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twistymore about twisty

twisty


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Screw  \Screw\  (skr[udd]),  n.  [OE.  scrue,  OF  escroue  escroe, 
  female  screw,  F.  ['e]crou,  L.  scrobis  a  ditch,  trench,  in 
  LL.,  the  hole  made  by  swine  in  rooting;  cf  D.  schroef  a 
  screw,  G.  schraube  Icel.  skr[=u]fa.] 
  1.  A  cylinder,  or  a  cylindrical  perforation,  having  a 
  continuous  rib,  called  the  thread,  winding  round  it 
  spirally  at  a  constant  inclination,  so  as  to  leave  a 
  continuous  spiral  groove  between  one  turn  and  the  next  -- 
  used  chiefly  for  producing,  when  revolved,  motion  or 
  pressure  in  the  direction  of  its  axis,  by  the  sliding  of 
  the  threads  of  the  cylinder  in  the  grooves  between  the 
  threads  of  the  perforation  adapted  to  it  the  former  being 
  distinguished  as  the  external,  or  male  screw,  or  more 
  usually  the  screw;  the  latter  as  the  internal,  or  female 
  screw,  or  more  usually,  the  nut. 
 
  Note:  The  screw,  as  a  mechanical  power,  is  a  modification  of 
  the  inclined  plane,  and  may  be  regarded  as  a 
  right-angled  triangle  wrapped  round  a  cylinder,  the 
  hypotenuse  of  the  marking  the  spiral  thread  of  the 
  screw,  its  base  equaling  the  circumference  of  the 
  cylinder,  and  its  height  the  pitch  of  the  thread. 
 
  2.  Specifically,  a  kind  of  nail  with  a  spiral  thread  and  a 
  head  with  a  nick  to  receive  the  end  of  the  screw-driver. 
  Screws  are  much  used  to  hold  together  pieces  of  wood  or  to 
  fasten  something  --  called  also  {wood  screws},  and  {screw 
  nails}.  See  also  {Screw  bolt},  below. 
 
  3.  Anything  shaped  or  acting  like  a  screw;  esp.,  a  form  of 
  wheel  for  propelling  steam  vessels.  It  is  placed  at  the 
  stern,  and  furnished  with  blades  having  helicoidal 
  surfaces  to  act  against  the  water  in  the  manner  of  a 
  screw.  See  {Screw  propeller},  below. 
 
  4.  A  steam  vesel  propelled  by  a  screw  instead  of  wheels;  a 
  screw  steamer;  a  propeller. 
 
  5.  An  extortioner;  a  sharp  bargainer;  a  skinflint;  a  niggard. 
  --Thackeray. 
 
  6.  An  instructor  who  examines  with  great  or  unnecessary 
  severity;  also  a  searching  or  strict  examination  of  a 
  student  by  an  instructor.  [Cant,  American  Colleges] 
 
  7.  A  small  packet  of  tobacco.  [Slang]  --Mayhew. 
 
  8.  An  unsound  or  worn-out  horse,  useful  as  a  hack,  and 
  commonly  of  good  appearance.  --Ld.  Lytton. 
 
  9.  (Math.)  A  straight  line  in  space  with  which  a  definite 
  linear  magnitude  termed  the  pitch  is  associated  (cf.  5th 
  {Pitch},  10 
  b  ).  It  is  used  to  express  the  displacement  of  a  rigid 
  body,  which  may  always  be  made  to  consist  of  a 
  rotation  about  an  axis  combined  with  a  translation 
  parallel  to  that  axis. 
 
  10.  (Zo["o]l.)  An  amphipod  crustacean;  as  the  skeleton  screw 
  ({Caprella}).  See  {Sand  screw},  under  {Sand}. 
 
  {Archimedes  screw},  {Compound  screw},  {Foot  screw},  etc  See 
  under  {Archimedes},  {Compound},  {Foot},  etc 
 
  {A  screw  loose},  something  out  of  order  so  that  work  is  not 
  done  smoothly;  as  there  is  a  screw  loose  somewhere.  --H. 
  Martineau 
 
  {Endless,  or  perpetual,  {screw},  a  screw  used  to  give  motion 
  to  a  toothed  wheel  by  the  action  of  its  threads  between 
  the  teeth  of  the  wheel;  --  called  also  a  {worm}. 
 
  {Lag  screw}.  See  under  {Lag}. 
 
  {Micrometer  screw},  a  screw  with  fine  threads,  used  for  the 
  measurement  of  very  small  spaces. 
 
  {Right  and  left  screw},  a  screw  having  threads  upon  the 
  opposite  ends  which  wind  in  opposite  directions. 
 
  {Screw  alley}.  See  {Shaft  alley},  under  {Shaft}. 
 
  {Screw  bean}.  (Bot.) 
  a  The  curious  spirally  coiled  pod  of  a  leguminous  tree 
  ({Prosopis  pubescens})  growing  from  Texas  to 
  California.  It  is  used  for  fodder,  and  ground  into 
  meal  by  the  Indians. 
  b  The  tree  itself  Its  heavy  hard  wood  is  used  for 
  fuel,  for  fencing,  and  for  railroad  ties. 
 
  {Screw  bolt},  a  bolt  having  a  screw  thread  on  its  shank,  in 
  distinction  from  a  {key  bolt}.  See  1st  {Bolt},  3. 
 
  {Screw  box},  a  device,  resembling  a  die,  for  cutting  the 
  thread  on  a  wooden  screw. 
 
  {Screw  dock}.  See  under  {Dock}. 
 
  {Screw  engine},  a  marine  engine  for  driving  a  screw 
  propeller. 
 
  {Screw  gear}.  See  {Spiral  gear},  under  {Spiral}. 
 
  {Screw  jack}.  Same  as  {Jackscrew}. 
 
  {Screw  key},  a  wrench  for  turning  a  screw  or  nut;  a  spanner 
  wrench. 
 
  {Screw  machine}. 
  a  One  of  a  series  of  machines  employed  in  the 
  manufacture  of  wood  screws. 
  b  A  machine  tool  resembling  a  lathe,  having  a  number  of 
  cutting  tools  that  can  be  caused  to  act  on  the  work 
  successively,  for  making  screws  and  other  turned 
  pieces  from  metal  rods. 
 
  {Screw  pine}  (Bot.),  any  plant  of  the  endogenous  genus 
  {Pandanus},  of  which  there  are  about  fifty  species, 
  natives  of  tropical  lands  from  Africa  to  Polynesia;  -- 
  named  from  the  spiral  arrangement  of  the  pineapple-like 
  leaves. 
 
  {Screw  plate},  a  device  for  cutting  threads  on  small  screws, 
  consisting  of  a  thin  steel  plate  having  a  series  of 
  perforations  with  internal  screws  forming  dies. 
 
  {Screw  press},  a  press  in  which  pressure  is  exerted  by  means 
  of  a  screw. 
 
  {Screw  propeller},  a  screw  or  spiral  bladed  wheel,  used  in 
  the  propulsion  of  steam  vessels;  also  a  steam  vessel 
  propelled  by  a  screw. 
 
  {Screw  shell}  (Zo["o]l.),  a  long,  slender,  spiral  gastropod 
  shell,  especially  of  the  genus  Turritella  and  allied 
  genera.  See  {Turritella}. 
 
  {Screw  steamer},  a  steamship  propelled  by  a  screw. 
 
  {Screw  thread},  the  spiral  rib  which  forms  a  screw. 
 
  {Screw  stone}  (Paleon.),  the  fossil  stem  of  an  encrinite. 
 
  {Screw  tree}  (Bot.),  any  plant  of  the  genus  {Helicteres}, 
  consisting  of  about  thirty  species  of  tropical  shrubs, 
  with  simple  leaves  and  spirally  twisted,  five-celled 
  capsules;  --  also  called  {twisted-horn},  and  {twisty}. 
 
  {Screw  valve},  a  stop  valve  which  is  opened  or  closed  by  a 
  screw. 
 
  {Screw  worm}  (Zo["o]l.),  the  larva  of  an  American  fly 
  ({Compsomyia  macellaria}),  allied  to  the  blowflies,  which 
  sometimes  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  nostrils,  or  about 
  wounds,  in  man  and  other  animals,  with  fatal  results. 
 
  {Screw  wrench}. 
  a  A  wrench  for  turning  a  screw. 
  b  A  wrench  with  an  adjustable  jaw  that  is  moved  by  a 
  screw. 
 
  {To  put  the}  {screw,  or  screws},  {on},  to  use  pressure  upon 
  as  for  the  purpose  of  extortion;  to  coerce. 
 
  {To  put  under  the}  {screw  or  screws},  to  subject  to  pressure; 
  to  force. 
 
  {Wood  screw},  a  metal  screw  with  a  sharp  thread  of  coarse 
  pitch,  adapted  to  holding  fast  in  wood.  See  Illust.  of 
  {Wood  screw},  under  {Wood}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  twisty 
  adj  :  marked  by  repeated  turns  and  bends;  "a  tortuous  road  up  the 
  mountain";  "winding  roads  are  full  of  surprises";  "had 
  to  steer  the  car  down  a  twisty  track"  [syn:  {tortuous}, 
  {twisting},  {winding}] 




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