The expression ācoffee breakā was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
NOBBLE
nobble
(verb) disable by drugging; ānobble the race horsesā
kidnap, nobble, abduct, snatch
(verb) take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom; āThe industrialistās son was kidnappedā
pilfer, cabbage, purloin, pinch, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, sneak, filch, nobble, lift
(verb) make off with belongings of others
victimize, swindle, rook, goldbrick, nobble, diddle, bunco, defraud, scam, mulct, hornswoggle, short-change, con
(verb) deprive of by deceit; āHe swindled me out of my inheritanceā; āShe defrauded the customers who trusted herā;
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Verb
nobble (third-person singular simple present nobbles, present participle nobbling, simple past and past participle nobbled)
(British, Australia, slang) To injure or obstruct intentionally.
(British, slang) To gain influence by corrupt means or intimidation.
(British, slang) To steal.
To tamper (typically with a racehorse) in order to prevent from winning a race
Usage notes
The first meaning is employed mainly in sporting contexts, especially in horse racing. The second is used in judicial contexts, applied often to courts, juries and other judicial bodies.
Source: Wiktionary
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
22 February 2025
ANALYSIS
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., āthe father of the brideā instead of āthe brideās fatherā
Coffee Trivia
