scuds
plural of scud
Source: Wiktionary
Scud, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Scudded; p. pr. & vb. n. Scudding.] Etym: [Dan. skyde to shoot, shove, push, akin to skud shot, gunshot, a shoot, young bough, and to E. shoot. sq. root159. See Shoot.]
1. To move swiftly; especially, to move as if driven forward by something. The first nautilus that scudded upon the glassy surface of warm primeval oceans. I. Taylor. The wind was high; the vast white clouds scudded over the blue heaven. Beaconsfield.
2. (Naut.)
Definition: To be driven swiftly, or to run, before a gale, with little or no sail spread.
Scud, v. t.
Definition: To pass over quickly. [R.] Shenstone.
Scud, n.
1. The act of scudding; a driving along; a rushing with precipitation.
2. Loose, vapory clouds driven swiftly by the wind. Borne on the scud of the sea. Longfellow. The scud was flying fast above us, throwing a veil over the moon. Sir S. Baker.
3. A slight, sudden shower. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
4. (Zoöl.)
Definition: A small flight of larks, or other birds, less than a flock. [Prov. Eng.]
5. (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any swimming amphipod crustacean. Storm scud. See the Note under Cloud.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
30 April 2024
(verb) treat carefully; “He nursed his injured back by lying in bed several hours every afternoon”; “He nursed the flowers in his garden and fertilized them regularly”
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.
