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Anything like , or serving the purpose of, a backbone. The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country. Darwin. We have now come to the backbone of our subject. Earle.

A method of tripping by getting the leg back of the opponent's heel on the outside and pulling forward while pushing his body back; a throw made in this way. -- v. t.

A rope or stay extending from the masthead to the side of a ship, slanting a little aft, to assist the shrouds in supporting the mast. [ Often used in the plural.]

The back and sides of a pig salted and smoked; formerly, the flesh of a pig salted or fresh. Bacon beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Dermestes lardarius) which, especially in the larval state, feeds upon bacon, woolens, furs, etc. See Dermestes. -- To save one's bacon, to save one's self or property from harm or less. [Colloq…

A weight used in certain parts of the East Indies, varying considerably in different localities, the range being from 223 to 625 pounds.

To harden by cold. The earth . . . is baked with frost. Shak. They bake their sides upon the cold, hard stone. Spenser.

ct of weighing mentally; comparison; estimate. A fair balance of the advantages on either side. Atterbury.

ng ruffle or frill, as of silk or lace, sewed close to the lower edge of a skirt on the inside.

rick.] A radiant baldric o'er his shoulder tied Sustained the sword that glittered at his side. Pope.

e feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Balænoidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth.

unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside. Bad plowmen made balks of such ground. Fuller.

Bent; crooked; curved laterally, esp. with the convex side outward; as, a bandy leg.

A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine.

A raised way or foot bank, running along the inside of a parapet, on which musketeers stand to fire upon the enemy.

of the crust of a horse's hoof which is bent inwards towards the frog at the heel on each side, and extends into the center of the sole.

One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather.

A shrub of the genus Berberis, common along roadsides and in neglected fields. B. vulgaris is the species best known; its oblong red berries are made into a preserve or sauce, and have been deemed efficacious in fluxes and fevers. The bark dyes a fine yellow, esp. the bark of the root. [Also spelt berberry.]…

A variety of paralysis, peculiar to India and the Malabar coast; -- considered by many to be the same as beriberi in chronic form.

contract by which one party binds himself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds himself to receive the property and pay the consideration. A contract is a bargain that is legally binding. Wharton.

ry, public debts, corporate privileges, etc., and supported Van Buren against Cass for president in 1848; --opposed to Hunker. [Political Cant, U. S.]