<B>sizzle, </B>verb, <B>-zled,</B> <B>-zling,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to make a hissing sound, as fat does when it is frying or scorching. <DD><B> 2. </B>to be very hot. <BR> <I>Ex. to sizzle in a heat wave, to sizzle with anger.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to fry or scorch so as to produce a hissing sound. <DD><B> 2. </B>to burn up with intense heat. <BR> <I>Ex. A gas ... ionizes into a hot, high-speed jet that sizzles the surface of the two metals and joins them (Science).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a hissing sound; sizzling. </DL>
<A NAME="sizzler">
<B>sizzler, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Informal.) a very hot day. <BR> <I>Ex. Tuesday was really a sizzler.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Slang.) something outstanding, exciting, or dangerous. <BR> <I>Ex. But his Curnonsky folder was a sizzler: "Dangerous anarchist, without a fixed domicile since 1912" (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<B>S.J.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Society of Jesus (the official name of the Jesuit order). </DL>
<A NAME="sjambok">
<B>sjambok, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a strong, heavy whip made from thick, tough hide, such as that of the rhinoceros or hippopotamus, used in South Africa for driving cattle. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to strike or drive with a sjambok. </DL>
<A NAME="sjd">
<B>S.J.D.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Doctor of Juridical Science (Latin, <I>Scientiae Juridicae Doctor</I>). </DL>
<A NAME="sjres">
<B>S.J. Res.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) Senate Joint Resolution (used with a number). </DL>
<A NAME="sk">
<B>sk.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> sack. </DL>
<A NAME="skald">
<B>skald, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a Scandinavian poet and singer of ancient times. Also, <B>scald.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skaldic">
<B>skaldic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the skalds or their poetry and songs. Also, <B>scaldic.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skat">
<B>skat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a card game for three players. Cards won in tricks are counted for points. <DD><B> 2. </B>the widow dealt in this game. </DL>
<A NAME="skate">
<B>skate</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>skated,</B> <B>skating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a frame with a blade fixed to a shoe so that a person can glide over ice; ice skate. <DD><B> 2. </B>a similar frame or shoe with small wheels for use on any smooth, hard surface; roller skate. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to glide or move along on skates. <DD><B> 2. </B>to slide or glide along. <BR> <I>Ex. Insects skated on the water (Longfellow). (Figurative.) Many other savings institutions are skating close to their break-even points (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to glide or move over (a surface) on skates. <DD><B> 2. </B>to take part in (a contest or the like) by skating. <BR><I>expr. <B>skate on thin ice,</B> </I>to take a risky or dangerous course. <BR> <I>Ex. A handful of savings and loan associations in the state are also known to be skating on thin ice (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skate">
<B>skate</B> (2), noun, pl. <B>skates</B> or (collectively) <B>skate.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several broad, flat fishes, usually having a pointed snout. A skate is a kind of ray. The barn-door skate and the thornback are two kinds. </DL>
<A NAME="skate">
<B>skate</B> (3), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a term of contempt for an old, worn-out horse. <DD><B> 2. </B>a fellow. <BR> <I>Ex. He's a good skate. Dave's a cheap skate, all right (Sinclair Lewis).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skatebarrow">
<B>skatebarrow, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the egg case of a skate, ray, or other elasmobranch fish, often called a mermaid's purse. Its shape suggests a handbarrow. </DL>
<A NAME="skateboard">
<B>skateboard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a narrow board resembling a surfboard, with roller-skate wheels attached to each end, used for gliding or moving on any hard surface. noun <B>skateboarder.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skateboarding">
<B>skateboarding, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act or sport of riding a skateboard. </DL>
<A NAME="skater">
<B>skater, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who skates. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various long-legged insects that glide over water. </DL>
<A NAME="skatingrink">
<B>skating rink,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. </B>a smooth sheet of ice for skating. <DD><B> 2. </B>a smooth floor for roller skating. </DL>
<A NAME="skatol">
<B>skatol, </B>noun. =skatole.</DL>
<A NAME="skatole">
<B>skatole, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a bad-smelling substance produced by the decomposition of albuminous matter in the intestinal canal, and present in feces. </DL>
<A NAME="skean">
<B>skean, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a type of dagger formerly used by foot soldiers in Ireland and Scotland. Also, <B>skene.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skeandhu">
<B>skean dhu,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small dagger carried by Scottish Highlanders as an ornament, usually in a stocking. <BR> <I>Ex. He is armed with a claymore (broad-sword), a dirk (dagger), and a skean dhu (a knife tucked in his sock) (New York).</I> </DL>
<B>skedaddle, </B>verb, <B>-dled,</B> <B>-dling,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><I>v.i. </I> to run away; leave suddenly and quickly; scatter in flight. <BR> <I>Ex. Meant to tame him [a gopher] but he got out of his box and skedaddled (Atlantic).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a hasty flight or scattering. noun <B>skedaddler.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skee">
<B>skee, </B>noun, pl. <B>skees</B> or <B>skee,</B> intransitive verb, <B>skeed,</B> <B>skeeing.</B> =ski.</DL>
<A NAME="skeet">
<B>skeet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of trapshooting in which the clay pigeons are flung into the air at angles similar to those taken by a bird in flight. <BR> <I>Ex. The riding trails, skeet fields and trout streams are waiting (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skeeter">
<B>skeeter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(U.S. Informal.) a mosquito. <DD><B> 2. </B>a small sailboat for riding on ice; iceboat. </DL>
<A NAME="skeetshoot">
<B>skeetshoot, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-shot,</B> <B>-shooting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to shoot at clay pigeons in the sport of skeet; engage in skeet. noun <B>skeetshooter.</B> </DL>
<B>skeg, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the part of a ship's keel nearest the stern. <DD><B> 2. </B>a projection of the afterpart of a ship's keel for the support of a rudder. <DD><B> 3. </B>a fin or rudder on a surfboard. </DL>
<A NAME="skegger">
<B>skegger, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a salmon of the first year; a smolt. </DL>
<A NAME="skeigh">
<B>skeigh, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) <DD><B> 1. </B>(of horses) skittish; mettlesome; spirited. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of persons) not easily approached or mastered; disdainful or proud. </DL>
<A NAME="skein">
<B>skein, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a small, coiled bundle of yarn or thread. There are 120 yards in a skein of cotton yarn. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a confused tangle. <BR> <I>Ex. Freights entering the yard are pushed up an artificial "hump," uncoupled, then allowed to roll into a skein of classification tracks (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a small cluster or arrangement like a skein. <DD><B> 4. </B>a flight or group of wild geese or ducks. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) an unbroken string or series. <BR> <I>Ex. Constance's unbeaten skein in this country was stopped at six (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make into skeins. <BR> <I>Ex. to skein thread.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skeiner">
<B>skeiner, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or machine that winds yarn into skeins. </DL>
<A NAME="skeletal">
<B>skeletal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or like a skeleton. <DD><B> 2. </B>attached to, forming, or formed by a skeleton; <BR> <I>Ex. The movement of your body is made possible by the skeletal muscles; that is, the muscles that are attached to the bones (Beauchamp, et al.).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skeletally">
<B>skeletally, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> with reference to skeletal structure. </DL>
<A NAME="skeletogenous">
<B>skeletogenous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> producing a skeleton; giving rise to a skeleton; osteogenetic. <BR> <I>Ex. skeletogenous tissue.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skeleton">
<B>skeleton, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>the bones of a body, fitted together in their natural places. The skeleton is a frame that supports the muscles and organs of the body and protects the soft internal organs. <BR> <I>Ex. By looking at a human skeleton ... you quickly see that there is a central column of bones to which the ribs and the bones of our arms and legs are attached (Beauchamp, Mayfield, and West).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the hard supporting or covering part of an invertebrate animal, such as the shell of a mollusk or crustacean. <DD><B> 2. </B>a very thin person or animal. <BR> <I>Ex. A long illness made a skeleton out of him.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a frame. <BR> <I>Ex. the steel skeleton of a building.</I> (SYN) framework. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) the basic features or elements; outline. <BR> <I>Ex. the skeleton of a poem.</I> (SYN) sketch, draft. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of, like, or consisting of a skeleton. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) greatly reduced in numbers; fractional. <BR> <I>Ex. Only a skeleton crew was needed while the ship was tied up in dock.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>skeleton at the feast,</B> </I>a reminder of gloomy or depressing things in the midst of pleasure (because the Egyptians used to have a skeleton or mummy at feasts as a reminder of death). <BR> <I>Ex. With her constant complaints, she was always the skeleton at the feast.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>skeleton in the closet</B> (<B>cupboard,</B> or <B>house</B>), </I>a secret source of embarrassment, grief, or shame, especially to a family; hidden domestic trouble. <BR> <I>Ex. Some particulars regarding the Newcome family, which will show us that they have a skeleton or two in their closets, as well as their neighbours (Thackeray).</I> adj. <B>skeletonless.</B> adj. <B>skeletonlike.</B> </DL>
