The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
WRING
squeeze, wring
(noun) a twisting squeeze; “gave the wet cloth a wring”
wring, wrench
(verb) twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish; “Wring one’s hand”
contort, deform, distort, wring
(verb) twist and press out of shape
wring
(verb) twist, squeeze, or compress in order to extract liquid; “wring the towels”
extort, squeeze, rack, gouge, wring
(verb) obtain by coercion or intimidation; “They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss”; “They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Verb
wring (third-person singular simple present wrings, present participle wringing, simple past wrang or (obsolete) wringed or wrung, past participle (obsolete) wringed or wrung)
To squeeze or twist (something) tightly so that liquid is forced out. See also wring out.
To extract (a liquid) from something wet, especially cloth, by squeezing and twisting it.
To obtain (something from or out of someone or something) by force.
To draw (something from or out of someone); to generate (something) as a response.
Synonyms: elicit, provoke
To hold (something) tightly and press or twist.
to wring someone's / an animal's neck (Synonyms: strangle, throttle)
To cause pain or distress to (someone / one's heart, soul, etc.).
Synonyms: torment, torture
To slide two ultraflat surfaces together such that their faces bond.
(intransitive, obsolete) To twist, as if in pain.
Synonym: writhe
(obsolete) To give an incorrect meaning to (words, teachings, etc.).
Synonyms: distort, pervert, twist, wrest
(obsolete) To subject (someone) to extortion; to afflict or oppress in order to enforce compliance.
(nautical) To bend or strain out of its position.
Noun
wring (plural wrings)
A powerful squeezing or twisting action.
(obsolete) Pain or distress.
Etymology 2
Noun
wring
(archaic) A device for pressing or compressing, especially for cider.
Synonym: press
Source: Wiktionary
Wring, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wrung, Obs. Wringed (; p. pr. & vb. n. Wringing.] Etym: [OE. wringen, AS. wringan; akin to LG. & D. wringen, OHG. ringan to struggle, G. ringen, Sw. vränga to distort, Dan. vringle to twist. Cf. Wrangle, Wrench, Wrong.]
1. To twist and compress; to turn and strain with violence; to writhe; to squeeze hard; to pinch; as, to wring clothes in washing. "Earnestly wringing Waverley's hand." Sir W. Scott. "Wring him by the nose." Shak. [His steed] so sweat that men might him wring. Chaucer. The king began to find where his shoe did wring him. Bacon. The priest shall bring it [a dove] unto the altar, and wring off his head. Lev. i. 15.
2. Hence, to pain; to distress; to torment; to torture. Too much grieved and wrung by an uneasy and strait fortune. Clarendon. Didst thou taste but half the griefs That wring my soul, thou couldst not talk thus coldly. Addison.
3. To distort; to pervert; to wrest. How dare men thus wring the Scriptures Whitgift.
4. To extract or obtain by twisting and compressing; to squeeze or press (out); hence, to extort; to draw forth by violence, or against resistance or repugnance; -- usually with out or form. Your overkindness doth wring tears from me. Shak. He rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece. Judg. vi. 38.
5. To subject to extortion; to afflict, or oppress, in order to enforce compliance. To wring the widow from her 'customed right. Shak. The merchant adventures have been often wronged and wringed to the quick. Hayward.
6. (Naut.)
Definition: To bend or strain out of its position; as, to wring a mast.
Wring, v. i.
Definition: To writhe; to twist, as with anguish. 'T is all men's office to speak patience To those that wring under the load of sorrow. Shak. Look where the sister of the king of France Sits wringing of her hands, and beats her breast. Marlowe.
Wring, n.
Definition: A writhing, as in anguish; a twisting; a griping. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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