pine knot
/ˈpʌɪn nɒt/originally and chiefly US
noun
1A knot of pinewood, especially when burned as fuel for a fire or to provide illumination.
2Used in comparisons or similes, with allusion to the toughness or hardness of a pine knot.
3 Figurative. A person or thing considered to be as tough or enduring as a pine knot. Now rare.
Origin
Mid 17th century; earliest use found in John Winthrop (1588–1649), colonial governor. From pine + knot.
- agglutinator
- agglutinin
- agglutinise
- agglutinize
- agglutinogen
- agglutinoid
- agglutinophore
- aggradation
- aggrade
- aggrading
- aggrandisable
- aggrandisation
- aggrandise
- aggrandizable
- aggrandization
- aggrandize
- aggrandizement
- aggrandizer
- aggrape
- aggravate
- aggravated
- aggravated damages
- aggravatingly
- aggravation
- aggravative