confidences
plural of confidence
Source: Wiktionary
Con"fi*dence, n. Etym: [L. confidentia firm trust in, self- confidence: cf. F. confidence.]
1. The act of confiding, trusting, or putting faith in; trust; reliance; belief; -- formerly followed by of, now commonly by in. Society is built upon trust, and trust upon confidence of one another's integrity. South. A cheerful confidence in the mercy of God. Macaulay.
2. That in which faith is put or reliance had. The Lord shall be thy confidence. Prov. iii. 26.
3. The state of mind characterized by one's reliance on himself, or his circumstamces; a feeling of self-sufficiency; such assurance as leads to a feeling of security; self-reliance; -- often with self prefixed. Your wisdom is consumed in confidence; Do not go forth to-day. Shak. But confidence then bore thee on secure Either to meet no danger, or to find Matter of glorious trial. Milton.
4. Private conversation; (pl.) secrets shared; as, there were confidences between them. Sir, I desire some confidence with you. Shak. Confidence game, any swindling operation in which advantage is taken of the confidence reposed by the victim in the swindler.
– Confidence man, a swindler.
– To take into one's confidence, to admit to a knowledge of one's feelings, purposes, or affairs.
Syn.
– Trust; assurance; expectation; hope. I am confident that very much be done. Boyle.
2. Trustful; without fear or suspicion; frank; unreserved. Be confident to speak, Northumberland; We three are but thyself. Shak.
3. Having self-reliance; bold; undaunted. As confident as is the falcon's flight Against a bird, do I with Mowbray fight. Shak.
4. Having an excess of assurance; bold to a fault; dogmatical; impudent; presumptuous. The fool rageth and is confident. Prov. xiv. 16.
5. Giving occasion for confidence. [R.] The cause was more confident than the event was prosperious. Jer. Taylor.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
10 February 2025
(noun) the part of a modern theater stage between the curtain and the orchestra (i.e., in front of the curtain)
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
