splash-
the stem of splash v.1, occurring in some combs., as splash-and-dash a., making much fuss and show; splashback, a panel fastened to and protecting the wall behind a sink, cooker, etc., from splashes; splash cymbal, a small, light cymbal; splash-dash adv., in a headlong manner; splashguard, a guard fitted to an object to prevent splashing; splash-net, a small fishing-net; hence splash-netting vbl. n.; splash-paper, paper coloured in irregular patches; splash party U.S., a party at which the guests engage in swimming and other water sports; splashplate, a metal splashback on a cooker; splash pool, a shallow paddling pool for children; splash-proof, a., impermeable to splashes; splash-work, spatter-work; splash zone, that area adjacent to the sea, a waterfall, etc., that is continually splashed by water.
| 1830 Galt Laurie T. ii. vii. (1849) 63 Very unlike the ordinary *splash and dash ways of young men in a hurry to be rich. |
| 1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 295/3 Bathroom accessories... White opal *Splash Back with fitted 5-in. shelf. 1961 Which? Dec. 317/1 Oven, grill and hotplate controls were either on the front of the cooker or on the splash-back. 1971 Ideal Home Apr. 52/1 Plain blue tiles form a splashback panel round the back. 1982 Daily Tel. 3 Aug. 9/1 Cast iron washstand.., with tiled splashback and mirror, is rare and costly at {pstlg}1,000. |
| 1961 *Splash cymbal [see crash cymbal s.v. crash n.1 7]. 1964 Splash cymbal [see choke v. 10 b]. |
| 1807 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 74 On they push, *splash-dash, mud or no mud. |
| 1917 Harrods Gen. Catal. 516/1 The ‘Reliance’ *Splash Guard. Solid Red Rubber... When ordering please state outside diameter of tap. 1962 Which? Mar. 87/1 All the continuous feed models [of waste-disposers]..had a splashguard, a slotted rubber cover across the entrance to the grinding chamber which allows you to push waste through but prevents water and scraps from being flung out. |
| 1855 ‘C. Idle’ Hints Shooting & Fishing 232 The *Splash Net. 1893 Daily Tel. 14 Dec. 3/1 Preparations for splash-net fishing. |
| 1901 Scotsman 4 Mar. 10/1 The *splash-netting is carried on in shallow water. |
| 1811 Art Bookbinding 50 It will..have a fine effect when colouring *splash paper, marbling edges, etc. |
| 1930 Amer. Speech VI. 121 Splash.., swimming: *Splash Party of Girls' Club Lively Affair. 1956 W. H. Whyte Organization Man xxii. 291 ‘Splash’ parties (all you can eat for a dollar). |
| 1967 Gloss. Terms Gas Industry (B.S.I.) 89 *Splashplate, a panel above and behind a hotplate. 1970 Which? June 175/1 Many of the stoves had splash plates—usually of painted metal. |
| 1971 Sunday Express (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. 16/3 (Advt.), Beautiful 3 bedroomed home with really lovely garden... *Splash pool for children. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 5-d/4 (Advt.), Keep kids cool all summer. 8{p} × 18{pp} splash pool with vinyl liner. |
| 1929 Radio Times 8 Nov. 451/2 A 20 amp-hour accumulator... Vent is large, *splash-proof and spray-tight and screws in. 1965 Wireless World July 36 (Advt.), Dustproof and splashproof. |
| 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl (1813) II. 28 Miss could play a few marches,..make fillagree and *splash-work. 1891 Melbourne Argus 16 May 13/5 The picture seems to have been made in the way splashwork is done. |
| 1933 Jrnl. Marine Biol. Assoc. XVIII. 453 During the winter, continued storms will keep the height of the *splash zone at five feet or more. 1956 F. W. Adams in D. L. Linton Sheffield 330 [Scapania undulata.] Common in waterfalls, ‘splash zones’, reservoir-overflows, and just below the water line on stones in non-calcareous streams. 1976 Offshore Platforms & Pipelining 30/1 A central shaft..will permit divers to go 50 m below sea level when there is rough water in the splash zone. |
2. Used (
usu. without following hyphen) with reference to a system of lubrication in which oil is distributed throughout an engine in the form of drops initially splashed from a reservoir by the working of certain moving parts. So
splash lubrication.
| 1906 Evening Express (Liverpool) 9 Mar. 7/4 If the splash system of lubrication were more generally adopted by the makers there would be no trouble on this score. 1907 F. Strickland Man. Petrol Motors & Motor Cars xvi. 247 The difficulty in splash lubrication is to provide enough oil for the various parts, without having so much in the crank chamber that it works up into the cylinder and produces smoke. 1924 A. W. Judge Mod. Motor Cars I. iv. 119 A low speed engine, an over-cooled one, or a splash-lubricated one would require a low-viscosity or ‘thin’ grade [of oil]. 1939 J. I. Clower Lubricants & Lubrication xiv. 358 Splash oiling is widely used on small, vertical and horizontal single-acting machines [sc. compressors]. 1963 [see fly-wheel]. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. VII. 607/1 In splash lubrication, the oil entering the engine flows to troughs into which extensions of the connecting rods dip. |