In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
besiege, beleaguer, surround, hem in, circumvent
(verb) surround so as to force to give up; “The Turks besieged Vienna”
tease, badger, pester, bug, beleaguer
(verb) annoy persistently; “The children teased the boy because of his stammer”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
beleaguer (third-person singular simple present beleaguers, present participle beleaguering, simple past and past participle beleaguered)
To besiege; to surround with troops.
To vex, harass, or beset.
To exhaust.
• beleagure
Source: Wiktionary
Be*lea"guer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beleaguered; p. pr. & vb. n. Beleaguering.] Etym: [D. belegeren (akin to G. belagern, Sw. belägra, Dan. beleire); pref. be- = E. be- + leger bed, camp, army, akin to E. lair. See Lair.]
Definition: To surround with an army so as to preclude escape; to besiege; to blockade. The wail of famine in beleaguered towns. Longfellow.
Syn.
– To block up; environ; invest; encompass.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
12 March 2025
(noun) small Australian parakeet usually light green with black and yellow markings in the wild but bred in many colors
In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.