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at Naples. Addison. Praise . . . owes its value to its scarcity. Rambler. The value of an advantage is enhanced by its scarceness. Collier.

iring the party proceeded against to show cause why the party bringing it should not have advantage of such record, or (as in the case of scire facias to repeal letters patent) why the record should not be annulled or vacated. Wharton. Bouvier.

ously; to struggle confusedly or at haphazard. A gallant man had rather fight to great disadvantage in the field, in an orderly way, than scuffle with an undisciplined rabble. Eikon Basilike.

oting one's self, or the state of being self- devoted; willingness to sacrifice one's own advantage or happiness for the sake of others; self-sacrifice.

Private interest; the interest or advantage of one's self.

e love of one's self; desire of personal happiness; tendency to seek one's own benefit or advantage. Shak. Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul. Pope.

One who seeks only his own interest, advantage, or pleasure.

Caring supremely or unduly for one's self; regarding one's own comfort, advantage, etc., in disregard, or at the expense, of those of others. They judge of things according to their own private appetites and selfish passions. Cudworth. In that throng of selfish hearts untrue. Keble.

to promote; to be sufficient for; to satisfy; as, to serve one's turn. Turn it into some advantage, by observing where it can serve another end. Jer. Taylor.

Useful office; advantage conferred; that which promotes interest or happiness; benefit; avail. The stork's plea, when taken in a net, was the service she did in picking up venomous creatures. L'Estrange.

Doing service; promoting happiness, interest, advantage, or any good; useful to any end; adapted to any good end use; beneficial; advantageous. "Serviceable to religion and learning". Atterbury. "Serviceable tools." Macaulay. I know thee well, a serviceable villain. Shak.

; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense. "A sheer impossibility." De Quincey. It is not a sheer advantage to have several strings to one's bow. M. Arnold.

Anthrenus. -- Skin of the teeth, nothing, or next to nothing; the least possible hold or advantage. Job xix. 20. -- Skin wool, wool taken from dead sheep.

To omit; to loose by negligence. And slip no advantage That my secure you. B. Jonson.

Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained. [Slang] Snap back (Football), the act of snapping back the ball. -- Snap beetle, or Snap bug (Zoöl.), any beetle of the family Elateridæ, which, when laid on its back, is able to leap to a considerable height by means of a thoracic spring; -- call…

who does a thing prematurely or anticipates another in acting in order to gain an unfair advantage.

ded as the peculiar property of a successful party or faction, to be bestowed for its own advantage; -- commonly in the plural; as to the victor belong the spoils. From a principle of gratitude I adhered to the coalition; my vote was counted in the day of battle, but I was overlooked in the division of the spoil. Gibbo…

ry. Flitting leaves, the sport of every wind. Dryden. Never does man appear to greater disadvantage than when he is the sport of his own ungoverned pasions. John Clarke.

e species. Burke. -- To stand in hand, to conduce to one's interest; to be serviceable or advantageous. -- To stand off. (a) To keep at a distance. (b) Not to comply. (c) To keep at a distance in friendship, social intercourse, or acquaintance. (d) To appear prominent; to have relief. "Picture is best when it standeth…

ixt them two. Chaucer. To get, or have, the start, to before another; to gain or have the advantage in a similar undertaking; -- usually with of. "Get the start of the majestic world." Shak. "She might have forsaken him if he had not got the start of her." Dryden.