tail : Idioms & Phrases

• noun wild pigeon of western North America; often mistaken for the now extinct passenger pigeon
  Columba fasciata; band-tail pigeon; bandtail.
  

WordNet

• noun wild pigeon of western North America; often mistaken for the now extinct passenger pigeon
  Columba fasciata; band-tail pigeon; bandtail.
  

WordNet

• noun mule deer of western Rocky Mountains
  Odocoileus hemionus columbianus; blacktail; blacktail deer.
  

WordNet

Boat"-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) A large grackle or blackbird (Quiscalus major), found in the Southern United States.

Webster 1913

• noun small brown and white European moth introduced into eastern United States; pest of various shade and fruit trees
  Euproctis phaeorrhoea; browntail.
  

WordNet

• noun porcupine with a tuft of large beaded bristles on the tail
  brush-tail porcupine.
  

WordNet

• noun bushy-tailed phalanger
  Trichosurus vulpecula.
  

WordNet

• noun porcupine with a tuft of large beaded bristles on the tail
  brush-tail porcupine.
  

WordNet

• an instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle; formerly used to flog offenders on the bare back.

Webster 1913

• noun tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads that explode when mature shedding large quantities of down; its long flat leaves are used for making mats and chair seats; of North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa
  bulrush; nailrod; reed mace; bullrush; reedmace; Typha latifolia.
  

WordNet

Cat's"-tail noun

Definitions

1. See Timothy, Cat-tail, Cirrus.

Webster 1913

• noun a whip with nine knotted cords
  cat.
  
  • British sailors feared the cat

WordNet

Cat"-tail noun

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A tall rush or flag (Typha latifolia) growing in marshes, with long, glat leaves, and having its flowers in a close cylindrical spike at the top of the stem. The leaves are frequently used for seating chairs, making mats, etc. See Catkin. ✍ The lesser cat-tail is Typha angustifolia.

Webster 1913

Crop"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. Having the tail cropped.

Webster 1913

Cross"-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Steam Engine) A bar connecting the ends of the side rods or levers of a backaction or side-lever engine.

Webster 1913

Dag"-tailed` adjective

Etymology

Definitions

1. Daggle-tailed; having the tail clogged with daglocks. "Dag-tailed sheep." Bp. Hall.

Webster 1913

Dag"gle-tail`, Dag"gle-tailed` adjective (Also<

• Daggle-tail
• Daggle-tailed

)

Definitions

1. Having the lower ends of garments defiled by trailing in mire or filth; draggle-tailed.

Dag"gle-tail` noun

Definitions

1. A slovenly woman; a slattern; a draggle-tail.

Webster 1913

Dog's"-tail grass` noun

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A hardy species of British grass (Cynosurus cristatus) which abounds in grass lands, and is well suited for making straw plait; -- called also goldseed.

Webster 1913

Drab"ble-tail` noun

Definitions

1. A draggle-tail; a slattern. Halliwell.

Webster 1913

Drag"gle-tail` noun

Definitions

1. A slattern who suffers her gown to trail in the mire; a drabble-tail.

Webster 1913

Drag"gle-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. Untidy; sluttish; slatternly. W. Irving.

Webster 1913

• (Astron.), the descending node of a planet, indicated by the symbol . See Dragon's head (above).

Webster 1913

• a limited, abridged, or reduced fee; an estate limited to certain heirs, and from which the other heirs are precluded; called also estate tail. Blackstone.

Webster 1913

Fan"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having an expanded, or fan-shaped, tail; as, the fan-tailed pigeon.

Webster 1913

• noun a fee limited to a particular line of heirs; they are not free to sell it or give it away
  

WordNet

• (Law), an estate of inheritance, limited and restrained to some particular heirs. Burill.

Webster 1913

• verb limit the inheritance of property to a specific class of heirs
  entail.
  

WordNet

Fish"-tail` adjective

Definitions

1. Like the of a fish; acting, or producing something, like the tail of a fish.

Webster 1913

• a gas burner that gives a spreading flame shaped somewhat like the tail of a fish.

Webster 1913

• (Steamship), a propeller with a single blade that oscillates like the tail of a fish when swimming.

Webster 1913

Fork"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having the outer tail feathers longer than the median ones; swallow-tailed; -- said of many birds.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a tropical American flycatcher (Milvulus tyrannus).

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a gull of the genus Xema, of two species, esp. X. Sabinii of the Arctic Ocean.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a graceful American kite (Elanoides forficatus); called also swallow-tailed kite.

Webster 1913

• noun a bandage consisting of a strip of cloth split in two on both ends; the central part is placed under the chin to restrict motion of the mandible and the tails are tied over the top of the head
  

WordNet

• noun small swift insectivorous bat with leathery ears and a long tail; common in warm regions
  freetail; freetailed bat.
  

WordNet

• noun white furry-bodied European moth with a yellow tail tuft
  Euproctis chrysorrhoea.
  

WordNet

• noun towhee of the Rocky Mountains
  Chlorura chlorura.
  

WordNet

• noun swift lizard with long black-banded tail and long legs; of deserts of United States and Mexico
  gridiron-tailed lizard; Callisaurus draconoides.
  

WordNet

• noun mole of eastern North America
  Parascalops breweri; brewer's mole.
  

WordNet

• the menhaden.

Webster 1913

Hare's"-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A kind of grass (Eriophorum vaginatum). See Cotton grass, under Cotton.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), a species of grass (Lagurus ovatus) whose head resembles a hare's tail.

Webster 1913

• this side or that side; this thing or that; a phrase used in throwing a coin to decide a choice, guestion, or stake, head being the side of the coin bearing the effigy or principal figure (or, in case there is no head or face on either side, that side which has the date on it), and tail the other side.

Webster 1913

• verb retreat at full speed
  
  • The actress high-tailed to her villa when reporters began to follow her to the restaurant

WordNet

• noun the horizontal stabilizer and elevator in the tail assembly of an aircraft
  

WordNet

• noun a bob on a kite to provide balance
  

WordNet

• noun a plant of the genus Besseya having fluffy spikes of flowers
  

WordNet

Li"on's tail`

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A genus of labiate plants (Leonurus); -- so called from a fancied resemblance of its flower spikes to the tuft of a lion's tail. L. Cardiaca is the common motherwort.

Webster 1913

Liz"ard's tail`

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A perennial plant of the genus Saururus (S. cernuus), growing in marshes, and having white flowers crowded in a slender terminal spike, somewhat resembling in form a lizard's tail; whence the name. Gray.

Webster 1913

• noun North American herbaceous perennial of wet places having slender curled racemes of small white flowers
  swamp lily; water dragon; Saururus cernuus.
  

WordNet

• noun family of perennial aromatic herbs: genera Saururus, Anemopsis, Houttuynia
  Saururaceae; family Saururaceae.
  

WordNet

• noun lobster tail meat; usually from spiny rock lobsters
  

WordNet

• noun porcupine of Borneo and Sumatra having short spines and a long tail
  Trichys lipura.
  

WordNet

• noun the common American weasel distinguished by large size and black-tipped tail
  Mustela frenata; longtail weasel.
  

WordNet

• noun a long narrow flowing cirrus cloud
  

WordNet

Mare's"-tail` noun

Definitions

1. A long streaky cloud, spreading out like a horse's tail, and believed to indicate rain; a cirrus cloud. See Cloud.

   Mackerel sky and mare's-tails Make tall ships carry low sails. Old Rhyme.

2. (Bot.) An aquatic plant of the genus Hippuris (H.vulgaris), having narrow leaves in whorls.

Webster 1913

• the water which flows from a mill wheel after turning it, or the channel in which the water flows.

Webster 1913

• noun small wallabies with a horny nail on the tip of the tail
  nail-tailed kangaroo.
  

WordNet

• noun small wallabies with a horny nail on the tip of the tail
  nail-tailed kangaroo.
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite having a tail that is hairless
  

WordNet

• neither beginning nor end; neither this thing nor that; nothing distinct or definite; a phrase used in speaking of what is indefinite or confused; as, they made neither head nor tail of the matter. Colloq.

Webster 1913

• noun brown tree shrew having a naked tail bilaterally fringed with long stiff hairs on the distal third; of Malaysia
  pen-tail; pentail.
  

WordNet

• noun brown tree shrew having a naked tail bilaterally fringed with long stiff hairs on the distal third; of Malaysia
  pen-tail; pentail.
  

WordNet

• noun slang for sexual intercourse
  ass; screw; fucking; shtup; screwing; fuck; roll in the hay; nookie; piece of ass; nooky; shag.
  

WordNet

Pin"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having a tapered tail, with the middle feathers longest; -- said of birds.

Webster 1913

• noun long-necked river duck of the Old and New Worlds having elongated central tail feathers
  pintail; Anas acuta.
  

WordNet

• noun sandgrouse of Europe and Africa having elongated middle tail feathers
  pin-tailed grouse; Pterocles alchata.
  

WordNet

• noun sandgrouse of Europe and Africa having elongated middle tail feathers
  pin-tailed grouse; Pterocles alchata.
  

WordNet

• noun commonly cultivated tropical American cactus having slender creeping stems and very large showy crimson flowers that bloom for several days
  rattail cactus; Aporocactus flagelliformis.
  

WordNet

Rat"-tail` adjective

Definitions

1. Like a rat's tale in form; as, a rat-tail file, which is round, slender, and tapering. See Illust. of File.

Rat"-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Far.) pl. An excrescence growing from the pastern to the middle of the shank of a horse.
2. (Zoöl.) (a) The California chimæra. See Chimæra. (b) Any fish of the genus Macrurus. See Grenadier, 2.

Webster 1913

• noun a thin round file shaped like the tail of a rat
  

WordNet

Rat"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having a long, tapering tail like that of a rat.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the larva of a fly of the genus Eristalis. See Eristalis.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), an herb (Raphanus caudatus) having a long, slender pod, which is sometimes eaten.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the fer-de-lance.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the musk shrew.

Webster 1913

Red"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. Having a red tail.

Webster 1913

• noun dark brown American hawk species having a reddish-brown tail
  redtail; Buteo jamaicensis.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a large North American hawk (Buteo borealis). When adult its tail is chestnut red. Called also hen hawck, and red-tailed buzzard.

Webster 1913

Ring"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having the tail crossed by conspicuous bands of color.

Webster 1913

• noun raccoon-like omnivorous mammal of Mexico and the southwestern United States having a long bushy tail with black and white rings
  cacomixle; bassarisk; coon cat; civet cat; cacomistle; Bassariscus astutus; ringtail; miner's cat; raccoon fox.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the cacomixle.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a young golden eagle.

Webster 1913

• noun small lemur having its tail barred with black
  Lemur catta; Madagascar cat.
  

WordNet

• noun of Florida wetlands
  Neofiber alleni; Florida water rat.
  

WordNet

Ru"by-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. Having the tail, or lower part of the body, bright red.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite having a scaly tail
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a tail in which the feathers are stiff and sharp at the tip, as in the woodpeckers.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite (of birds) having a deeply forked tail
  
  • scissor-tailed birds

WordNet

Scis"sors-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having the outer feathers much the longest, the others decreasing regularly to the median ones.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), any plant of the leguminous genus Scorpiurus, herbs with a circinately coiled pod; also called caterpillar.

Webster 1913

• noun large grouse of prairies and open forests of western North America
  sprigtail; sharp-tailed grouse; Pedioecetes phasianellus.
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite having a short tail
  

WordNet

• noun North American shrew with tail less than half its body length
  Blarina brevicauda.
  

WordNet

• noun a meerkat with a thin and elongated tail
  Suricata suricatta.
  

WordNet

Spine"-tailed adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having the tail quills ending in sharp, naked tips.

Webster 1913

• . (Zoöl.) See Spinetail (a).

Webster 1913

Split"-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) (a) A california market fish (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) belonging to the Carp family. (b) The pintail duck.

Webster 1913

• noun large grouse of prairies and open forests of western North America
  sprigtail; sharp-tailed grouse; Pedioecetes phasianellus.
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite having a square tail
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), a grass (Hordeum jubatum) found in salt marshes and along the Great Lakes, having a dense spike beset with long awns.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite having a stiff tail
  

WordNet

Stiff"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having the quill feathers of the tail somewhat rigid.

Webster 1913

Stump"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. Having a short, thick tail.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a singular Australian scincoid lizard (Trachydosaurus rugosus) having a short, thick tail resembling its head in form; called also sleeping lizard.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite (especially of butterflies and birds) having a forked tail like that of a swallow
  

WordNet

Swal"low-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. Having a tail like that of a swallow; hence, like a swallow's tail in form; having narrow and tapering or pointed skirts; as, a swallow-tailed coat.
2. (Carp.) United by dovetailing; dovetailed.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the fork-tailed kite.

Webster 1913

• noun a man's full-dress jacket with two long tapering tails at the back
  morning coat; swallowtail.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the old squaw.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), an Arctic gull (Xema furcata), which has a deeply forked tail.

Webster 1913

• noun graceful North American black-and-white kite
  Elanoides forficatus; swallow-tailed hawk.
  

WordNet

• noun graceful North American black-and-white kite
  Elanoides forficatus; swallow-tailed hawk.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a European moth (Urapteryx sambucaria) having tail-like lobes on the hind wings.

Webster 1913

• noun the rear part of an aircraft
  tail; empennage.
  

WordNet

• . (Arch.) Same as Tailpiece.

Webster 1913

• noun the end of the vertebral column in humans and tailless apes
  coccyx.
  

WordNet

• noun formalwear consisting of full evening dress for men
  white tie; tailcoat; tails; tail coat; full dress; dress suit.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the feathers which cover the bases of the tail quills. They are sometimes much longer than the quills, and form elegant plumes. Those above the quills are called the upper tail coverts, and those below, the under tail coverts.

Webster 1913

• noun the time of the last part of something
  tail; fag end.
  
  • the fag end of this crisis-ridden century
  • the tail of the storm
• noun any projection that resembles the tail of an animal
  tail.
  
• noun the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  bum; seat; stern; keister; prat; bottom; rear end; buns; tail; tush; rump; fanny; ass; behind; tooshie; hind end; posterior; hindquarters; butt; nates; rear; arse; buttocks; backside; derriere; can; fundament.
  
  • he deserves a good kick in the butt
  • are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?

WordNet

• the latter end; the termination; as, the tail end of a contest. Colloq.

Webster 1913

• noun feather growing from the tail (uropygium) of a bird
  

WordNet

• noun a stabilizer that is part of the vertical tail structure of an airplane
  vertical stabilizer; vertical stabiliser; vertical fin; tailfin.
  
• noun one of a pair of decorations projecting above the rear fenders of an automobile
  fin; tailfin.
  
• noun the tail of fishes and some other aquatic vertebrates
  caudal fin.
  

WordNet

• noun a gate downstream from a lock or canal that is used to control the flow of water at the lower end
  

WordNet

• . (Arch.) Same as Tailpiece.

Webster 1913

• noun lamp (usually red) mounted at the rear of a motor vehicle
  rear lamp; taillight; rear light.
  

WordNet

• (Astron.), a luminous train extending from the nucleus or body, often to a great distance, and usually in a direction opposite to the sun.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), the latter part of it, when the wind has greatly abated. Totten.

Webster 1913

• (on a canal), the lower end, or entrance into the lower pond.

Webster 1913

• (Fort.), the post where the besiegers begin to break ground, and cover themselves from the fire of the place, in advancing the lines of approach.

Webster 1913

• . (Naut.) See Tally on, under Tally.

Webster 1913

• noun rotor consisting of a rotating airfoil on the tail of a single-rotor helicopter; keeps the helicopter from spinning in the direction opposite to the rotation of the main rotor
  anti-torque rotor.
  

WordNet

• the spindle of the tailstock of a turning lathe; called also dead spindle.

Webster 1913

Tail"-bay` noun

Definitions

1. (Arch.) One of the joists which rest one end on the wall and the other on a girder; also, the space between a wall and the nearest girder of a floor. Cf. Case-bay.
2. The part of a canal lock below the lower gates.

Webster 1913

• noun any of various tropical American plants cultivated for their showy foliage and flowers
  tailflower; anthurium.
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite shaped like the tail of an animal
  

WordNet

Tail"-wa`ter noun

Definitions

1. Water in a tailrace.

Webster 1913

• noun western North American frog with a taillike copulatory organ
  Ascaphus trui; ribbed toad; tailed frog; bell toad.
  

WordNet

• noun western North American frog with a taillike copulatory organ
  Ascaphus trui; ribbed toad; tailed frog; bell toad.
  

WordNet

Tee"ter-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) The spotted sandpiper. See the Note under Sandpiper.

Webster 1913

• in bear baiting, (to stave) to interpose with the staff, doubtless to stop the bear; (to tail) to hold back the dog by the tail. Nares.

Webster 1913

• (Arch.), to fasten by one of the ends into a wall or some other support; as, to tail in a timber.

Webster 1913

• to run away; to flee.
• to run away; to retreat ignominiously.

Webster 1913

Tri"ple-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) An edible fish (Lobotes Surinamensis) found in the warmer parts of all the oceans, and common on the southern and middle coasts of the United States. When living it is silvery gray, and becomes brown or blackish when dead. Its dorsal and anal fins are long, and extend back on each side of the tail. It has large silvery scales which are used in the manufacture of fancy work. Called also, locally, black perch, grouper, and flasher.

Webster 1913

• verb flee; take to one's heels; cut and run
  lam; run; head for the hills; hightail it; bunk; run away; take to the woods; scarper; escape; fly the coop; break away; scat.
  
  • If you see this man, run!
  • The burglars escaped before the police showed up

WordNet

• noun the vertical airfoil in the tail assembly of an aircraft
  

WordNet

Wedge"-tailed" adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having a tail which has the middle pair of feathers longest, the rest successively and decidedly shorter, and all more or less attenuate; -- said of certain birds. See Illust. of Wood hoopoe, under Wood.

Webster 1913

• an Australian eagle (Aquila audax) which feeds on various small species of kangaroos, and on lambs; called also mountain eagle, bold eagle, and eagle hawk.

Webster 1913

• an arctic gull (Rhodostethia rosea) in which the plumage is tinged with rose; called also Ross's gull.

Webster 1913

• noun common North American deer; tail has a white underside
  Odocoileus Virginianus; white tail; whitetail; Virginia deer; whitetail deer.
  

WordNet

• noun formalwear consisting of full evening dress for men
  white tie; tailcoat; tails; tail coat; full dress; dress suit.
  

WordNet

• noun common North American deer; tail has a white underside
  Odocoileus Virginianus; white tail; whitetail; Virginia deer; whitetail deer.
  

WordNet

• noun largest hare of northern plains and western mountains of United States; brownish-grey in summer and pale grey in winter; tail nearly always all white
  Lepus townsendi; whitetail jackrabbit.
  

WordNet

• noun grey-and-white American kite of warm and tropical regions
  Elanus leucurus.
  

WordNet

• noun bulky greyish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail; of Europe and Greenland
  erne; grey sea eagle; Haliatus albicilla; gray sea eagle; European sea eagle; ern.
  

WordNet

Wire"-tailed` adjective

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Having some or all of the tail quills terminated in a long, slender, pointed shaft, without a web or barbules.

Webster 1913

• noun swift lizard with long black-banded tail and long legs; of deserts of United States and Mexico
  gridiron-tailed lizard; Callisaurus draconoides.
  

WordNet