• NAG
n. 1. c1189 – orig. a small riding horse; later, specifically, an old, slow, or broken down horse
n. 2. 1400 – a racehorse
n. 3. 1598 sl. – a woman
n. 4. 1598 obs. – a term of abuse for a person
n. 5. 1598 sl., obs. – the penis
n. 6. 1608 sl. – a whore; a prostitute
n. 7. M18 sl. – a case of venereal disease
n. 8. 1850 – a person who finds fault or complains habitually
n. 9. 1887 Sc. – a nick, notch, indentation; a bite, snap
n. 10. 19C sl. – an ageing prostitute
n. 11. Bk1903 Sc. – a bite; a snap
n. 12. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – a sour taste; an unpleasant flavour; generally said of liquor
n. 13. 1949 Sc. – a gnawing; a pang of pain; wearing, laborious toil
n. 14. 1960s US sl. – of a prostitute: one who takes her time over making her daily money from her clients
n. 15. 1987 Amer. sl. – a queen in cards
vb. 1. a1728 Eng. dial. – to gnaw, to nibble
vb. 2. 1825 Sc. – to strike smartly; to beat
vb. 3. 1828 sl. – to scold, or fault find persistently
vb. 4. 1836 – to keep up a dull gnawing pain; to ache persistently
vb. 5. 1866 Sc. & Eng. dial. – to labour persistently and painfully; to repeat an action with irritating frequency
vb. 6. 1887 Sc. – to nick, notch, or hack with a sharp instrument; to snap, to snatch, to bite, to mark with the teeth
vb. 7. Bk1903 Sc. – to bite; to snap; to mark with the teeth; to seize
vb. 8. Bk1903 Sc. – to jeer, to taunt
vb. 9. 1928 Sc. – to become sour or mouldy in taste
• NAGAH
n. 1950s W. Indies Rasta usage, derogatory – a Black person
• NAGAR
n. 1921 Indian English – a town, city, or suburb; a district within a town
• NAGAS
n. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – a term of abuse for a greedy, stingy person
• NAG-BACK
n. 1787 Eng. dial. – horseback
• NAG-DRAG
n. M19 UK criminals’ sl. – a three-month period of imprisonment
• NAGE
n. c1320 obs. rare – the buttocks
• NAGELHAWK
n. 1951 Amer. dial. – a rip or tear in a piece of clothing
• NAGER
vb. 1863 Eng. dial. – to work hard; to work laboriously and clumsily
• NAGERING
adj. Bk1889 Eng. dial. – hard-working
• NAGGART
n. Bk1866 Eng. dial. – a term of reproach for a person
• NAGGEDY
adj. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – snappish
• NAGGER
n. 1872 sl. – a persistent scold
vb. 1868 Eng. dial. – to complain continually; to find fault with; to tease
• NAGGETY
adj. 1. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – of a horse: spirited, wild and tricky
adj. 2. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – snappish
• NAGGIE
adj. 1838 Sc. – cross-tempered, touchy, ill-natured
n. 1. c1596 sl. – a horse
n. 2. 19C Brit. sl. – the female genitals
n. 3. 1968 Amer. dial. – a marble used as a shooter
• NAGGISH
adj. 1. 1801 obs. rare – of a horse: suggestive of a nag; small, inferior
adj. 2. 1885 rare – of a nagging type or character
• NAGGLE
n. 1865 rare – pettiness, nagging
vb. 1. 1847 colloq. – to toss the head in a stiff and affected manner
vb. 2. 1824 chiefly Eng. dial. – to gnaw; to bite
vb. 3. 1863 chiefly Eng. dial. rare – to nag, to quarrel, to complain, esp. in a petty manner
vb. 4. 1885 Sc. & Eng. dial. – to fret continually; to pain continuously
• NAGGLED
adj. 1. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – bothered, annoyed
adj. 2. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – tired
• NAGGLY
adj. 1887 Sc. – touchy, fretful, sarcastic, quarrelsome; ill-natured
• NAGGON
n. 1630 obs. rare – a small riding horse or pony
• NAGGY
adj. 1. 1825 Sc. & Eng. dial. – cross, snappish, querulous; shrewish; irritable; ill-natured, bad-tempered, testy; sarcastic
adj. 2. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – aching with a dull pain
n. 1. c1596 sl. – a horse
n. 2. 19C sl. – the vagina
• NAGGY AS A THORN-STICK
adj. B1900 Sc. – said of a quarrelsome or ill-natured person
• NAGO
n. 1940s W. Indies sl. – a very stupid, ugly, or notably dark-complexioned person
• NAGRAMS
n. 1916 Amer. dial. – blues; depression
• NAG-RIDDEN
adj. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – troubled with nightmare
• NAGS
n. 19C Brit. sl. – the testicles
• THE NAGS
n. 1940s sl. – in horseracing: the horses
• NAGSTER
n. 1873 rare – a nagging female
• NAG-TAIL
n. 1771 obs. – a horse’s tail which has been docked or nicked
• NAGUS
n. 1508 Sc. rare – a miserly person
• NAGWARE
n. 1995 US sl. – free computer software that frequently asks the user to send a voluntary payment for further use
• NAH!
int. 1971 US sl. – no
• NAIF
adj. 1598 – natural, artless, naive
• NAIL
n. 1. 1787 Sc. – the trigger of a gun
n. 2. 1812 sl. – a person of an over-reaching, imposing disposition
n. 3. 1812 Amer. sl. – a tough or dangerous fellow
n. 4. 1812 sl. – a shrewd, imposing criminal
n. 5. 1825 Sc. – a sharp pain in the forehead
n. 6. 1874 Eng. dial. – an impostor; a cheat; one who ‘takes in’ another
n. 7. E19 sl. – a gambler who cheats and/or refuses to pay his losses
n. 8. 1925 US sl. – a cigarette
n. 9. 1936 US sl. – a hypodermic needle
n. 10. 1940 US sl. – a venereal infection
n. 11. 1960s African-American rhyming sl. – a male person; a man
n. 12. 1963 Sc. – the measure of the middle finger from the knuckle to the tip, given as eight to a yard, i.e. 4½ inches
n. 13. 1978 US sl. – a marijuana cigarette
n. 14. 1990s US college sl. – a well-built male, esp. a sportsman
vb. 1. 1383 sl. – to catch
vb. 2. 1732 Brit. – to apprehend; to arrest
vb. 3. 1760 sl. – to secure; to succeed in catching hold of a person or thing; to steal
vb. 4. 1785 Sc. – to clinch or drive home an argument; to clinch a bargain
vb. 5. 1785 Sc. – to reach a target; to succeed in hitting, to strike down; to kill
vb. 6. 1785 sl. – to hit, esp., in boxing, to be successful in hitting someone; to strike smartly; to beat
vb. 7. 1785 sl. – to expose a lie
vb. 8. L18 sl. – to shoot someone
vb. 9. 1812 obs.- to cheat; to get the better of
vb. 10. 1880 Sc. – to strike smartly; to beat
vb. 11. 1880 Sc. – to scold severely; to reprimand
vb. 12. 1885 US – to work as a carpenter
vb. 13. 1888 Amer. sl. – to defeat an opponent; to place in a finishing or inextricable position
vb. 14. 1889 Winchester College usage – to detect
vb. 15. L19 US sl. – to seduce, to secure someone’s affections
vb. 16. Bk1902 sl. – to backbite
vb. 17. 1902 Amer. sl. – to identify or recognize
vb. 18. 1907 Amer. – to catch or steal a ride on a freight train
vb. 19. 1910s sl. – to put an end to
vb. 20. 1920s sl. – to approach, to address
vb. 21. 1960 US sl. – to have sex, often with the implication of aggression
vb. 22. 1960s sl. – to charge with a debt
vb. 23. 1977 US sl. – of a wave: to knock a surfer from the surfboard
vb. 24. 1980s sl. – to link someone with a person or thing
vb. 25. 1989 US colloq. – to get right, to master
• NAIL AFF
vb. 1836 Sc. obs. – to say rapidly, to rattle off
• NAIL A GOSS
vb. L19 UK criminals’ sl. – to steal a hat
• NAIL A RATTLER
vb. L19 US tramps’ sl. – to steal a ride on a moving train
• NAIL A STRIKE
vb. L19 UK criminals’ sl. – to steal a watch
• NAIL-BEARERS
n. Bk1902 sl. – the fingers
• NAIL BENDER
n. 1924 US sl. – a carpenter, a blacksmith
• NAIL BITER
n. 1971 US sl. – an anxiety-provoking situation, esp. a close contest
• NAIL-BOX
n. 1. Bk1902 printers’ sl. – a centre of backbiting
n. 2. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – a top-hat
• NAIL CAN
n. L19 Aust. sl. – a top hat
• NAILED
adj. 1. 1836 US sl. – deranged
adj. 2. 1859 Amer. sl. – arrested
adj. 3. 1985 Amer. sl. – drunk
• NAILED UP
adj. 1836 Amer. sl. – drunk
• NAIL-EM-AND-JAIL-EM
n. 1. 1967 African-American sl. – the police
n. 2. 1980 US sl. – a police officer
• NAILER
n. 1. a1818 colloq. – a marvellously good thing, animal, or person; an exceptionally good hand at something; anything of superior or surprising quality; a surprising lie
n. 2. 1821 Eng. dial. – a sharp blow
n. 3. c1863 sl. – a police officer
n. 4. 1886 sl. – a handsome woman
n. 5. 1888 colloq. – an extortioner
n. 6. Bk1902 sl. – a clever student
n. 7. Bk1902 sl. – a fast horse
n. 8. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – a hard, grasping person
• THE NAILER
n. L19 Anglo-Irish – the joker in a pack of cards
• NAILERS
n. 1950s African-American sl. – police
• NAIL GROPER
n. M19 sl. – one who scours the streets in search of old nails and similar saleable pieces of discarded metal
• NAIL-HAGS
n. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – the little bits of skin which turn back near the fingernails
• NAILHEAD
n. 1. 1948 Amer. sl. – a fool; a dull, stupid person
n. 2. 1960s African-American sl. – an attractive woman, esp. one with short, nappy hair
• NAIL-HEADED
adj. 1936 – stupid, doltish; stubborn
• NAIL HORN
n. 1821 Sc. – a fingernail
• NAILING
adj. 1889 Eng. dial. – excellent; of superior quality; of large size; great
adv. 1868 Amer. sl. – exceptionally; usually with ‘good’
n. 1880 Sc. & Eng. dial. – a beating, a thrashing, punishment, a scolding
• NAILING-ON
n. 1841 Eng. dial. obs. – the horizon
• NAILING RASCAL
n. 1. E19 sl. – a shrewd, imposing criminal; a person of an over-reaching, imposing disposition
n. 2. E19 sl. – a gambler who cheats and/or refuses to pay his losses
• NAIL IN ONE’S COFFIN
n. 1. 1820 colloq. – anything that may lead incrementally to ruin; a stage in one’s decline
n. 2. 1823 sl. – a drink
n. 3. M19 sl. – anything seen as potentially harmful, however pleasurable in the short term
• NAIL JELL-O TO A TREE
vb. 1980s US college sl. – to do the impossible
• NAIL KEG
n. 1. 1866 Amer. sl. – a top hat
n. 2. 1894 Amer. military sl. – an artillery shell
• NAIL KEG
n. 1968 Amer. dial. – the Black district of a town or city
• NAIL NICKER
n. 1997 US sl. – in gambling: a cheat who marks cards by nicking them with his fingernails
• NAIL OFF
vb. 1836 Sc. – to say rapidly
• NAIL ONE’S ASS TO THE WALL
vb. 1971 Amer. sl. – to punish or otherwise put a finish to someone
• NAIL ONE’S BOLLOCKS TO THE DOOR
vb. 1998 Brit. sl. – to physically beat up; to figuratively neuter and mentally defeat
• NAIL ONE’S COLOURS TO THE MAST
vb. 1848 – to adopt an unyielding attitude
• NAIL ONE’S HIDE TO THE BARN DOOR
vb. 1952 Amer. sl. – to punish or otherwise put a finish to someone
• NAIL ONE’S HIDE TO THE ROUNDHOUSE WALL
vb. 1975 Amer. sl. – to punish or otherwise put a finish to someone
• NAIL ONE’S HIDE TO THE WALL
vb. 1959 Amer. sl. – to punish or otherwise put a finish to someone
• NAIL ONE TO THE CROSS
vb. 1899 Amer. dial. – to punish or otherwise deal with someone in a final or decisive manner; to castigate thoroughly
• NAIL ONE TO THE MAST
vb. 1925 Amer. dial. – to punish or otherwise deal with someone in a final or decisive manner; to castigate thoroughly
• NAIL-PIE
n. 1864 Eng. dial. – an attack upon a person with the fingernails
• NAIL-POUNDER
n. 1969 Amer, dial. – a woodpecker
• NAILROD
n. 1. L19 Aust. & NZ sl. – a stick of “Two Seas” tobacco
n. 2. L19 Aust. & NZ sl. – any dark tobacco
• NAILS
int. L14 – an oath
n. 1. Bk1808 Sc. – loose locks of wool
n. 2. E19 sl. – a shrewd, imposing criminal; a person of an over-reaching, imposing disposition
n. 3. E19 sl. – a gambler who cheats and/or refuses to pay his losses
n. 4. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – the common daisy, Bellis perennis
n. 5. Bk1913-17 Amer. navy sl. – a carpenter’s mate
n. 6. 1981 Hawaii juvenile usage – a disappointment; a failure
n. 7. 1980s UK juvenile sl. – an aggressive person; a ‘hard’ man
n. 8. 1989 Amer. sl. – a baseball player who is tough
• NAILS AND SCREWS
n. 20C Aust. rhyming sl. – news
• NAIL’S BREADTH
n. 1639 – the smallest amount; chiefly used in negative expressions
• NAIL-SPRINGS
n. Bk1903 Eng. dial. – the little bits of skin which turn back near the fingernails
• NAIL THE CORE
vb. 1992 US sl. – in hang gliding: to find the centre of a thermal and ride it up
• NAIL TO THE BARN-DOOR
vb. 1894 – to exhibit after the manner of dead vermin
• NAIL TO THE COUNTER
vb. 1842 – to expose as false or spurious; to expose as a lie
• NAIL TWO BELLIES TOGETHER
vb. 17C – to copulate
• NAIL TWO WAMES TOGETHER
vb. 18C sl. – to have sexual intercourse
• NAINAINE
n. 1917 Amer. dial. – a godmother; also used as a term of address
• NAINY
pron. 1951 Amer. dial. – none
• NAIR
n. L19 back-slang – rain
• NAIRN
pron. 1909 Amer. dial. – not a one; none; often used with other negatives
• NAISSANCE
n. 1490 obs. rare – origin, birth
• NAISSANT
adj. 1885 rare – coming into existence, or being produced
• NAIST
vb. Bk1905 Eng. dial. – to tease; to worry; to remind one to do something disagreeable
• NAIT
n. a1300 Sc. & N. Eng. dial. obs. rare – use, profit, advantage
vb. 1. a1300 obs. rare – to go over, to recite, to repeat
vb. 2. a1300 obs.- to make use of, to use
vb. 3. c1374 obs. rare – to refuse, to deny
vb. 4. a1400-50 obs. rare – to exert oneself
• NAITHERANS
conj. 1813 Sc. – neither
• NAITHERS
adv. 1813 Sc. – notwithstanding, either
• NAITLY
adv. a1300 obs. – to some purpose; properly; thoroughly
• NAKE
adj. c1320 obs. rare – naked
vb. c1320 obs . exc. Sc. – to make naked, to bare, to lay bare, to strip
• NAKED
adj. 1. c725 obs. – of the tongue: thrust out, exposed
adj. 2. a1225 rare – free from concealment or reserve; plain, straightforward; outspoken, free
adj. 3. 1709-31 Sc. obs. – unarmed; defenseless
adj. 4. 1821 – of the wind: bleak, cold
adj. 5. 1850 colloq. – of drinks: unmixed with water
adj. 6. 1976 US sl. – of a truck: driving without a trailer
adj. 7. 20C African-American sl. – without a gun; without possessions or money; generally at a disadvantage
adv. 1970s US college sl. – in an extreme manner
int. 1970s US college sl. – an exclamation of affirmation, often as a direct response to a previous statement
n. 1622 obs. – a nude figure
• THE NAKED
n. a1400-50 obs. rare – the naked skin
• NAKED AS ADAM
adj. 1656 – completely naked
• NAKED AS A JAYBIRD
adj. 1922 Amer. dial. – completely naked
• NAKED AS A JAYBIRD’S ASS
adj. 1952 Amer. dial. – completely naked
• NAKED AS A NEEDLE
adj. 1377 obs. – quite naked
• NAKED AS A PICKED JAYBIRD
adj. 1952 Amer. dial. – completely naked
• NAKED AS A ROBIN
adj. 1872 Eng. dial. – quite naked; chiefly said of an undressed child
• NAKED AS A WORM
adj. a1467 obs. – quite naked
• NAKED AS MY NAIL
adj. 1559 obs. – quite naked; nude; as unclothed as a fingernail
• NAKED BED
adj. Bk1905 Eng. dial. – stark naked; dressed only in night-clothes
• NAKED BUFF
adj. 20C US colloq. – nude, totally naked
• NAKED CITY
n. 1. 1960s US sl. – the poor area of a town
n. 2. 1967 Amer. dial. – a nickname for nearby village or district
• NAKED DANCE
n. 1940s African-American sl. – a sexually provocative dance
• NAKED GULL
n. Bk1905 Eng. dial. – any unfledged bird
• NAKEDHEAD
n. a1300 obs. – nakedness
• NAKEDISH
adj. 1806 rare – somewhat naked
• NAKEDIZE
vb. 1858 – to go naked; to make naked
• NAKED JAZZ
n. 1940s sl. – basic, raunchy jazz music
• NAKEDLY
adv. 1589 rare or obs. – barely, poorly, imperfectly; slightly
• NAKED-MEN
n. B1900 Eng. dial. – old, decayed, leafless trees
• NAKEDNESS
n. 1. E17 euphemism – the genitals, male or female
n. 2. 1885 – a naked person
• NAKED SNAIL
n. 1750 Eng. dial. – a slug
• NAKED TRUTH
n. Bk1905 Sc. – pure spirits; whisky neat
• NAKEDY
adj. 1922 Amer. dial. – naked
• NAKEN
vb. 1. a1240 obs. – to strip naked; to divest of clothing; to lay bare
vb. 2. a1300 obs. – to reveal or disclose
• NAKER
n. c1440 obs. rare – one who makes naked
• NAKERS
n. M19 sl. – the testicles
• NAKHES
n. 1968 US Yiddish – proud pleasure
• NAKING
n. c1440 obs. rare – the act of making naked
• THE NAKIT TRUTH
n. 1880 Sc. – undiluted spirits; pure whisky
• NAKITY
adj. 1922 Amer. dial. – naked
• NAKY-BED
adj. Bk1905 Eng. dial. – stark naked; dressed only in night-clothes
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