cock : Idioms & Phrases

• the position of the cock of a gun when retained by the first notch. half cocked: see below, halfcocked: = unprepared, lacking forethought; as in go off half cocked

Webster 1913

Air" cock`

Definitions

1. A faucet to allow escape of air.

Webster 1913

• with the hammer raised and ready to fire; said of firearms, also, jocularly, of one prepared for instant action.

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• . See under Half.

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• noun floating ball that controls level in a water tank
  ballcock.
  

WordNet

• a faucet or valve which is opened or closed by the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at the end of a lever.

Webster 1913

• noun male black grouse
  blackcock.
  

WordNet

• an adjuration equivalent to "by God and the service book." Shak.

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• noun speedy largely terrestrial bird found from California and Mexico to Texas
  Geococcyx californianus; roadrunner.
  

WordNet

• . See under Chaparral.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a bird of the cuckoo family (Geococcyx Californianus), noted for running with great speed. It ranges from California to Mexico and eastward to Texas; called also road runner, ground cuckoo, churea, and snake killer it is the state bird of New Mexico .

Webster 1913

• boastful story; a canard.

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• (Archery), the feather of an arrow at right angles to the direction of the cock or notch.

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• (Zoöl.) See Sage cock.

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• noun bird of the Andes similar to Rupicola rupicola
  Rupicola peruviana.
  
• noun tropical bird of northern South America the male having brilliant red or orange plumage and an erectile disklike crest
  Rupicola rupicola.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a South American bird (Rupicola aurantia) having a beautiful crest.

Webster 1913

• a chief or master; the hero of the hour; one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or competitors.

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• . See Capercailzie.

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• noun slang for fellatio
  blowjob.
  

WordNet

• verb raise
  prick up; prick.
  
  • The dog pricked up his ears

WordNet

• noun weedy vine of Argentina having solitary white flowers followed by egg-shaped white or yellow fruit
  Salpichroa organifolia; Salpichroa rhomboidea.
  

WordNet

• noun an imitation of the crow of a cock
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite exhibiting self-importance
  crowing; braggart; big; boastful; bragging; self-aggrandizing; braggy; self-aggrandising.
  
  • big talk

WordNet

Cock`-a-hoop" adjective

Definitions

1. Boastful; defiant; exulting. Also used adverbially.

Webster 1913

• noun soup made from chicken boiled with leeks
  cocky-leeky.
  

WordNet

• noun an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse
  fairytale; fairy tale; fairy story; song and dance.
  

WordNet

Cock"-brained` adjective

Definitions

1. Giddy; rash. Milton.

Webster 1913

Cock"-pad`le noun

Etymology

Etymol. uncertain.

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) See Lumpfish. Scot.

Webster 1913

• noun hat with opposing brims turned up and caught together to form points
  

WordNet

• . (a) A hat with large, stiff flaps turned up to a peaked crown, thus making its form triangular; called also three-cornered hat or tricorn . (b) A game similar to ninepins, except that only three pins are used, which are set up at the angles of a triangle.

Webster 1913

Dan"dy-cock` noun masculine, Dan"dy-hen` noun feminine (Also<

• Dandy-cock
• Dandy-hen

)

Etymology

See Dandy.

Definitions

1. A bantam fowl.

Webster 1913

• noun a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level
  escape; relief valve; safety valve; escape valve.
  

WordNet

• noun a cock bred and trained for fighting
  gamecock.
  

WordNet

• in steam boilers, a cock at the water level, to blow off impurities.

Webster 1913

• a cock connected with four pipes or ports, and having two or more passages in the plug, by which the adjacent pipes or ports may be made to communicate; formerly used as a valve in the steam engine, and now for various other purposes. In the illustration, a leads to the upper end of a steam engine cylinder, and b to the lower end; c is the steam pipe, and d the exhaust pipe.

Webster 1913

• a stop cock used as a try cock for ascertaining the height of the water level in a steam boiler.

Webster 1913

• verb act prematurely or without reflection or too soon
  go off at half-cock.
  
  • she wanted to quit her job but her mother told her not to go off half-cocked

WordNet

• verb act prematurely or without reflection or too soon
  go off at half-cock.
  
  • she wanted to quit her job but her mother told her not to go off half-cocked

WordNet

• a cock, the plug of which is ground into its seat, as distinguished from a compression cock. Knight.

Webster 1913

• noun confusion resulting from lack of preparation
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the blackcock. See Heath grouse (below).

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• a faucet or valve for flushing the hopper of a water-closet.

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• (Steam Eng.), the cock or valve through which cold water is admitted into a condenser.

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• noun male jungle fowl
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the male of a jungle fowl.

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• (Zoöl.), the Manx shearwater; so called because it precedes the appearance of the mackerel on the east coast of Ireland.

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• (Zoöl.), the male of the moor fowl or red grouse of Europe.

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• (Zoöl.), capercailzie. See Capercailzie.

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• (Zoöl), the water rail. Prov. Eng.

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• a stopcock connected with an oil cup. See Oil cup.

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• . Perh. for petty cock. (Mach.) A little faucet in a water pipe or pump, to let air out, or at the end of a steam cylinder, to drain it.

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• (Zoöl.), the male of the sage grouse; in a more general sense, the specific name of the sage grouse.

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• (Zoöl.), the redshank. Prov. Eng.

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Sea" cock`

Definitions

1. In a steamship, a cock or valve close to the vessel's side, for closing a pipe which communicates with the sea.
2. (Zoöl.) (a) The black-bellied plover. (b) A gurnard, as the European red gurnard (Trigla pini).

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• (Zoöl.), the snow pheasant.

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• (Zoöl.), the corn bunting (Emberiza militaria). Prov. Eng.

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• the missel thrush. Prov. Eng.

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• a gauge cock. See under Gauge.

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• noun male turkey
  gobbler; tom turkey; tom.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a male turkey.

Webster 1913

Wa"ter cock`

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) A large gallinule (Gallicrex cristatus) native of Australia, India, and the East Indies. In the breeding season the male is black and has a fleshy red caruncle, or horn, on the top of its head. Called also kora.

Webster 1913