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Policy; art; management. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

A voluntary engagement, or a paper containing it; a promise. Bp. Burnet.

A fixed star of the second magnitude, in the constellation Gemini. Cf. 3d Castor.

A mutual arrangement between competing lines, by which the receipts of all are aggregated, and then distributed pro rata according to agreement.

for the lining of its cells; -- called also upholsterer bee. -- Prickly poppy (Bot.), Argemone Mexicana, a yellow-flowered plant of the Poppy family, but as prickly as a thistle. -- Poppy seed, the seed the opium poppy (P. somniferum). -- Spatling poppy (Bot.), a species of Silene (S. inflata). See Catchfly.…

entrance or exit, especially one that is grand and imposing. Thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone. Milton. From out the fiery portal of the east. Shak.

To assume and maintain a studied attitude, with studied arrangement of drapery; to strike an attitude; to attitudinize; figuratively, to assume or affect a certain character; as, she poses as a prude. He . . . posed before her as a hero. Thackeray.

Belonging to the post office or mail service; as, postal arrangements; postal authorities. Postal card, or Post card, a card sold by the government for transmission through the mails, at a lower rate of postage than a sealed letter. The message is written on one side of the card, and the direction on the other. -- Pos…

rwise specially mentioned. Counter potent (Her.), a fur differing from potent in the arrangement of the patches.

Skillful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; art; stratagem; artifice; plot; -- usually in a bad sense. [Obs.] Bacon. He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer. Sir P. Sidney.

One who uses art or stratagem. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

tals, the uncommon and highly valuable metals, esp. gold and silver. -- Precious stones, gems; jewels.

One of the five most general relations of attributes involved in logical arrangements, namely, genus, species, difference, property, and accident.

Cleared and ready for engagement, as a ship. Smart.

Burke. The law that obliges parishes to support the poor offers a premium for the encouragement of idleness. Franklin.

or fitting beforehand for a particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation of troops for a campaign.

Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency; as, a press of engagements.

e in time; being or happening before something else; antecedent; prior; as, previous arrangements; a previous illness. The dull sound . . . previous to the storm, Rolls o'er the muttering earth. Thomson. Previous question. (Parliamentary Practice) See under Question, and compare Closure. -- Previous to, before; -- oft…

cy of a priesthood; esp., in an ill sense, fraud or imposition in religious concerns; management by priests to gain wealth and power by working upon the religious motives or credulity of others. It is better that men should be governed by priestcraft than by violence. Macaulay.

That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. I will depart my pris, or may prey, by deliberation. Chaucer. His own prize, Whom formerly he had in battle won. Spenser.