brush, clash, encounter, skirmish
(noun) a minor short-term fight
skirmish
(verb) engage in a skirmish
Source: WordNet® 3.1
skirmish (plural skirmishes)
(military) A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war.
(figuratively, by extension) Any minor dispute.
A type of outdoor military style game using paintball or similar weapons.
• See also fight
• See also dispute
skirmish (third-person singular simple present skirmishes, present participle skirmishing, simple past and past participle skirmished)
To engage in a minor battle or dispute
Source: Wiktionary
Skir"mish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Skirmished; p. pr. & vb. n. Skirmishing.] Etym: [OE. skirmishen, scarmishen, OF. escremir, eskermir, to fence, fight, F. escrimer, of German origin; cf. OHG. scirmen to protect, defend, G. schirmen, OHG. scirm, scerm, protection, shield, G. schirm; perhaps akin to Gr. Scaramouch, Scrimmage.]
Definition: To fight slightly or in small parties; to engage in a skirmish or skirmishes; to act as skirmishers.
Skir"mish, n.Etym: [OE. scarmishe, scrymishe. See Skirmish, v. i.]
1. A slight fight in war; a light or desultory combat between detachments from armies, or between detached and small bodies of troops.
2. A slight contest. They never meet but there's a skirmish of wit. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
24 November 2024
(noun) a person (usually but not necessarily a woman) who is thoroughly disliked; “she said her son thought Hillary was a bitch”
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.
