wink
/wɪŋk
/- The smiley icon appeared momentarily, one of the eyes closing quickly as it winked.
- Before I could signal my incredulity he winked and nodded at a diagram pinned to the wall.
- He glanced at Dallas and winked as Calida opened the gate and walked over.
Synonyms
- We wink at all this, and yet like to pretend that we are respectable.
- If the individual does not speak out against untouchability, it means he is winking at its practice.
- From time they were boys, others have fawned over them, winked at their flaws, excused their peccadilloes.
Synonyms
- At night, ropes of tiny white lights wink among the vines.
- I can still see him, just, brake lights winking as he catches up with a line of cars ahead.
- Later that evening, as the sun sets and lights wink on in the surrounding hills, I set out to visit the city's most popular bar.
Synonyms
- ‘Good enough to eat,’ he added with a wink and in a manner that can only be described as sarcastic.
- Pretty rude, I think, so to clarify my intent I give a cheeky wink and nodding-back-a-pint gesture.
- There are no winks or hidden gestures in the music.
Phrases
as easy as winking
in the wink of an eye (or in a wink)
not sleep (or get) a wink (or not get a wink of sleep)
Derivatives
winker
Origin
Old English wincian 'close the eyes', of Germanic origin; related to German winken 'to wave', also to wince1.
Today someone who winks closes and opens an eye quickly. In Anglo-Saxon times to wink was simply to close the eyes. Hoodwink, meaning ‘to trick or deceive’, harks back to this original meaning. To hoodwink someone in the 16th century was to blindfold with a hood, before an execution or while attacking them. The modern metaphorical sense developed early the next century. To tip someone the wink is an example of old underworld slang or ‘rogues' cant’ recorded from the 17th century. It is probably the source of tip in the sense of ‘a useful piece of advice’. Tip here means simply ‘to give, allow to have’—its use in sentences like ‘tip me a shilling’ led to the modern sense of tip, ‘a sum of money given as a reward for good service’, found from the mid 18th century. See also nod
Rhymes
- auspice
- auspicious
- auspiciously
- auspiciousness
- Aussie
- Aussieland
- Aussielander
- Aussie Rules
- austenite
- austenitic
- Austen, Jane
- Auster
- austere
- austerely
- austereness
- austerity
- Austerlitz, Battle of
- Austin
- Austin Friars
- Austin, Herbert
- Austin, J. L.
- Austin, John
- Austin, Stephen Fuller
- austral
- Australasia