Joint n.
 1. The place or part where two things or parts are joined or united; the union of two or more smooth or even surfaces admitting of a close-fitting or junction; junction; as, a joint between two pieces of timber; a joint in a pipe.
 2. A joining of two things or parts so as to admit of motion; an articulation, whether movable or not; a hinge; as, the knee joint; a node or joint of a stem; a ball and socket joint.  See Articulation.
 A scaly gauntlet now, with joints of steel,
 Must glove this hand.   --Shak.
    To tear thee joint by joint.   --Milton.
 3. The part or space included between two joints, knots, nodes, or articulations; as, a joint of cane or of a grass stem; a joint of the leg.
 4. Any one of the large pieces of meat, as cut into portions by the butcher for roasting.
 5. Geol. A plane of fracture, or divisional plane, of a rock transverse to the stratification.
 6. Arch. The space between the adjacent surfaces of two bodies joined and held together, as by means of cement, mortar, etc.; as, a thin joint.
 7. The means whereby the meeting surfaces of pieces in a structure are secured together.
 8.  A projecting or retreating part in something; any irregularity of line or surface, as in a wall. [Now Chiefly U. S.]
 9.  Theaters A narrow piece of scenery used to join together two flats or wings of an interior setting.
 10.  a disreputable establishment, or a place of low resort, as for smoking opium; -- also used for a commercial establishment, implying a less than impeccable reputation, but often in jest; as, talking about a high-class joint is an oxymoron. [Slang]
 Coursing joint Masonry, the mortar joint between two courses of bricks or stones.
 Fish joint, Miter joint, Universal joint, etc. See under Fish, Miter, etc.
 Joint bolt, a bolt for fastening two pieces, as of wood, one endwise to the other, having a nut embedded in one of the pieces.
 Joint chair Railroad, the chair that supports the ends of abutting rails.
 Joint coupling, a universal joint for coupling shafting. See under Universal.
 Joint hinge, a hinge having long leaves; a strap hinge.
 Joint splice, a reënforce at a joint, to sustain the parts in their true relation.
 Joint stool. (a) A stool consisting of jointed parts; a folding stool. --Shak. (b) A block for supporting the end of a piece at a joint; a joint chair.
 Out of joint, out of place; dislocated, as when the head of a bone slips from its socket; hence, not working well together; disordered. “The time is out of joint.” --Shak.


 Rail, n.
 1. A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.
 2. Arch. A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style.
 3. Railroad A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
 4. Naut. (a) The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks. (b) The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.
 5. A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail.
 Rail fence. See under Fence.
 Rail guard. (a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail of obstructions. (b) A guard rail. See under Guard.
 Rail joint Railroad, a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, which is merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among several hundred varieties, the fish joint is standard. See Fish joint, under Fish.
 Rail train Iron & Steel Manuf., a train of rolls in a rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms or billets.


 Fish, n.; pl. Fishes or collectively, Fish.
 1. A name loosely applied in popular usage to many animals of diverse characteristics, living in the water.
 2. Zool. An oviparous, vertebrate animal usually having fins and a covering scales or plates. It breathes by means of gills, and lives almost entirely in the water. See Pisces.
 Note: ☞ The true fishes include the Teleostei (bony fishes), Ganoidei, Dipnoi, and Elasmobranchii or Selachians (sharks and skates). Formerly the leptocardia and Marsipobranciata were also included, but these are now generally regarded as two distinct classes, below the fishes.
 3. pl. The twelfth sign of the zodiac; Pisces.
 4. The flesh of fish, used as food.
 5. Naut. (a) A purchase used to fish the anchor. (b) A piece of timber, somewhat in the form of a fish, used to strengthen a mast or yard.
 Note: ☞ Fish is used adjectively or as part of a compound word; as, fish line, fish pole, fish spear, fish-bellied.
 Age of Fishes. See under Age, n., 8.
 Fish ball, fish (usually salted codfish) shared fine, mixed with mashed potato, and made into the form of a small, round cake. [U.S.]
 Fish bar. Same as Fish plate (below).
 Fish beam Mech., a beam one of whose sides (commonly the under one) swells out like the belly of a fish. --Francis.
 Fish crow Zool., a species of crow (Corvus ossifragus), found on the Atlantic coast of the United States. It feeds largely on fish.
 Fish culture, the artifical breeding and rearing of fish; pisciculture.
 Fish davit. See Davit.
 Fish day, a day on which fish is eaten; a fast day.
 Fish duck Zool., any species of merganser.
 Fish fall, the tackle depending from the fish davit, used in hauling up the anchor to the gunwale of a ship.
 Fish garth, a dam or weir in a river for keeping fish or taking them easily.
 Fish glue. See Isinglass.
 Fish joint, a joint formed by a plate or pair of plates fastened upon two meeting beams, plates, etc., at their junction; -- used largely in connecting the rails of railroads.
 Fish kettle, a long kettle for boiling fish whole.
 Fish ladder, a dam with a series of steps which fish can leap in order to ascend falls in a river.
 Fish line, or Fishing line, a line made of twisted hair, silk, etc., used in angling.
 Fish louse Zool., any crustacean parasitic on fishes, esp. the parasitic Copepoda, belonging to Caligus, Argulus, and other related genera. See Branchiura.
 Fish maw Zool., the stomach of a fish; also, the air bladder, or sound.
 Fish meal, fish desiccated and ground fine, for use in soups, etc.
 Fish oil, oil obtained from the bodies of fish and marine animals, as whales, seals, sharks, from cods' livers, etc.
 Fish owl Zool., a fish-eating owl of the Old World genera Scotopelia and Ketupa, esp. a large East Indian species (K. Ceylonensis).
 Fish plate, one of the plates of a fish joint.
 Fish pot, a wicker basket, sunk, with a float attached, for catching crabs, lobsters, etc.
 Fish pound, a net attached to stakes, for entrapping and catching fish; a weir. [Local, U.S.] --Bartlett.
 Fish slice, a broad knife for dividing fish at table; a fish trowel.
 Fish slide, an inclined box set in a stream at a small fall, or ripple, to catch fish descending the current. --Knight.
 Fish sound, the air bladder of certain fishes, esp. those that are dried and used as food, or in the arts, as for the preparation of isinglass.
 Fish story, a story which taxes credulity; an extravagant or incredible narration. [Colloq. U.S.] --Bartlett.
 Fish strainer. (a) A metal colander, with handles, for taking fish from a boiler. (b) A perforated earthenware slab at the bottom of a dish, to drain the water from a boiled fish.
 Fish trowel, a fish slice.
 Fish weir or Fish wear, a weir set in a stream, for catching fish.
 Neither fish nor flesh, Neither fish nor fowl (Fig.), neither one thing nor the other.


 Fish, v. t.
 1. To catch; to draw out or up; as, to fish up an anchor.
 2. To search by raking or sweeping.
 3. To try with a fishing rod; to catch fish in; as, to fish a stream.
 4. To strengthen (a beam, mast, etc.), or unite end to end (two timbers, railroad rails, etc.) by bolting a plank, timber, or plate to the beam, mast, or timbers, lengthwise on one or both sides. See Fish joint, under Fish, n.
 To fish the anchor. Naut. See under Anchor.

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 fish joint
      n : a butt joint formed by bolting fish plates to the sides of
          two rails or beams