noun [ in sing. ] informal, chiefly Brit. a commotion or fuss, esp. one caused by conflicting views: there was a kerfuffle over the chairmanship. ORIGIN early 19th cent.: perhaps from Scots curfuffle (probably from Scottish Gaelic car ‘twist, bend’ + imitative Scots fuffle ‘to disorder’), or related to Irish cior thual ‘confusion, disorder.’

stop short of not go as far as (some extreme action): the measures stopped short of establishing direct trade links.

verb [ with obj. ] make (someone or something) seem unimportant: this is not to belittle his role | she felt belittled.

DERIVATIVES belittlement noun, belittler noun

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: a coinage of Thomas Jefferson originally meaning ‘diminish in size, make small’; the current sense dates from the very end of the 18th century.

prong |prôNG| noun 1 each of two or more projecting pointed parts at the end of a fork. • a projecting part on various other devices: a small rubber brush with large prongs. 2 each of the separate parts of an attack or operation: the three main prongs of the new government's program. verb [ with obj. ] pierce or stab with a fork: pronging the bread with a fondue fork. DERIVATIVES pronged |prôNGd|adjective [ in combination ] : a three-pronged attack ORIGIN late 15th cent. (denoting a forked implement): perhaps related to Middle Low German prange ‘pinching instrument.’ The verb dates from the mid 19th cent.

jump the gun, Slang . 1. to begin a race before the starting signal. 2. to begin prematurely; act too hastily.

verb [ usu. with negative ]

make or cause to make the slightest movement: [ no obj. ] : the line in the bank hasn't budged | [ with obj. ] : I couldn't budge the door.

• [ no obj. ] (budge over) informal make room for another person by moving: budge over, boys, make room for your uncle.

• [ usu. with modal ] change or make (someone) change an opinion: [ no obj. ] : I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't budge | [ with obj. ] : neither bribe nor threat will budge him

stint |stint|

verb [ with obj. often with negative ] supply an ungenerous or inadequate amount of (something): stowage room hasn't been stinted. • [ no obj. ] be economical or frugal about spending or providing something: he doesn't stint on wining and dining. • restrict (someone) in the amount of something (esp. money) given or permitted: to avoid having to stint yourself, budget in advance.

noun 1 a person's fixed or allotted period of work: his varied career included a stint as a magician. 2 limitation of supply or effort: a collector with an eye for quality and the means to indulge it without stint . ORIGIN Old English styntan ‘make blunt,’ of Germanic origin; related to stunt1.

throng |THrôNG, THräNG|

noun a large, densely packed crowd of people or animals: he pushed his way through the throng | a throng of birds.

verb [ with obj. ] (of a crowd) fill or be present in (a place or area): a crowd thronged the station | the streets are thronged with people. • [ no obj. ] flock or be present in great numbers: tourists thronged to the picturesque village.

ORIGIN Old English (ge)thrang ‘crowd, tumult,’ of Germanic origin. The early sense of the verb (Middle English) was ‘press violently, force one's way.’

resilient |riˈzilyənt| adjective (of a substance or object) able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed. • (of a person or animal) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions: the fish are resilient to most infections.

DERIVATIVES resiliently adverb ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin resilient- ‘leaping back,’ from the verb resilire (see resile) .

relish |ˈreliSH| noun 1 great enjoyment: she swigged a mouthful of wine with relish. • liking for or pleasurable anticipation of something: I was appointed to a position for which I had little relish. 2 a condiment eaten with plain food to add flavor: use salsa as a relish with grilled meat or fish. 3 archaic an appetizing flavor. • a distinctive taste or tinge: the relish of wine. verb [ with obj. ] 1 enjoy greatly: he was relishing his moment of glory. • be pleased by or about: I don't relish the thought of waiting on an invalid for the next few months. 2 archaic make pleasant to the taste; add relish to: I have also a novel to relish my wine. DERIVATIVES relishable adjective ORIGIN Middle English: alteration of obsolete reles, from Old French, ‘remainder,’ from relaisser ‘to release.’ The early noun sense was ‘odor, taste,’ giving rise to ‘appetizing flavor, piquant taste’ (mid 17th cent.), and hence sense 2 of the noun (late 18th cent).

verb [ no obj. ] (of food) make a hissing sound when frying or cooking: the bacon began to sizzle in the pan. • informal be very hot: we sizzled in blazing sunshine this week. • informal be very exciting or passionate, esp. sexually: they simply sizzle as their affair develops.

noun ( pl. quangos ) Brit. chiefly derogatory

a semipublic administrative body outside the civil service but receiving financial support from the government, which makes senior appointments to it.

ORIGIN 1970s (originally US): acronym from quasi (or quasi-autonomous) nongovernment(al) organization .

something, esp. a clue, that is or is intended to be misleading or distracting: the book is fast-paced, exciting, and full of red herrings. [so named from the practice of using the scent of red herring in training hounds.]

warren |ˈwôrən, ˈwä-| noun (also rabbit warren) a network of interconnecting rabbit burrows. • a densely populated or labyrinthine building or district: a warren of narrow gas-lit streets. • Brit. historical an enclosed piece of land set aside for breeding game, esp. rabbits. ORIGIN late Middle English: from an Anglo-Norman French and Old Northern French variant of Old French garenne ‘game park,’ of Gaulish origin.

shunt |SHənt| verb 1 [ with obj. ] push or pull (a train or part of a train) from the main line to a siding or from one track to another: their train had been shunted into a siding. • (usu. be shunted) push or shove (someone or something): chairs were being shunted back and forth. • direct or divert (someone or something) to a less important place or position: amateurs were gradually being shunted to filing jobs.

2 [ with obj. ] provide (an electrical current) with a conductor joining two points of a circuit, through which more or less of the current may be diverted. noun

1 an act of pushing or shoving something. 2 an electrical conductor joining two points of a circuit, through which more or less of a current may be diverted. • Surgery an alternative path for the passage of the blood or other body fluid: [ as modifier ] : shunt surgery.

ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘move suddenly aside’): perhaps from shun.

bulwark |ˈbo͝olˌwərk| noun 1 a defensive wall. • a person, institution, or principle that acts as a defense: the security forces are a bulwark against the breakdown of society. 2 (usu. bulwarks) an extension of a ship's sides above the level of the deck. ORIGIN late Middle English: from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch bolwerk; related to bole1 and work.

adjective deliberately exaggerated and theatrical in style, typically for humorous effect: the movie seems more camp than shocking or gruesome. • (of a man or his manner) ostentatiously and extravagantly effeminate: a heavily made-up and highly camp actor.

noun deliberately exaggerated and theatrical behavior or style: Hollywood camp.

glee |glē| noun 1 great delight: his face lit up with impish glee. 2 a song for men's voices in three or more parts, usually unaccompanied, of a type popular esp. c. 1750–1830. ORIGIN Old English glēo ‘entertainment, music, fun,’ of Germanic origin. Sense 2 dates from the mid 17th cent.

• of indefinite character and difficult to identify or classify.

('ne carne ne pesce')

To appear to favor both sides of (an issue); To be undecided or uncommitted.