portoises
plural of portoise
Source: Wiktionary
Por"toise, n. Etym: [Perhaps fr. OF. porteis portative, portable.] (Naut.)
Definition: The gunwale of a ship. To lower the yards a-portoise, to lower them to the gunwale.
– To ride a portoise, to ride an anchor with the lower yards and topmasts struck or lowered, as in a gale of wind.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
20 December 2024
(verb) commit fraud and steal from one’s employer; “We found out that she had been fiddling for years”
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.
