Woodenwood•en (wŏŏd′n),USA pronunciation adj.
- consisting or made of wood;
wood: a wooden ship.
- stiff, ungainly, or awkward: a wooden gait.
- without spirit, animation, or awareness.
- dull or stupid.
- indicating the fifth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.
Heelheel1 (hēl),USA pronunciation n.
- the back part of the human foot, below and behind the ankle.
- an analogous part in other vertebrates.
- either hind foot or hoof of some animals, as the horse.
- the foot as a whole: He was hung by the heels.
- the part of a stocking, shoe, or the like covering the back part of the wearer's foot.
- a solid, raised base or support of leather, wood, rubber, etc., attached to the sole of a shoe or boot under the back part of the foot.
- heels, high-heeled shoes.
- something resembling the back part of the human foot in position, shape, etc.: a heel of bread.
- the rear of the palm, adjacent to the wrist.
- the latter or concluding part of anything: the heel of a session.
- the lower end of any of various more or less vertical objects, as rafters, spars, or the sternposts of vessels.
- the after end of a keel.
- the inner end of a bowsprit or jib boom.
- the crook in the head of a golf club.
- the exterior angle of an angle iron.
- the end of a frog farthest from a switch.
- [Hort.]the base of any part, as of a cutting or tuber, that is removed from a plant for use in the propagation of that plant.
- at one's heels, close behind one: The police are at his heels.Also, at heel.
- cool one's heels, to be kept waiting, esp. because of deliberate discourtesy: The producer let the actors who were waiting to be auditioned cool their heels in the outer office.
- down at the heels, having a shabby, slipshod, or slovenly appearance. Also, down at heel, down at the heel, out at heels, out at the heels.
- his heels, [Cribbage.]a jack turned up as a starter, counting two points for the dealer.
- kick up one's heels, to have a vigorously entertaining time;
frolic: Grandfather could still kick up his heels now and then.
- lay by the heels:
- to arrest and imprison.
- to prevail over;
render ineffectual: Superior forces laid the invaders by the heels.
- on or upon the heels of, closely following;
in quick succession of: On the heels of the hurricane came an outbreak of looting.
- show a clean pair of heels, to leave one's pursuers or competitors behind;
outrun: The thief showed his victim a clean pair of heels.Also, show one's heels to.
- take to one's heels, to run away;
take flight: The thief took to his heels as soon as he saw the police.
- to heel:
- close behind: The dog followed the hunter to heel.
- under control or subjugation: The attackers were brought swiftly to heel.
- to follow at the heels of;
- to furnish with heels, as shoes.
- to perform (a dance) with the heels.
- [Golf.]to strike (the ball) with the heel of the club.
- to arm (a gamecock) with spurs.
- (of a dog) to follow at one's heels on command.
- to use the heels, as in dancing.
- heel in, to cover temporarily (the roots and most of the stem of a plant) with soil prior to permanent planting.
Wedgeswedge (wej),USA pronunciation n., v., wedged, wedg•ing.
- a piece of hard material with two principal faces meeting in a sharply acute angle, for raising, holding, or splitting objects by applying a pounding or driving force, as from a hammer. Cf. machine (def. 3b).
- a piece of anything of like shape: a wedge of pie.
- a cuneiform character or stroke of this shape.
- (formerly) an elongated area of relatively high pressure.
- something that serves to part, split, divide, etc.: The quarrel drove a wedge into the party organization.
- (formerly) a tactical formation generally in the form of aVwith the point toward the enemy.
- [Golf.]a club with an iron head the face of which is nearly horizontal, for lofting the ball, esp. out of sand traps and high grass.
- See optical wedge.
- [Chiefly Coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island.]a hero sandwich.
- a wedge heel or shoe with such a heel.
- to separate or split with or as if with a wedge (often fol. by open, apart, etc.): to wedge open a log.
- to insert or fix with a wedge.
- to pack or fix tightly: to wedge clothes into a suitcase.
- to thrust, drive, fix, etc., like a wedge: He wedged himself through the narrow opening.
- [Ceram.]to pound (clay) in order to remove air bubbles.
- to fell or direct the fall of (a tree) by driving wedges into the cut made by the saw.
- to force a way like a wedge (usually fol. by in, into, through, etc.): The box won't wedge into such a narrow space.
September 2, 2017