You can overdose on coffee if you drink about 30 cups in a brief period to get close to a lethal dosage of caffeine.
SCREED
screed
(noun) an accurately levelled strip of material placed on a wall or floor as guide for the even application of plaster or concrete
screed
(noun) a long piece of writing
screed
(noun) a long monotonous harangue
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
screed (plural screeds)
(chiefly, Ireland, Newfoundland, Scotland, dated) A piece or narrow strip cut or torn off from a larger whole; a shred. [from mid 14th c.]
Synonym: scrid
(chiefly, regional Britain, Scotland, dated) A piece of land, especially one that is narrow.
(chiefly, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, dated) A rent, a tear.
Synonyms: cut, rip
A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long.
(by extension) A speech or piece of writing which contains angry and extended criticism; a diatribe, a harangue. [from late 18th c.]
Synonyms: polemic, rant, tirade
Chiefly in the plural form screeds: a large quantity.
(construction, masonry) Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
A tool, usually a long strip of wood or other material, placed on a floor to be covered with concrete, a wall to be plastered, etc, as a guide for producing a smooth, flat surface.
A tool such as a long strip of wood or other material which is drawn over a wet layer of concrete, plaster, etc, to make it smooth and flat; also, a machine that achieves this effect; a screeder.
Synonym: strickle
A smooth, flat layer of concrete, plaster, or similar material, especially if acting as a base for paving stones, tiles, wooden planks, etc.
Etymology 2
Verb
screed (third-person singular simple present screeds, present participle screeding, simple past and past participle screeded)
(transitive, chiefly, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, dated) To rend, to shred, to tear.
Synonyms: cut, rip
(transitive, Scotland, also, figurative, dated) To read or repeat from memory fluently or glibly; to reel off.
(transitive, construction, masonry) To use a screed to produce a smooth, flat surface of concrete, plaster, or similar material; also (generally) to put down a layer of concrete, plaster, etc.
(intransitive, Scotland) To become rent or torn.
Etymology 3
Noun
screed (plural screeds) (Northern Ireland, Scotland)
(chiefly, humorous) A (discordant) sound or tune played on bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.
The sound of something scratching or tearing.
Verb
screed (third-person singular simple present screeds, present participle screeding, simple past and past participle screeded) (Northern Ireland, Scotland, rare)
(intransitive, chiefly, humorous) To play bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.
(intransitive) To make a discordant or harsh scratching or tearing sound.
(transitive, chiefly, humorous, obsolete) To play (a sound or tune) on bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.
Etymology 4
Adjective
screed (not comparable)
Strewn with scree.
Anagrams
• Creeds, ceders, creeds
Source: Wiktionary
Screed, n. Etym: [Prov. E., a shred, the border of a cap. See Shred.]
1. (Arch.) (a) A strip of plaster of the thickness proposed for the coat, applied to the wall at intervals of four or five feet, as a guide. (b) A wooden straightedge used to lay across the plaster screed, as a limit for the thickness of the coat.
2. A fragment; a portion; a shred. [Scot.]
Screed, n. Etym: [See 1st Screed. For sense 2 cf. also Gael. sgread an outcry.]
1. A breach or rent; a breaking forth into a loud, shrill sound; as, martial screeds.
2. An harangue; a long tirade on any subject. The old carl gae them a screed of doctrine; ye might have heard him a mile down the wind. Sir W. Scott.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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