Wire n.
 1. A thread or slender rod of metal; a metallic substance formed to an even thread by being passed between grooved rollers, or drawn through holes in a plate of steel.
 Note: ☞ Wire is made of any desired form, as round, square, triangular, etc., by giving this shape to the hole in the drawplate, or between the rollers.
 2. A telegraph wire or cable; hence, an electric telegraph; as, to send a message by wire.  [Colloq.]
 3. Chiefly in pl. The system of wires used to operate the puppets in a puppet show; hence Chiefly Political Slang, the network of hidden influences controlling the action of a person or organization; as, to pull the wires for office; -- in this sense, synonymous with strings.
 4.  One who picks women's pockets. [Thieves' Slang]
 5.  A knitting needle. [Scot.]
 6.  A wire stretching across over a race track at the judges' stand, to mark the line at which the races end. [Racing Cant]
 Wire bed, Wire mattress, an elastic bed bottom or mattress made of wires interwoven or looped together in various ways.
 Wire bridge, a bridge suspended from wires, or cables made of wire.
 Wire cartridge, a shot cartridge having the shot inclosed in a wire cage.
 Wire cloth, a coarse cloth made of woven metallic wire, -- used for strainers, and for various other purposes.
 Wire edge, the thin, wirelike thread of metal sometimes formed on the edge of a tool by the stone in sharpening it.
 Wire fence, a fence consisting of posts with strained horizontal wires, wire netting, or other wirework, between.
 Wire gauge or Wire gage. (a) A gauge for measuring the diameter of wire, thickness of sheet metal, etc., often consisting of a metal plate with a series of notches of various widths in its edge. (b) A standard series of sizes arbitrarily indicated, as by numbers, to which the diameter of wire or the thickness of sheet metal in usually made, and which is used in describing the size or thickness. There are many different standards for wire gauges, as in different countries, or for different kinds of metal, the Birmingham wire gauges and the American wire gauge being often used and designated by the abbreviations B. W. G. and A. W. G. respectively.
 Wire gauze, a texture of finely interwoven wire, resembling gauze.
 Wire grass Bot., either of the two common grasses Eleusine Indica, valuable for hay and pasture, and Poa compressa, or blue grass.  See Blue grass.
 Wire grub Zool., a wireworm.
 Wire iron, wire rods of iron.
 Wire lathing, wire cloth or wire netting applied in the place of wooden lathing for holding plastering.
 Wire mattress. See Wire bed, above.
 Wire micrometer, a micrometer having spider lines, or fine wires, across the field of the instrument.
 Wire nail, a nail formed of a piece of wire which is headed and pointed.
 Wire netting, a texture of woven wire coarser than ordinary wire gauze.
 Wire rod, a metal rod from which wire is formed by drawing.
 Wire rope, a rope formed wholly, or in great part, of wires.
 down to the wire, up to the last moment, as in a race or competition; as, the two front runners were neck-and-neck down to the wire.  From {wire6}.
 under the wire, just in time; shortly before the deadline; as, to file an application just under the wire.


 Yard, n.
 1. An inclosure; usually, a small inclosed place in front of, or around, a house or barn; as, a courtyard; a cowyard; a barnyard.
 A yard . . . inclosed all about with sticks
 In which she had a cock, hight chanticleer.   --Chaucer.
 2. An inclosure within which any work or business is carried on; as, a dockyard; a shipyard.
 Liberty of the yard, a liberty, granted to persons imprisoned for debt, of walking in the yard, or within any other limits prescribed by law, on their giving bond not to go beyond those limits.
 Prison yard, an inclosure about a prison, or attached to it.
 Yard grass Bot., a low-growing grass (Eleusine Indica) having digitate spikes. It is common in dooryards, and like places, especially in the Southern United States. Called also crab grass.
 Yard of land. See Yardland.


 Crab n.
 1. Zool. One of the brachyuran Crustacea. They are mostly marine, and usually have a broad, short body, covered with a strong shell or carapace. The abdomen is small and curled up beneath the body.
 Note: ☞ The name is applied to all the Brachyura, and to certain Anomura, as the hermit crabs.  Formerly, it was sometimes applied to Crustacea in general. Many species are edible, the blue crab of the Atlantic coast being one of the most esteemed. The large European edible crab is Cancer padurus. Soft-shelled crabs are blue crabs that have recently cast their shells. See Cancer; also, Box crab, Fiddler crab, Hermit crab, Spider crab, etc., under Box, Fiddler. etc.
 2. The zodiacal constellation Cancer.
 3.  Bot. A crab apple; -- so named from its harsh taste.
 When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
 Then nightly sings the staring owl.   --Shak.
 4. A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick. [Obs.]
 5. Mech. (a) A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc. (b) A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc. (c) A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn. (d) A claw for anchoring a portable machine.
 Calling crab. Zool. See Fiddler., n., 2.
 Crab apple, a small, sour apple, of several kinds; also, the tree which bears it; as, the European crab apple (Pyrus Malus var. sylvestris); the Siberian crab apple (Pyrus baccata); and the American (Pyrus coronaria).
 Crab grass. Bot. (a) A grass (Digitaria sanguinalis syn. Panicum sanguinalis); -- called also finger grass. (b) A grass of the genus Eleusine (Eleusine Indica); -- called also dog's-tail grass, wire grass, etc.
 Crab louse Zool., a species of louse (Phthirius pubis), sometimes infesting the human body.
 Crab plover Zool., an Asiatic plover (Dromas ardeola).
 Crab's eyes, or Crab's stones, masses of calcareous matter found, at certain seasons of the year, on either side of the stomach of the European crawfishes, and formerly used in medicine for absorbent and antacid purposes; the gastroliths.
 Crab spider Zool., one of a group of spiders (Laterigradæ); -- called because they can run backwards or sideways like a crab.
 Crab tree, the tree that bears crab applies.
 Crab wood, a light cabinet wood obtained in Guiana, which takes a high polish. --McElrath.
 To catch a crab Naut., a phrase used of a rower: (a) when he fails to raise his oar clear of the water; (b) when he misses the water altogether in making a stroke.


 Grass n.
 1. Popularly: Herbage; the plants which constitute the food of cattle and other beasts; pasture.
 2. Bot. An endogenous plant having simple leaves, a stem generally jointed and tubular, the husks or glumes in pairs, and the seed single.
 Note: ☞ This definition includes wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc., and excludes clover and some other plants which are commonly called by the name of grass. The grasses form a numerous family of plants.
 3. The season of fresh grass; spring. [Colloq.]
    Two years old next grass.   --Latham.
 4. Metaphorically used for what is transitory.
    Surely the people is grass.   --Is. xl. 7.
 Note: ☞ The following list includes most of the grasses of the United States of special interest, except cereals.  Many of these terms will be found with definitions in the Vocabulary. See Illustrations in Appendix.
 Barnyard grass, for hay. South. Panicum Grus-galli.
 Bent, pasture and hay. Agrostis, several species.
 Bermuda grass, pasture. South. Cynodon Dactylon.
 Black bent. Same as Switch grass (below).
 Blue bent, hay. North and West. Andropogon provincialis.
 Blue grass, pasture. Poa compressa.
 Blue joint, hay. Northwest. Aqropyrum glaucum.
 Buffalo grass, grazing. Rocky Mts., etc. (a) Buchloë dectyloides. (b) Same as Grama grass (below).
 Bunch grass, grazing. Far West. Eriocoma, Festuca, Stips, etc.
 Chess, or Cheat, a weed. Bromus secalinus, etc.
 Couch grass. Same as Quick grass (below).
 Crab grass, (a) Hay, in South. A weed, in North. Panicum sanguinale. (b) Pasture and hay. South. Eleusine Indica.
 Darnel (a) Bearded, a noxious weed. Lolium temulentum. (b) Common. Same as Rye grass (below).
 Drop seed, fair for forage and hay. Muhlenbergia, several species.
 English grass. Same as Redtop (below).
 Fowl meadow grass. (a) Pasture and hay. Poa serotina. (b) Hay, on moist land. Gryceria nervata.
 Gama grass, cut fodder. South. Tripsacum dactyloides.
 Grama grass, grazing. West and Pacific slope. Bouteloua oligostachya, etc.
 Great bunch grass, pasture and hay. Far West. Festuca scabrella.
 Guinea grass, hay. South. Panicum jumentorum.
 Herd's grass, in New England Timothy, in Pennsylvania and South Redtop.
 Indian grass. Same as Wood grass (below).
 Italian rye grass, forage and hay. Lolium Italicum.
 Johnson grass, grazing and hay. South and Southwest. Sorghum Halepense.
 Kentucky blue grass, pasture. Poa pratensis.
 Lyme grass, coarse hay. South. Elymus, several species.
 Manna grass, pasture and hay. Glyceria, several species.
 Meadow fescue, pasture and hay. Festuca elatior.
 Meadow foxtail, pasture, hay, lawn. North. Alopecurus pratensis.
 Meadow grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Poa, several species.
 Mesquite grass, or Muskit grass. Same as Grama grass (above).
 Nimble Will, a kind of drop seed. Muhlenbergia diffsa.
 Orchard grass, pasture and hay. Dactylis glomerata.
 Porcupine grass, troublesome to sheep. Northwest. Stipa spartea.
 Quaking grass, ornamental. Briza media and maxima.
 Quitch, or Quick, grass, etc., a weed. Agropyrum repens.
 Ray grass. Same as Rye grass (below).
 Redtop, pasture and hay. Agrostis vulgaris.
 Red-topped buffalo grass, forage. Northwest. Poa tenuifolia.
 Reed canary grass, of slight value. Phalaris arundinacea.
 Reed meadow grass, hay. North. Glyceria aquatica.
 Ribbon grass, a striped leaved form of Reed canary grass.
 Rye grass, pasture, hay. Lolium perenne, var.
 Seneca grass, fragrant basket work, etc. North. Hierochloa borealis.
 Sesame grass. Same as Gama grass (above).
 Sheep's fescue, sheep pasture, native in Northern Europe and Asia. Festuca ovina.
 Small reed grass, meadow pasture and hay. North. Deyeuxia Canadensis.
 Spear grass, Same as Meadow grass (above).
 Squirrel-tail grass, troublesome to animals. Seacoast and Northwest. Hordeum jubatum.
 Switch grass, hay, cut young. Panicum virgatum.
 Timothy, cut young, the best of hay. North. Phleum pratense.
 Velvet grass, hay on poor soil. South. Holcus lanatus.
 Vernal grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Anthoxanthum odoratum.
 Wire grass, valuable in pastures. Poa compressa.
 Wood grass, Indian grass, hay. Chrysopogon nutans.
 Note: ☞ Many plants are popularly called grasses which are not true grasses botanically considered, such as black grass, goose grass, star grass, etc.
 Black grass, a kind of small rush (Juncus Gerardi), growing in salt marshes, used for making salt hay.
 Grass of the Andes, an oat grass, the Arrhenatherum avenaceum of Europe.-- Grass of Parnassus, a plant of the genus Parnassia growing in wet ground.  The European species is Parnassia palustris; in the United States there are several species.
 Grass bass Zool., the calico bass.
 Grass bird, the dunlin.
 Grass cloth, a cloth woven from the tough fibers of the grass-cloth plant.
 Grass-cloth plant, a perennial herb of the Nettle family (Bœhmeria nivea syn. Urtica nivea), which grows in Sumatra, China, and Assam, whose inner bark has fine and strong fibers suited for textile purposes.
 Grass finch. Zool. (a) A common American sparrow  (Poöcætes gramineus); -- called also vesper sparrow and bay-winged bunting. (b) Any Australian finch, of the genus Poëphila, of which several species are known.
 Grass lamb, a lamb suckled by a dam running on pasture land and giving rich milk.-- Grass land, land kept in grass and not tilled.
 Grass moth Zool., one of many small moths of the genus Crambus, found in grass.
 Grass oil, a fragrant essential volatile oil, obtained in India from grasses of the genus Andropogon, etc.; -- used in perfumery under the name of citronella, ginger grass oil, lemon grass oil, essence of verbena etc.
 Grass owl Zool., a South African owl  (Strix Capensis).
 Grass parrakeet Zool., any of several species of Australian parrots, of the genus Euphemia; --  also applied to the zebra parrakeet.
 Grass plover Zool., the upland or field plover.
 Grass poly Bot., a species of willowwort (Lythrum Hyssopifolia). --Johnson.
 Crass quit Zool., one of several tropical American finches of the genus Euetheia. The males have most of the head and chest black and often marked with yellow.
 Grass snake.  Zool. (a) The common English, or ringed, snake (Tropidonotus natrix). (b) The common green snake of the Northern United States. See Green snake, under Green.
 Grass snipe Zool., the pectoral sandpiper (Tringa maculata); -- called also jacksnipe in America.
 Grass spider Zool., a common spider (Agelena nævia), which spins flat webs on grass, conspicuous when covered with dew.
 Grass sponge Zool., an inferior kind of commercial sponge from Florida and the Bahamas.
 Grass table. Arch. See Earth table, under Earth.
 Grass vetch Bot., a vetch (Lathyrus Nissolia), with narrow grasslike leaves.
 Grass widow.  [Cf. Prov. R. an unmarried mother, G. strohwittwe a mock widow, Sw. gräsenka a grass widow.] (a) An unmarried woman who is a mother. [Obs.] (b) A woman separated from her husband by abandonment or prolonged absence; a woman living apart from her husband. [Slang.]
 Grass wrack Bot. eelgrass.
 To bring to grass Mining., to raise, as ore, to the surface of the ground.
 To put to grass, To put out to grass, to put out to graze a season, as cattle.


 Eleusine indica
      n : coarse annual grass having fingerlike spikes of flowers;
          native to Old World tropics; a naturalized weed elsewhere
          [syn: yardgrass, yard grass, wire grass, {goose
          grass]