thrashingn.
/ˈθraʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈθræʃɪŋ/ 1. † b. Grain or straw that has been separated by shaking, beating, etc. Obsolete. rare.
a. The action or practice of separating the grain of a cereal crop from the husks and straw by any of various methods, such as by shaking, trampling, beating with a flail, or (later) by means of a combine harvester or similar machine. Now chiefly regional.Recorded earliest in thrashing floor n. at Compounds 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > threshing
threshingc1384
thrashinga1398
berryinga1642
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxxv. 1066 Maistres vseþ a ȝerde, and so doþ he þat meteþ, kepeþ, and deleþ feeldes and þraisshynge flores [1495 de Worde thraisshynge floores].
1572 I. B. Let. to R. C. sig. Div What with tending his fallowe, reaptyde, seede time, & thrashing, it bindeth alwayes the occupier to the Lande.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xviii. xxx. 602 The good redbearded wheat Far..commeth hardly out of the huske, and asketh some painefull thrashing.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 117 I wish some better methods were found out for the thrashing and cleansing of Corn from the Chaff.
1846 Preston Chron. & Lancs. Advertiser 12 Sept. 2/5 The thrashing of wheat has commenced on a few farms in South Lancashire.
2012 Econ. & Polit. Weekly 21 July 28/2 The entire paddy harvesting and thrashing is now mechanised.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > grain separated from chaff
wheatc825
threshinga1382
sheeling?a1513
shelling1705
sheeling-seeds1802
thrashing1898
1898 Westm. Gaz. 21 Apr. 2/1 The British farmer who has not yet sold last year's thrashing will thus reap the benefit of the higher prices.
2. The action or an act of hitting or beating a person repeatedly and violently, esp. as a punishment using a stick, whip, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > [noun] > specific object a person
threshingOE
sousingc1580
rib-roast1595
basting1599
swingeing1603
cuffing1610
lamming1611
rib-roasting1613
mauling1621
pinking1637
drubbing1650
diverberation1651
verberation1661
trimming1675
rib1699
thrashing1720
dousing1721
fagging1746
bumping1751
dusting1799
clapperclawing1806
milling1806
hiding1809
punishment1811
doing1814
bethumping1831
mugging1846
jacketing1850
frailing1851
pasting1851
towelling1851
tanning1863
fum-fum1885
ribbing1894
paddywhack1898
tanking1905
beating-up1915
shellacking1931
sloshing1931
clobbering1948
twatting1963
duffing-up1967
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > [noun] > beating > instance of
threshingOE
fustigation1428
breeching1520
trouncingc1550
bace1575
firking1594
belting1602
knave's grease1602
oil of baston1604
oil of birch1604
oil of hazel1604
oil of holly1604
oil of whip1604
lamb-pie1607
lamming1611
drubbing1650
vapulation1656
warming1681
floggation1688
working over1695
cullis1719
thrashing1720
halberd1756
licking1756
dressing1769
leathering1790
nointing1794
dusting1799
teasing1807
hiding1809
whopping1812
thrumming1823
toco1823
flaking1829
teaser1832
lathering1835
welting1840
pasting1851
towelling1851
whaling1852
hickory oil1855
swishing1859
slating1860
going-over1881
six of the best1912
belt beating1928
ass-kicking1943
stomping1958
seeing to1968
butt-kicking1970
1720 tr. M. de Cervantes Fair Maid of Inn in Select Coll. Novels (1722) II. 261 He..pursu'd them with a Cudgel, which was adding Fewel to the Fire..; for if he stopp'd one Boy's Mouth by thrashing, there started up Ten more.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy I. x. 153 You impudent blackguard, if you say another word, I'll give you a good thrashing.
1843 A. Bethune Sc. Peasant's Fire-side 111 The benefit of the instructions and thrashings of..the parish schoolmaster.
1907 Daily Chron. 21 Mar. 5/5 A Bill..legalising the thrashing of editors..who wrongfully comment on individuals.
2010 Eugene Weekly 11 Mar. 29/1 Two of them have committed the mortal sin of arriving to supper a few seconds late, earning them a lecture, first, and then a thrashing to within inches of their lives.
3. Originally: a heavy defeat inflicted on an enemy in a conflict or battle. Later also: a decisive or easy victory in a game, competition, or other contest. colloquial in later use.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defeat > [noun]
confusionc1290
scomfit13..
cumber1303
discomfitc1330
scomfitingc1333
discomfiturea1400
scomfiturea1400
discomfitingc1405
overthrowc1440
male journey1455
overset1456
foilc1478
discomforture1485
supprise1488
reversea1529
distrage?1548
loss1548
defeat1553
underdeal1553
discomfort1589
defeatment1598
defeature1598
rufflec1600
defeatance1608
routa1616
Caudine Forks1619
disrout1623
conviction1631
bang1644
derout1644
conquest1677
drubbing1769
check1793
thrashing1797
sauve-qui-peut1815
debacle1847
smash1888
pasting1942
society > leisure > sport > winning, losing, or scoring > [noun] > losing or defeat
loss1548
thrashing1797
punishment1811
trouncing1867
gruelling1882
shut-out1889
slaughter1890
nong1903
caning1933
massacre1940
whacking1951
1797 Oracle & Public Advertiser 24 May Should the French, misled by the late conduct of our Sailors, venture out,..they will ɡet a sound thrashinɡ.
1885 Liverpool Daily Post 1 June 5/4 The county suffered a ‘one innings’ thrashing at the hands of their antagonists.
1999 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 13 Feb. (Final ed.) a7 The rebels..are armed to the teeth and giving government troops a thrashing.
2010 View from Dorchester 12 May 60/4 The tourists duly handed out a thrashing but, despite this the game was greatly enjoyed.
4. Nautical. The action of forcing a vessel to move forwards against strong wind, waves, etc.; (also) the action of a vessel moving in this way.
ΚΠ
1834 W. Richmond Let. 25 Jan. in Port William, at Redcar, on Coast of Yorks. (?1834) 17 It would be most advantageous to the trade as a port of refuge, in case of bad weather and contrary winds, by which much thrashing of the ships may be saved.
1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 115 Much thrashing to and fro in the chops of the Channel.
1999 Canad. Yachting (Regatta Issue) June 20/3 Thrashing back and forth in great style was fun, but we didn't seem to be getting anywhere, likely due to an insetting current.
5. Violent, wild, or strenuous movement; flailing; lashing; (also) an instance of this. Cf. thrash v. III.
ΚΠ
1862 John o'Groat Jrnl. 24 Apr. Four out of the seven [boats] put back without laying their lines, and reached home the same evening after undergoing a heavy thrashing of wind and sea.
1895 Outing Oct. 50/1 Though blinded for a moment by the smoke, I knew from the thrashing going on..that the game [sc. a moose] was mine.
1984 T. Horton Bay Country (1987) 37 The lusty thrashing of sea-run herring and rockfish and shad up every river and stream in April and May.
1997 S. Sanders in J. Daynard Place Within 130 There was the scritch of a zipper and a thrashing of legs and Jesse sprawled on top of his new sleeping bag.
2014 ‘R. Galbraith’ Silkworm (2015) xxxi. 350 He remembered..a sudden cloud of black blood; the thrashing of Dave's body in a silent scream.
6. Computing. Prolonged and inefficient processing by a computer, involving excessive disk activity and typically caused by inadequate available memory.This behaviour was originally audible and distinctive.
ΚΠ
1968 P. J. Denning Resource Allocation in Multiprocess Computer Syst. (Ph.D. thesis, Mass. Inst. Technol.) iii. 85 It has been observed that even the slightest attempt to overuse memory may trigger a total collapse of service efficiency, rather than the moderate degradation that might be expected. This phenomenon is known as thrashing.
1983 Computerworld (Nexis) 21 Feb. 13 Thrashing happens when the system spends more time swapping pages in and out of virtual memory than doing any real work. But we added another megabyte of memory and the problem straightened itself out.
2010 D. Gibson Microsoft Windows 7 Desktop Support & Admin. v. 269 Drives that are excessively fragmented are often subject to disk thrashing.
Compounds
C1.
a. General use as a modifier (in sense 1a), as in thrashing-flail, thrashing-instrument, etc. Cf. threshing n. Compounds 1. Now chiefly regional.Recorded earliest in thrashing floor n. at Compounds 1b.
ΚΠ
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxxv. 1066 Maistres vseþ a ȝerde, and so doþ he þat meteþ, kepeþ, and deleþ feeldes and þraisshynge flores [1495 de Worde thraisshynge floores].
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. iii. 73/1 A Thrasher..with his Flail, or Thrashing Instrument raised over his head.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 267 No corn should be presented until the mill has acquired its proper momentum, the thrashing-motion, as it is termed.
1865 A. Cary Ballads & Lyrics 140 The..farmer-boy Who cut my name upon his thrashing-flail.
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 2557/1 Rollers which carry the grain in the straw from the feed-board to the thrashing cylinder.
1984 C. Kightly Country Voices v. 133 He had four whole sets of tackle—four engines, four thrashing-drums, four elevators and four chaff-cutters.
b.
thrashing floor n. now chiefly regional a hard, level surface on which a crop is threshed; = threshing floor n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > threshing > threshing field or floor
bartonc950
summer fieldc1384
thrashing floora1398
corn-floora1425
summer halla1425
threshing floora1450
summer floor1535
threshing barn1812
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxxv. 1066 Maistres vseþ a ȝerde, and so doþ he þat meteþ, kepeþ, and deleþ feeldes and þraisshynge flores [1495 de Worde thraisshynge floores].
1655 T. Harvey tr. G. B. Spagnoli Bucolicks ix. 87 Ev'ry where the thrashing floors resound.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 57 In vain the Hind shall vex the thrashing Floor, For empty Chaff and Straw will be thy Store.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 47 The size of the thrashing-floors of barns must vary according to circumstances.
2007 Iran & Caucasus 11 15 After winnowing, when the work on the thrashing-floor is over, some groups of the Khorasani Kurds draw a cross-sign on the grain heaps cleaned from the husk.
thrashing machine n. now chiefly regional a machine for separating the grain of cereal crops from the husks and straw; = threshing machine n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > threshing > machine or device for
waina1382
mill1669
threshing machine1735
threshing mill1768
thrashing machine1771
thresher1778
thrashing mill1790
steamer1898
1771 J. W. Baker Abridgm. A. Young's Tour's Eng. & Wales 327 (index) Thrashing machine.
1861 Times 24 Sept. The fine farm-steading, with its stalls, barns, 12-horse fixed steam engine, thrashing machine, saw-mill, bone-mill, &c.
1994 This Country Canada Spring 62/1 If I was working on the thrashing machine, I'd take the hardest job, which was feeding the machine.
thrashing mill n. now chiefly regional a mill for separating the grain of cereal crops from the husks and straw; = threshing mill n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > threshing > machine or device for
waina1382
mill1669
threshing machine1735
threshing mill1768
thrashing machine1771
thresher1778
thrashing mill1790
steamer1898
1790 B. Poellnitz Let. 20 Mar. in G. Washington Papers (1996) Presidential Ser. V. 264 1 thrashing mill.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 86 A considerable fall of water..used to give motion to a thrashing mill.
1946 A. Nelson Princ. Agric. Bot. xxii. 441 Travelling thrashing mills may carry weeds from one farm to the other.
2005 A. Smith Fer Chauve (SCOTS) A thrashin mull wis a machine that separated the grain fae the strae.
C2.
thrashing out n. the action of discussing a matter thoroughly in order to reach a decision, consensus, or conclusion. Cf. to thrash out at thrash v. Phrasal verbs.
ΚΠ
1867 Sporting Gaz. 2 Feb. 75/2 Probably a little thrashing out of ideas will lead to a salutary change being formally proposed.
1970 ‘A. Cross’ Poetic Justice (1991) vi. 96 This is a party for Kate and her charming lawyer, not for the thrashing out of departmental affairs.
2013 Daily Record & Sunday Mail (Nexis) 8 Oct. (National ed.) His calm, reasonable and friendly nature helped in the thrashing out of ground rules for the referendum.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
thrashingadj.
/ˈθraʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈθræʃɪŋ/ That thrashes (in various senses of thrash v.).
ΚΠ
1618 T. Adams Happines of Church ii. 252 A great gentleman will shew more humble courtesie, then a thrashing hind, or a toiling ploughman.
1663 A. Cowley Cutter of Coleman-St. v. viii. 63 Ral. Here's a Company of as honest Fellow-servants; I'm glad, I'm come among 'em agen. Wor. And would I were got out from 'em..; that Robin has a thrashing hand.
1883 Sci. Amer. 17 Mar. 165/3 There is only one team [of horses] needed, and that the thrashing men furnish themselves, and use it for hauling water for the steam engine.
1893 W. C. Russell Romance of Transport xxi. 171 The cannonading of heavy sails, whose released halyards had abandoned the slack canvas to the thrashing gale.
1974 Sports Illustr. 18 Nov. 112/2 Both [wrestlers] go crashing to the canvas. They roll, a tangle of thrashing arms and legs.
1987 M. Roberts Bk. Mrs Noah (1994) viii. 35 The thrashing green branches of the maple tree.
2017 Haida Gwaii (Brit. Columbia) Observer (Nexis) 10 Nov. (Final ed.) I could see the fish deep below the boat with its gaping mouth and huge thrashing body.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
<
n.a1398adj.1618