In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
FLAY
flay
(verb) strip the skin off
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Verb
flay (third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past and past participle flayed)
(transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).
(transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To frighten; scare; terrify.
(intransitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To be fear-stricken.
Noun
flay (plural flays)
(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A fright; a scare.
(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking individual.
Etymology 2
Verb
flay (third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past flayed, past participle (obsolete) flain or flayed)
to strip skin off
to lash
Synonyms
• (remove the skin of): fleece, flense, skin
Anagrams
• Alfy
Proper noun
Flay (plural er-noun or Flays)
A surname.
Anagrams
• Alfy
Source: Wiktionary
Flay, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Flaying.] Etym: [OE. flean, flan, AS. fleán; akin to D. vlaen, Icel. fla, Sw. flå, Dan. flaae, cf. Lith. ples to tear, plyszti, v.i., to burst tear; perh. akin to E. flag to flat stone, flaw.]
Definition: To skin; to strip off the skin or surface of; as, to flay an ox; to flay the green earth. With her nails She 'll flay thy wolfish visage. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
13 May 2025
DAZED
(adjective) in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock; “he had a dazed expression on his face”; “lay semiconscious, stunned (or stupefied) by the blow”; “was stupid from fatigue”
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