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Obs.] Crabb. To nail a lie or an assertion, etc., to detect and expose it, so as to put a stop to its currency; -- an expression probably derived from the former practice of shopkeepers, who were accustomed to nail bad or counterfeit pieces of money to the counter.

extreme filthness; dirtiness; also, indecency; obscenity. The nastiness of Plautus and Aristophanes. Dryden.

To puzzle; to confound; to perplex; to cause to stop by embarrassment. He has been nonplused by Mr. Dry's desiring him to tell what it was that he endeavored to prove. Spectator.

A neglect or failure by the plaintiff to follow up his suit; a stopping of the suit; a renunciation or withdrawal of the cause by the plaintiff, either because he is satisfied that he can not support it, or upon the judge's expressing his opinion. A compulsory nonsuit is a nonsuit ordered by the court on the ground tha…

ting and picking into loose fiber old hemp ropes; -- used for calking the seams of ships, stopping leaks, etc.

The act of stopping up, as a passage. [Obs.] Bailey.

To block up; to stop up or close, as a way or passage; to place an obstacle in, or fill with obstacles or impediments that prevent or hinder passing; as, to obstruct a street; to obstruct the channels of the body. 'T is the obstructed paths of sound shall clear. Pope.

To stop or close, as an opening; specif., (Ordnance),

The act of stopping up, or closing, an opening. "Deaf by an outward obturation." Bp. Hall.

That which closes or stops an opening.

Not closed or stopped with the finger; -- said of the string of an instrument, as of a violin, when it is allowed to vibrate throughout its whole length.

The act of filling or crowding together; a stopping by redundant matter; obstruction, particularly in the lower intestines. Jer. Taylor.

To hinder or stop, as by an overslaugh or an impediment; as, to overslaugh a bill in a legislative body; to overslaugh a military officer, that is, to hinder his promotion or employment. [Local Cant, U. S.]

To fasten with, or as with, a padlock; to stop; to shut; to confine as by a padlock. Milton. Tennyson.

To ward off; to stop, or to turn aside; as, to parry a thrust, a blow, or anything that means or threatens harm. Locke. Vice parries wide The undreaded volley with a sword of straw. Cowper.

A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.

To stop with a pawl; to drop the pawls off. To pawl the capstan. See under Capstan.

To make or become quiet; to be silent; to stop. [R.] "Peace your tattlings." Shak. When the thunder would not peace at my bidding. Shak.

A complete sentence, from one full stop to another; esp., a well-proportioned, harmonious sentence. "Devolved his rounded periods." Tennyson. Periods are beautiful when they are not too long. B. Johnson.

An organ stop, with a high, piercing tone.