Rloating

Condition of being swelled or bloated. Blob, n. [See BLEB.] A drop; a viscid bubble. Blobber, n. A vulgarism signifying a BUBBLE, q. v. Carew. "A round filmy substance called a blobber ." Blobber-lip, n. [ blobber and lip . ] A thick or heavy lip. "They make a wit of their insipid friend. His blobber- lips and beetle-bro we commend." Dryden. Blob'ber-lipped, a. Having thick lips. "His person deformed... flat-nosed, and blobber-lipped." L'Estrange. In the U. States, a square or connected ma of buildings. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle. "No crime is block enough in our way to stop our flight." Decay of Piety. "What tonguele blocks were they, would they not speak?" Shaks. (Falconry.) A perch for a faleon or other bird of prey. (Arch.) [Fr. bloc .] A term applied to large, unworked ma es of marbie or stone; it is also used to denote a modillion in a cornice, or the small projections left on the stones of some buildings, which are supposed to have been indications of the unfinished state of the work, though they are discovered upon some elaborately finished buildings, such as the choragic monument of Thrasyllus. The introduction of the blocks on the archstones of the Pont-du-Gard (Fig. 163) is a striking illustration of their use. (Naut.) The shell or case that contains the wheel or sheave of a pulley, (which last term is never used at sea.) Two or more blocks, with the rope, constitute what is technically called a tackle . B. are of various kinds, being called sin gle , double , triple , ., according to the number of sheaves they contain. They also bear different names from some peculiarity shape, such the long-tackle block, clue-line of as block, snatch block, ., or from the position of the rigging in which IMG:content-0654.jpg:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0655.jpg:[blocks in formation] they happen to be placed. There is a great differ1. Double block. 2. Triple block. ence in the size 3. Clue-line block.-4. Long-tackle block. and capability of 5. Snatch-block. blocks used on board ship, and for the various purposes in which such mechanical appliances are required. The component parts of a B. are the shell , the sheave , the pin , and the strap . By means of blocks, sailors are enabled to raise the sails, and tighten or loosen ropes in different parts of the ve el with greater facility. See DEAD-EYE. - Blocks are also the pieces of wood and iron on which a ship's keel is supported when undergoing repairs in a dry or graving dock. Block, v. a. To enclose or shut up as with a block or blocks, or some solid ma ; to stop up; to obstruct. "Recommend it to the Governor of Abingdon, to send some troops to block it up." - Lord Clarendon. -To fasten or secure by means of blocks. To block out. To lay out; to bring into shape or form. Blockade', n. [It. bloccato , blocked up; from bloc care, to block up.] The blocking up, or shutting up, of a port by surrounding or guarding it with hostile ships, with a view to prevent egre or ingre of supplies or reinforcements. - In International Law, the right to blockade the ports of an enemy in war, and to exclude neutrals, is limited by the following recognized principles: 1. The blockade must be substantial, by means of a sufficient force to prevent the entry or exit of ve els; otherwise a neutral is not bound to respect it. 2. It is e ential that the neutral should have notice of the blockade; otherwise his ship cannot be justly condemned. A counter-notice should also be given by the blockading Power when the blockade has ceased. ( Mil .) A sort of circumvallation round a place, by which all foreign connection and correspondence is, as far as human power can effect it, to be entirely cut off. Towns and forts that are difficult of investment and regular approach by trenches, through being situate in a commanding position on a hill or eminence, are blockaded by being surrounded with a cordon of works, or redoubts, established on the surrounding heights, at the distance of half a mile or more of each other, according to circumstances and the nature of the country. Sometimes B. must be carried on by sea and land at the same time, to render it complete and efficient; but the term is more particularly applicable to the investment or watching of a port by ships of war. To raise a blockade. To remove or withdraw from the blockade of a port or place. - To run a blockade. To succeed in pa ing into a blockaded port by eluding the ve els of the blockading squadron. "The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head." - Pope. Block'headed, a. Stupid; obtuse; dull of comprehension. "Says a blockheaded boy, these are villainous creatures." L'Estrange.