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To talk about one's self, or things pertaining to one's self, in a manner intended to excite admiration, envy, or wonder; to talk boastfully; to boast; -- often followed by of; as, to brag of one's exploits, courage, or money, or of the great things one intends to do. Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, Brags o…

l in which a breast wheel turns. It is closely adapted to the curve of the wheel through about a quarter of its circumference, and prevents the escape of the water until it has spent its force upon the wheel. See Breast wheel.

ither so high as in the overshot wheel, nor so low as in the undershot, but generally at about half the height of the wheel, being kept in contact with it by the breasting. The water acts on the float boards partly by impulse, partly by its weight.

A fly of various species, of the family Tabanidæ, noted for buzzing about animals, and tormenting them by sucking their blood; -- called also horsefly, and gadfly. They are among the largest of two- winged or dipterous insects. The name is also given to different species of botflies. [Written also breese and brize.]…

A woman newly married, or about to be married. Has by his own experience tried How much the wife is dearer than the bride. Lyttleton. I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. Rev. xxi. 9.

A man newly married, or just about to be married.

in the ground, for guests at a wedding to dance round. Divide the broad bridecake Round about the bridestake. B. Jonson.

To produce in exchange; to sell for; to fetch; as, what does coal bring per ton To bring about, to bring to pass; to effect; to accomplish. -- To bring back. (a) To recall. (b) To restore, as something borrowed, to its owner. -- To bring by the lee (Naut.), to incline so rapidly to leeward of the course, when a ship…

substance, very soluble in cold water, formed by heating dry starch at a temperature of about 600° Fahr. It corresponds, in its properties, to dextrin, and is used, in solution, as a substitute for gum in stiffering goods. -- British lion, the national emblem of Great Britain. -- British seas, the four seas which su…

Pertaining to Dr. Robert Brown, who first demonstrated (about 1827) the commonness of the motion described below. Brownian movement, the peculiar, rapid, vibratory movement exhibited by the microscopic particles of substances when suspended in water or other fluids.

You are lucky fellows who can live in a dreamland of your own, instead of being buffeted about the world. W. Black.

a selfish purpose; anything said for mere show. [Cant or Slang, U.S.] All that flourish about right of search was bunkum -- all that brag about hanging your Canada sheriff was bunkum . . . slavery speeches are all bunkum. Haliburton. To speak for Buncombe, to speak for mere show, or popularly.

The tail, or brush, of a fox. To beat about the bush, to approach anything in a round-about manner, instead of coming directly to it; -- a metaphor taken from hunting. -- Bush bean (Bot.), a variety of bean which is low and requires no support (Phaseolus vulgaris, variety nanus). See Bean, 1. -- Bush buck, or Bush go…

One accustomed to beat about, or travel through, bushes. [U.S.] They were gallant bushwhackers, and hunters of raccoons by moonlight. W. Irving.

cupation; as, the business of life; business before pleasure. Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business Luke ii. 49.

undaries. In lands of the ordinary rectangular shape, butts are the lines at the ends (F. bouts), and bounds are those on the sides, or sidings, as they were formerly termed. Burrill. -- Bead and butt. See under Bead. -- Butt and butt, joining end to end without overlapping, as planks. -- Butt weld (Mech.), a butt j…

To negotiate or treat about a purchase. I will buy with you, sell with you. Shak.

pain and countries settled by the Spanish, a land measure of varying size. In Cuba it is about 33 acres; in Porto Rico, about 194 acres; in the Southwestern United States, about 108 acres.

r more; but as a maritime measure, a cable's length is either 120 fathoms (720 feet), or about 100 fathoms (600 feet, an approximation to one tenth of a nautical mile). -- Cable tier. (a) That part of a vessel where the cables are stowed. (b) A coil of a cable. -- Sheet cable, the cable belonging to the sheet anchor.…

ngs, which seem to be laid in the hollows of the fluting. These are limited in length to about one third of the height of the shaft.