The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
WAYLAY
ambush, scupper, bushwhack, waylay, lurk, ambuscade, lie in wait
(verb) wait in hiding to attack
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
waylay (third-person singular simple present waylays, present participle waylaying, simple past and past participle (nonstandard) waylayed or waylaid)
(transitive) To lie in wait for and attack from ambush.
Synonyms: ambush, lurk
(transitive) To accost or intercept unexpectedly.
Synonym: buttonhole
Source: Wiktionary
Way"lay`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waylaid; p. pr. & vb. n. Waylaying.] Etym: [Way + lay.]
Definition: To lie in wait for; to meet or encounter in the way; especially, to watch for the passing of, with a view to seize, rob, or slay; to beset in ambush. Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill shall rob those men that we have already waylaid. Shak. She often contrived to waylay him in his walks. Sir W. Scott.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
28 May 2025
AIR
(noun) a distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing; “an air of mystery”; “the house had a neglected air”; “an atmosphere of defeat pervaded the candidate’s headquarters”; “the place had an aura of romance”
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