The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
CHICANE
trickery, chicanery, chicane, guile, wile, shenanigan
(noun) the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
chicane
(noun) a movable barrier used in motor racing; sometimes placed before a dangerous corner to reduce speed as cars pass in single file
chicane
(noun) a bridge hand that is void of trumps
cavil, carp, chicane
(verb) raise trivial objections
cheat, chouse, shaft, screw, chicane, jockey
(verb) defeat someone through trickery or deceit
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
chicane (countable and uncountable, plural chicanes)
(road transport, motor racing) A temporary barrier, or serpentine curve, on a vehicular path, especially one designed to reduce speed.
(bridge) The holding of a hand without trumps, or the hand itself. It counts as simple honours.
Chicanery.
Verb
chicane (third-person singular simple present chicanes, present participle chicaning, simple past and past participle chicaned)
(intransitive) To use chicanery, tricks or subterfuge.
(transitive) To deceive.
Source: Wiktionary
Chi*cane", n. Etym: [F., prob. earlier meaning a dispute, orig. in the game of mall (F. mail), fr. LGr. chaugan club or bat; or possibly ultimated fr. L. ciccus a trible.]
Definition: The use of artful subterfuge, designed to draw away attention from the merits of a case or question; -- specifically applied to legal proceedings; trickery; chicanery; caviling; sophistry. Prior. To shuffle from them by chicane. Burke. To cut short this, I propound it fairly to your own canscience. Berkeley.
Chi*cane", v. i. Etym: [Cf. F. chicaner. See Chicane, n.]
Definition: To use shifts, cavils, or artifices. Burke.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
12 May 2025
UNSEASONED
(adjective) not tried or tested by experience; “unseasoned artillery volunteers”; “still untested in battle”; “an illustrator untried in mural painting”; “a young hand at plowing”
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