!
1632 P. Massinger Maid of Honour i. ii. sig. C2 Looke not with too much contemplation on mee, If you doe, you are i' the suds.
1633 Match at Mid-night v. i There's one Iaruis, a rope on him has juggled me into the sudds too.
c. In the sulks; in the blues. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill humour > [adjective] > in an ill humour
maltalenta1578
in a jeer1579
in suds1611
sullen-sick1614
in the pouts1615
out of sorts1621
cross1639
off the hooks1662
huff1714
sulkinga1777
as cross as a bear1838
sore-headed1844
sore-head1862
baity1921
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Vilain Being in the suds, or sullens.
1631 S. Jerome Arraignem. Whole Creature xvi. 280 So long he is sicke in the suds, and diseas'd in the sullens.
1807 R. Anderson et al. Ballads in Cumberland Dial. 139 Some lasses thought lang to the weddin—Unax'd, others sat i' the suds.
1840 Lady C. M. C. Bury Hist. Flirt xxv Mary does not look very well, and you are in the suds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > non-completion > not completed [phrase] > in uncompleted state
in sudsa1592
at (after, on) a loose end1851
a1592 R. Greene Orpharion (1599) To Rdr. sig. A3 It hath line this twelue months in the suds. Now at last it is crept forth in the Spring.
1615–20 C. More Life Sir T. Moore (c1627) 242 Some [actions-at-law] lye in the suddes by the space of diuerse yeares.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. xvi. 319 Who so trimly dispatch'd his businesse, that he left it in the suddes.
e. †(a) Being lathered. Obsolete. (b) Being washed, ‘in the wash’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > [phrase] > being washed in soapy water
in sudsc1626
c1626 Dick of Devonshire (1955) 507 P:..they shall want no Balls to wash their faces..Sol: 2. we may hap to be in ye sudds our selves.
c1640 Capt. Underwit i, in A. H. Bullen Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1883) II. 327 I thought you by the wide lynnen about your neck have been under correction in the suds, sir.
1766 T. Smollett Trav. France & Italy v, in Wks. (1841) 699/1 Captain B——,..with the napkin under his chin, was no bad representation of Sancho Panza in the suds.
1788 Times 1 Jan. Though his Lordship has been so long in the suds, it is not thought that shaving will take place till the day of Judgment.
1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers II. iii. 50 Thy best shirt is in t' suds, and no time for t' starch and iron it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > partially drunk
merrya1382
semi-bousyc1460
pipe merry1542
totty1570
tipsy1577
martin-drunk1592
pleasant1596
mellow1611
tip-merry1612
flustered1615
lusticka1616
well to live1619
jolly1652
happy1662
hazy1673
top-heavy1687
hearty1695
half-seas-over1699
oiled1701
mellowish1703
half channelled over1709
drunkish1710
half-and-half1718
touched1722
uppisha1726
tosie1727
bosky1730
funny1751
fairish1756
cherry-merry1769
in suds1770
muddy1776
glorious1790
groggified1796
well-corned1800
fresh1804
to be mops and brooms1814
foggy1816
how-come-ye-so1816
screwy1820
off the nail1821
on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1821
swipey1821
muggy1822
rosy1823
snuffy1823
spreeish1825
elevated1827
up a stump1829
half-cockedc1830
tightish1830
tipsified1830
half shaved1834
screwed1837
half-shot1838
squizzed1845
drinky1846
a sheet in the wind1862
tight1868
toppy1885
tiddly1905
oiled-up1918
bonkers1943
sloshed1946
tiddled1956
hickey-
1770 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 559 He is said to be..a little in the suds.
Compounds
sud-cake n. the residue left after the sud-oil has been pressed from the crude magma in the treatment of the waste liquors from wool-scouring.
sud-dish n. a barber's soap-dish.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > implements used in styling the hair > [noun] > basin or dish
trimming-basin1683
barber's basin1755
sud-dish1892
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 16 Feb. 3/1 His shop..is still to be seen with..its emblematic sud-dish hanging in front.
sud-oil n. grease recovered from these liquors.
ΚΠ
1907 Watt's Art of Soap-making (ed. 7) 85 The manufacture of soaps from the fatty acids generally, including ‘recovered grease’, or ‘sud oil’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > barbers and hairdressers > [noun]
barberc1330
cutterc1425
clipperc1440
raster cloth1440
poller1578
trimmer1583
dressera1596
shavester1620
razor-chirurgeon1624
suds-monger1638
tonsor1656
hair-man1689
head-dresser1697
friseur1750
hairdresser1771
scraper1791
depilator1836
coiffeur1847
Figaro1864
strap1864
tonsorialist1869
trichotomist1875
nai1883
hair-stylist1935
stylist1937
styler1960
crimper1966
Sweeney1966
scissorsmith2002
1638 J. Ford Fancies i. 7 A drie shaver, a copper basand-suds-monger.
suds-tub n. a washing-tub.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > vessel for washing clothes in
wash-bowla1529
buck1530
boyne1532
washing-tub1560
wash-tub1602
bucking-tub1615
buck-vat1620
washing-bowl1622
swill1624
possing tub1659
suds-tub1805
bucking-vat1822
bucking-keir1823
peggy tub1823
poss-tub1829
pounding barrel1853
posskit1855
wash-boiler1875
washpot1926
1805 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1806) 9 113 Poor Mungo came out of the suds tub no whiter than when soused in!
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sudsv.
/sʌdz/, U.S. /sədz/ 1. transitive. To lather; to cover with soap-suds, or wash in soapy water.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > wash [verb (transitive)] > wash in soapy water
latherc950
soap1585
suds1834
yellow-soap1836
soap-and-water1847
sapple1897
1834 ‘C. Packard’ Recoll. Housekeeper 12 Ma'am Bridge was sudsing the clothes in a tub before her.
1939 N. S. Colby Remembering ii. 62 She dipped my hair in a basin of hot water, sudsed it, rinsed it, and dried it with a towel.
1976 S. Wales Echo 27 Nov. 6/3 (advt.) Rub-a-Dub Doll. Soap her and suds her. See how much fun a bath can be.
1981 P. Theroux Mosquito Coast xv. 185 The..splash of our foot-operated wheel sounded like a washing machine sudsing clothes.
2. intransitive. To form suds. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing agents > [verb (intransitive)] > produce lather
lather1600
suds1893
1893 M. A. Owen Voodoo Tales 5 An impertinent housewife had dared to affirm that her soap wouldn't ‘suds’.
1972 Fortune Jan. 73/1 Detergent foam first became a matter of national concern in the early 1960's, when Representative Henry S. Reuss of Wisconsin, among others, pointed out that detergents were persisting, and sometimes sudsing, in the environment.
Derivatives
ˈsudsing n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > [noun] > washing with soapy water
soaping1556
lathering1598
lathera1627
sappling1836
sudsing1844
sudding1909
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > [adjective] > washing in soapy water
sudsing1844
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing agents > [adjective] > soap and water > forming suds
sudsing1844
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing agents > [noun] > water or solutions > types of solution > soap and water > forming suds
sudsing1978
1844 ‘J. Slick’ High Life N.Y. II. 20 I'd gin myself a good sudsing in the wash hand basin.
1879 Scribner's Monthly Oct. 940/2 As soon as they begin to boil, remove them to the ‘sudsing’-water.
1881 S. P. McLean Cape Cod Folks (ed. 8) 167 A good poundin', and boilin', and sudzin', you need.
1957 T. Sturgeon in D. Knight 100 Years Sci. Fiction (1969) 134 Slim heard more water running and sudsing noises, and, by ear, followed the operation through a soaping and two rinses.
1971 New Yorker 6 Nov. 5 (advt.) This rich, sudsing, mentholated cleanser was developed by dermatologists.
1978 Nature 6 Apr. p. xxvii/2 The concentrated detergent powder dissolves quickly to provide fast action, minimal sudsing, and free rinsing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1548
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