DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan
Shark n.
1. Zool. Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes of the order Plagiostomi, found in all seas.
Note: ☞ Some sharks, as the basking shark and the whale shark, grow to an enormous size, the former becoming forty feet or more, and the latter sixty feet or more, in length. Most of them are harmless to man, but some are exceedingly voracious. The man-eating sharks mostly belong to the genera Carcharhinus, Carcharodon, and related genera. They have several rows of large sharp teeth with serrated edges, as the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias or Carcharodon Rondeleti) of tropical seas, and the great blue shark (Carcharhinus glaucus syn. Prionace glauca) of all tropical and temperate seas. The former sometimes becomes thirty-six feet long, and is the most voracious and dangerous species known. The rare man-eating shark of the United States coast (Carcharodon Atwoodi) is thought by some to be a variety, or the young, of Carcharodon carcharias. The dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) is a common species on the coast of the United States of moderate size and not dangerous. It feeds on shellfish and bottom fishes.
2. A rapacious, artful person; a sharper. [Colloq.]
3. Trickery; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark. [Obs.]
Basking shark, Liver shark, Nurse shark, Oil shark, Sand shark, Tiger shark, etc. See under Basking, Liver, etc. See also Dogfish, Houndfish, Notidanian, and Tope.
Gray shark, the sand shark.
Hammer-headed shark. See Hammerhead.
Port Jackson shark. See Cestraciont.
Shark barrow, the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse.
Shark ray. Same as Angel fish (a), under Angel.
Thrasher shark or Thresher shark, a large, voracious shark. See Thrasher.
Whale shark, a huge harmless shark (Rhinodon typicus) of the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length, but has very small teeth.
Thrash·er Thresh·er, n.
1. One who, or that which, thrashes grain; a thrashing machine.
2. Zool. A large and voracious shark (Alopias vulpes), remarkable for the great length of the upper lobe of its tail, with which it beats, or thrashes, its prey. It is found both upon the American and the European coasts. Called also fox shark, sea ape, sea fox, slasher, swingle-tail, and thrasher shark.
3. Zool. A name given to the brown thrush and other allied species. See Brown thrush.
Sage thrasher. Zool. See under Sage.
Thrasher whale Zool., the common killer of the Atlantic.
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Fox n.; pl. Foxes
1. Zool. A carnivorous animal of the genus Vulpes, family Canidæ, of many species. The European fox (V. vulgaris or V. vulpes), the American red fox (V. fulvus), the American gray fox (V. Virginianus), and the arctic, white, or blue, fox (V. lagopus) are well-known species.
Note: ☞ The black or silver-gray fox is a variety of the American red fox, producing a fur of great value; the cross-gray and woods-gray foxes are other varieties of the same species, of less value. The common foxes of Europe and America are very similar; both are celebrated for their craftiness. They feed on wild birds, poultry, and various small animals.
Subtle as the fox for prey. --Shak.
2. Zool. The European dragonet.
3. Zool. The fox shark or thrasher shark; -- called also sea fox. See Thrasher shark, under Shark.
4. A sly, cunning fellow. [Colloq.]
We call a crafty and cruel man a fox. --Beattie.
5. Naut. Rope yarn twisted together, and rubbed with tar; -- used for seizings or mats.
6. A sword; -- so called from the stamp of a fox on the blade, or perhaps of a wolf taken for a fox. [Obs.]
Thou diest on point of fox. --Shak.
7. pl. Ethnol. A tribe of Indians which, with the Sacs, formerly occupied the region about Green Bay, Wisconsin; -- called also Outagamies.
Fox and geese. (a) A boy's game, in which one boy tries to catch others as they run one goal to another. (b) A game with sixteen checkers, or some substitute for them, one of which is called the fox, and the rest the geese; the fox, whose first position is in the middle of the board, endeavors to break through the line of the geese, and the geese to pen up the fox.
Fox bat Zool., a large fruit bat of the genus Pteropus, of many species, inhabiting Asia, Africa, and the East Indies, esp. P. medius of India. Some of the species are more than four feet across the outspread wings. See Fruit bat.
Fox bolt, a bolt having a split end to receive a fox wedge.
Fox brush Zool., the tail of a fox.
Fox evil, a disease in which the hair falls off; alopecy.
Fox grape Bot., the name of two species of American grapes. The northern fox grape (Vitis Labrusca) is the origin of the varieties called Isabella, Concord, Hartford, etc., and the southern fox grape (Vitis vulpina) has produced the Scuppernong, and probably the Catawba.
Fox hunter. (a) One who pursues foxes with hounds. (b) A horse ridden in a fox chase.
Fox shark Zool., the thrasher shark. See Thrasher shark, under Thrasher.
Fox sleep, pretended sleep.
Fox sparrow Zool., a large American sparrow (Passerella iliaca); -- so called on account of its reddish color.
Fox squirrel Zool., a large North American squirrel (Sciurus niger, or S. cinereus). In the Southern States the black variety prevails; farther north the fulvous and gray variety, called the cat squirrel, is more common.
Fox terrier Zool., one of a peculiar breed of terriers, used in hunting to drive foxes from their holes, and for other purposes. There are rough- and smooth-haired varieties.
Fox trot, a pace like that which is adopted for a few steps, by a horse, when passing from a walk into a trot, or a trot into a walk.
Fox wedge Mach. & Carpentry, a wedge for expanding the split end of a bolt, cotter, dowel, tenon, or other piece, to fasten the end in a hole or mortise and prevent withdrawal. The wedge abuts on the bottom of the hole and the piece is driven down upon it. Fastening by fox wedges is called foxtail wedging.
Fox wolf Zool., one of several South American wild dogs, belonging to the genus Canis. They have long, bushy tails like a fox.
Fox·fish n. Zool. (a) The fox shark; -- called also sea fox. See Thrasher shark, under Shark. (b) The european dragonet. See Dragonet.
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