The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
STIFFENED
Verb
stiffened
simple past tense and past participle of stiffen
Source: Wiktionary
STIFFEN
Stiff"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stiffened; p. pr. & vb. n. Stiffening.] Etym: [See Stiff.]
1. tiono make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch. Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. Shak.
2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.
3. To make torpid; to benumb.
Stiff"en, v. i.
Definition: To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective. Like bristles rose my stiffening hair. Dryden. The tender soil then stiffening by degrees. Dryden. Some souls we see, Grow hard and stiffen with adversity. Dryden.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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4 April 2025
GUILLOTINE
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
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