Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
verb
To attempt to get work or money from someone who is too weak or poor to provide it.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To practice extreme parsimony.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia, UK, idiomatic, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To regret; to feel self-pity
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia, New-Zealand, idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To blame someone for something that is not their fault.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To get drunk.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To go from house to house working by the day, as itinerant tailors and carpenters do.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, dated, dialectal, idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see whip, cat.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Originally from reference to a prank played on country bumpkins, in which they were encouraged to show their strength by whipping a cat that was harnessed to a load that was too heavy for it. This led to the sense of attempting to get more than can be provided, and by extension, to practice extreme parsimony. From there, it possibly evolved to the other senses, which tend to reflect the connotations of poverty and/or uselessness.
