sharks mouth (sharks mouth)

Naut., the opening in an awning to admit a mast or stay. sharn (shärn), n. [Also scarn, shearn, shern; AS. * scearnbudda (in a glo , "scarabæus, scearnbudoa uel budda "), a beetle, dung (see sharn), + budda, beetle.] A dung beetle. beuleth [avoid) the floures and louieth thet dong. Ayenbite of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 61. = The arnboddes Nowe sharnebodde encombreth the bee. Pursue on him that slayne anoon he be. = Palladius , Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 173. sharp (shärp), a. and n. [ scharp , scherp, arp, scærp , scearp = OS. scarp OFries. skerp , scherp , scharp = D. scherp MLG. LG. scharp = OHG. scarf , scarph (rare), MHG. scharf, scharpf , G. scharf = Icel. skarpr = Sw. Dan. skarp (Goth. not recorded), sharp; appar.connected with AS. screpan (pret.scræp), scrape, sceorpan , scrape, and perhaps with sceorfan, cut up, cut off: see scrape , scarp1, scarf1, etc. The OHG. MHG. sarf , sharp sharp, Icel. snarpr, sharp, are prob. not connected with sharp. The words of similar form and sense are very numerous, and exhibit considerable phonetic diversity, indicating that two or more orig. diff. words have become more or le entangled.] I. a . 1. Having a fine cutting edge or point; acute; keen: opposed to blunt : as, a sharp sword; a sharp needle. Fyrste loke that thy handes be clene, And that thy knyf be sharpe & kene; And cutte thy breed & alle thy mete Ryzth euen as thou doste hit ete. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 14. He dies upon my scimitar's sharp point That touches this my first-born son and heir! Shak., Tit. And., iv. 2. 91. 2. Terminating in a point or peak; peaked: opposed to obtuse, blunt, or rounded: as, a sharp roof; a sharp ridge.-3. Clean-cut; well defined; distinct: opposed to blurred, misty, or hazy; specifically, in optics and photog., perfectly focused. Sometimes it was carved in sharp relief With quaint arabesques of ice-fern leaf. Lowell, Vision of Sir Launfal, ii., Prel. A crag just over us, two you sand feet high, stood out clear and sharp against the sky. Froude , Sketches, p. 76. 4. Abrupt; of acute angle: as, a sharp turn of the road: said also of the yards of a square rigged ve el when they are braced at the most acute angle with the keel.-5. Angular and hard; not rounded: as, sharp sand. Two parts clean, sharp sand. C. T. Davis , Bricks and Tiles, p. 319. IMG:content-0807.png:[blocks in formation] Skelton a sharpe Satirist, but with more rayling and scoffery than became a Poet Lawreat. Putten ham , Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 50. To seem learned, to seem judicious, to seem sharp and conceited. B. Jonson, Epicœne, ii. 3. Hence-12. Keenly alive to one's interests; quick to see favorable circumstances and turn them to advantage; keen in busine ; hence, barely honest; "smart": applied to both persons and things: as, sharp practices. They found that the Don had been too sharp for them. Dampier, Voyages, I. 228. There is nothing makes men sharper , and sets their hands and wits more at work, than want. Add is on , Remarks on Italy (Works, ed. Bohn, I. 361). I will not say that he is dishonest, but at any rate he is sharp . Trollope , Framley Parsonage, ix. 13. Disposed to say cutting things; sarcastic. Your mother is too sharp . The men are afraid of you, Maria. I've heard several young men say so. Thackeray , Philip, iv. 14. Subtle; nice; witty; acute: said of things. Sharp and subtile discourses procure very great ap plause. Hooker . He pleaded still not guilty, and alleged Many sharp reasons to defeat the law. Shak., Hen. VIII., ii. 1. 14. Shee hath a wit as sharpe as her needle. Heywood , Fair Maid of the Exchange. 6. Angular; having the bones prominent, as in 15. Eager or keen, as in pursuit or quest. emaciation or leanne : as, a sharp visage.-7. Keenly affecting the organs of sense. (a) Pun- gent in taste; acrid; acid; sour; bitter: as, sharp vinegar. Shak., Pericles, i. 1. 72. Sharp physic is the last. In the suburbs of St. Privé there is a fountayne of sharp water wch they report wholesome against the stone. Evelyn , Diary, Sept. 21, 1644. Its taste is sharp , in vales new-shorn it grows, Where Mella's stream in watery mazes flows. Then he shope hym to ship in a sharp haste, And dre it for the depe as hym dere thught. Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1780. My falcon now is sharp and pa ing empty. Shak., T. of the S., iv. 1. 193. To satisfy the sharp desire I had Of tasting those fair apples. Milton , P. L., ix. 584. 16. Keenly contested: as, a sharp race.-17. Add is on , tr. of Virgil's Georgics, iv. Quick; speedy: as, a sharp walk; sharp work. (6) Shrill or piercing in sound: as, a sharp voice. You shall find the sound strike so sharp as you can scarce endure it. Bacon , Nat. Hist., § 138. The wood-bird's plaintive cry, The locust's sharp reply. Whittier, The Maids of Attitash. (c) Keenly cold; piercing; biting; severe: as, a sharp frost; sharp weather. The Winter is long and sharpe , with much in la, and therefore they then keepe in their Cellers, which are in place of Stoues vnto them. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 778. I felt the sharp wind shaking gra and vine. Swinburne , Laus Veneris. (d) Intensely bright. 8. Cutting; acrimonious; keen; severe; harsh; biting: as, sharp words; a sharp rebuke. The lo of liberty No doubt, sir, is a heavy and sharp burden To them that feel it truly. Beau . and Fl ., Knight of Malta, iii. 4. Be thy words severe, Sharp as he merits; but the sword forbear. Dryden, Iliad, i. 317. (a) Stern; rigid; exacting. Apter to blame than knowing how to mend; A sharp , but yet a nece ary friend. Dryden and Soames , tr. of Boileau's Art of Poetry, iv. 1093. (6) Severe; intense; violent; impetuous; fierce: as, a sharp struggle or contest. IMG:content-0808.png:[blocks in formation] Away goes the Tally-ho into the darkne , forty-five seconds from the time they pulled up; Ostler, Boots, and the Squire stand looking after them under the Peacock lamp. " Sharp work," says the Squire, and goes in again to his bed, the coach being well out of sight and hearing. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, i. 4. 18. In phonetics, noting a consonant pronounced or uttered with breath and not with voice; surd; non-vocal: as, the sharp mutes, p, t, k.-19. In music: (a) Of tones, above a given or intended pitch: as, a piano is sharp. ( b ) Of intervals, either major or augmented: as, a sharp third (a major major third); a sharp fifth (an augmented fifth). (c) Of keys or tonalities, having sharps in the signature: signature: as, the key of D is a sharp key. (d) of organ-stops, noting mutation or mixture-stops that give shrill tones. Opposed to flat in all senses but the last. Sharp dock. See dock1, 1.- Sharp impre ion, in printing, a clear print which shows the sharp edges of every type without any overlapping of =Syn. 1. Sharp, Keen, Acute. Sharp is the general word, and is applicable to edges, long or short, coarse or fine, or to points. Keen is a strong word, and applies to long edges, as of a dagger, sword, or knife, not to points. Acute is not very often used to expre sharpne ; when used, it applies to a long, fine point, as of a needle.-6. ( a ) Biting, pungent, hot, stinging, piquant, highly seasoned. (c) Nipping.-8. (c) Poignant, intense.-11. Astute, discerning, quick, ready, sagacious, cunning.-13. Caustic, tart. II. n. 1. A pointed weapon; especially, a small sword; a dueling-sword, as distinguished from a blunted or buttoned foil: as, he fences better with foils than with sharps . [Obsolete or slang.] Mony swouzninge lay thorw schindringe of scharpe . Joseph of Arimathie (E. E. T. S.), p. 17. If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps , gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs. Jeremy Collier, E ays, Duelling. sharp The Coast is once more clear, and I may venture my Carcase forth again - though such a Salutation as the last wou'd make me very unfit for the matter in hand.-The Battoon I cou'd bear with the Fortitude and Courage of a Hero; but these dangerous Sharps I never lov'd. Aphra Behn , Feigned Curtizans, iii. 2. pl. One of the three usual grades of sewing needles, the others being blunts and betweens. The sharps are the longest and most keenly pointed. 3. A sharper; a shark. Gamblers, slugging rings, and pool-room sharps of every shape. Elect. Rev. (Amer.), XII. 6. 4. An expert: as, a mining sharp . [Slang.] One entomological sharp , who is spoken of as good authority, estimates the annual lo in the United States from this source [insect parasites] at $300,000,000. Sci. Amer., N. S., LVII. 249. 5. pl. The hard parts of wheat, which require grinding a second time: same as middlings. See middling, n., 3.-6. A part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly. C. Kingsley. ( Imp. Dict.) [Prov. Eng.]-7. An acute or shrill sound. It is the lark that sings so out of tune, Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps . Shak., R. and J., iii. 5. 28. 8. In music: (a) A tone one half-step above a given tone: as, the sharp of F (that is, F sharp). The lutenist takes flats and sharps , And out of those so di onant notes does strike A ravishing harmony. Randolph , Muses' Looking-Gla , iv. 5. (b) On the pianoforte, with reference to any given key, the key next above or to the right. See flat, n., 7 (b). (c) In musical notation, the character, which when attached to a note or staff-degree raises its significance one half step. Opposed to flat in all senses.-9. A sharp consonant. See I., 18.-10. In dia mond- cutting, the edge of the quadrant when an octahedral diamond is cleft into four parts.11. A kind of boat used by oystermen. Also sharpie, sharpy.-Double sharp, in music: (a) A tone two half steps higher than a given Sharp, 11. tone; the sharp of a sharp. (6) On the pianoforte, a key next but one above or to the right of a given key. (c) The character X, which when attached to a note or to a staff degree raises its significance two half-steps. - To fight or play at sharpt, to fight with swords or similar weapons. Nay, sir, your commons seldom fight at sharp , But buffet in a warehouse. Fletcher (and another ?), Nice Valour, v. 3. The devil, that did but buffet St. Paul, plays methinks at sharp with me. Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, ii. 7. sharp (sharp), v. [ sharpen , scharpen , scerpan , scyrpan (= OS. scerpan = MD. D. scherpen = MLG. scharpen, scherpen = MHG. scherfen, scherpfen , G. schärfen = Sw. skärpa = Dan. skjærpe ), make sharp, scearp , sharp: see sharp, a.] I. trans . 1. To sharpen; make keen or acute. He sharpeth shaar and kultour bisily. Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 577. To sharpe my sence with sundry beauties vew. Spenser, To all the gratious and beaut i full Ladies in the [Court. Then Lammikin drew his red, red sword, And sharped it on a stane. Lammikin (Child's Ballads, III. 311). 2. In music, to elevate (a tone); specifically, to apply a sharp to (a note or staff-degree)that is, to elevate it a half-step. Also sharpen. - To sharp the main bowline. See bowline. II. in trans. 1. To indulge in sharp practices; play the sharper; cheat. Among the rest there are a sharping set That pray for us, and yet against us bet. Dryden, King Arthur, Prol., 1. 38. Went plungin' on the turf; got among the Jews;... sharped at cards at his club. J. W. Palmer, After his Kind, p. 128. 2. In music , to sing or play above the true pitch. Also sharpen . sharp (sharp), adv . [ sharpe ; sharp , a . ] 1. Sharply. And cried "Awake!" ful wonderliche and sharpe . Chaucer , Troilus, i. 729. Shak., T. and C., ii. 2. 33. No marvel, though you bite so sharp at reasons. 2. Quickly. Knights gather, riding sharp for cold. Swinburne , Laus Veneris. IMG:content-0809.png:[blocks in formation]