INNUENDOS

Noun

innuendos

plural of innuendo

Anagrams

• dunniones

Source: Wiktionary


INNUENDO

In`nu*en"do, n.; pl. Innuedoes(. Etym: [L., by intimation, by hinting, gerund of innuere, innutum, to give a nod, to intimate; pref. in- in, to + -nuere (in comp.) to nod. See Nutation.]

1. An oblique hint; a remote allusion or reference, usually derogatory to a person or thing not named; an insinuation. Mercury . . . owns it a marriage by an innuendo. Dryden. Pursue your trade of scandal picking; Your innuendoes, when you tell us, That Stella loves to talk with fellows. Swift.

2. (Law)

Definition: An averment employed in pleading, to point the application of matter otherwise unintelligible; an interpretative parenthesis thrown into quoted matter to explain an obscure word or words; -- as, the plaintiff avers that the defendant said that he (innuendo the plaintiff) was a thief. Wharton.

Note: The term is so applied from having been the introductory word of this averment or parenthetic explanation when pleadings were in Latin. The word "meaning" is used as its equivalent in modern forms.

Syn.

– Insinuation; suggestion; hint; intimation; reference; allusion; implication; representation; -- Innuendo, Insinuation. An innuendo is an equivocal allusion so framed as to point distinctly at something which is injurious to the character or reputation of the person referred to. An insinuation turns on no such double use of language, but consists in artfully winding into the mind imputations of an injurious nature without making any direct charge.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

7 May 2025

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Coffee Trivia

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.

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