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ission of air to the fuel; also, an arrangement containing dampers or shutters, as in the floor or wall of a room or passage, or in a chimney, for admitting or excluding heated air, or for regulating ventilation.

A flooring or framework on which a rick is made.

An artificial sheet of ice, generally under cover, used for skating; also, a floor prepared for skating on with roller skates, or a building with such a floor.

as, to rip a garment by cutting the stitches; to rip off the skin of a beast; to rip up a floor; -- commonly used with up, open, off.

ade of wool, -- used for various purposes, as for covering and ornamenting part of a bare floor, for hanging in a doorway as a potière, for protecting a portion of carpet, for a wrap to protect the legs from cold, etc.

A floor timber in a ship.

The upper end of a floor timber in a ship.

One who strewed rushes on the floor at dances. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

The threshold of a door, when a separate piece from the floor or landing; -- so called because it spans and covers the joint between two floors. Saddle bar (Arch.), one the small iron bars to which the lead panels of a glazed window are secured. Oxf. Gloss. -- Saddle gall (Far.), a sore or gall upon a horse's back, ma…

line or plane; as, a line or cable supported by its ends sags, though tightly drawn; the floor of a room sags; hence, to lean, give way, or settle from a vertical position; as, a building may sag one way or another; a door sags on its hinges.

ee Saltation. -- Saltatory spasm (Med.), an affection in which pressure of the foot on a floor causes the patient to spring into the air, so as to make repeated involuntary motions of hopping and jumping. J. Ross.

or place here and there, esp. in an open or sparse order. And some are scattered all the floor about. Chaucer. Why should my muse enlarge on Libyan swains, Their scattered cottages, and ample plains Dryden. Teach the glad hours to scatter, as they fly, Soft quiet, gentle love, and endless joy. Prior.…

n of, as a play, or to silence, as a speaker, by drawing the feet back and forth upon the floor; -- usually with down. Macaulay. To scrape acquaintance, to seek acquaintance otherwise than by an introduction. Farquhar. He tried to scrape acquaintance with her, but failed ignominiously. G. W. Cable.

ing) in such a way as to fit closely to a somewhat irregular surface, as a baseboard to a floor which is out of level, a board to the curves of a molding, or the like; -- so called because the workman marks, or scribe, with the compasses the line that he afterwards cuts.

ith something coarse or rough, for the purpose of cleaning or brightening; as, to scrub a floor, a doorplate.

Hence, a line of junction; a joint; a suture, as on a ship, a floor, or other structure; the line of union, or joint, of two boards, planks, metal plates, etc. Precepts should be so finely wrought together . . . that no coarse seam may discover where they join. Addison.

k or waiting on table. -- Second intention. See under Intention. -- Second story, Story floor, in America, the second range of rooms from the street level. This, in England, is called the first floor, the one beneath being the ground floor. -- Second thought or thoughts, consideration of a matter following a first i…

A temporary substitute for a bed, as one made on the floor or on chairs; -- perhaps originally from the shaking down of straw for this purpose. Sir W. Scott.

A flat tablet or ledge of any material set horizontally at a distance from the floor, to hold objects of use or ornament.

One who walks about in a shop as an overseer and director. Cf. Floorwalker.