▪ I. fang, n.
(fæŋ)
Also 7 phang(e.
[OE. fang, cogn. with OFris. fang m., ON. fang n., MHG. fang, vanc m., repr. OTeut. *fango-, f. root of *fanhan (see fang v.).]
I. The act or fact of catching or seizing.
† 1. a. A capture, catch. Also a tight grasp, a grip. in fang with: in the embrace, under the protection of. (Cf. ON. {iacu} fang, in one's arms.)
| a 1400–50 Alexander 1725 In fang with my faire godis. c 1470 Henry Wallace xi. 1219 King Eduuard was rycht fayn off that fang. 1597 J. Payne Royal Exch. 41 Whome he once gettethe with full fange into his gripinge clowches he howldeth faster than catt the mowce. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. i. 6 The Icie phange And churlish chiding of the winters winde. |
b. Sc. In phrase to lose the fang: ‘to miss one's aim, to fail in an attempt’ (Jam.). Also of a pump (see quot.).
| 1825 Jamieson Suppl. I. s.v., A pump well is said to lose the fang when the water quits the pump. |
2. concr. That which is caught or taken; captured game; booty, plunder, spoils (obs. exc. Sc.). Hence, in Sc. Law of a thief: caught, taken with the fang.
| 1016 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.), [Hi] fang woldon fon. a 1300 Cursor M. 3728 (Cott.) Was þou not at me right now, And fedd me wit þi fang i trau? Ibid. 15434 (Cott.) Quen..Iudas þus receiued had his fang. c 1340 Ibid. 4801 (Fairf.) Quen ȝe fondyn haue ȝour fange. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 71 Gif ane man apprehends in his house ane theif, with the fang of the thift. 1728 Biggar Council Proceedings, The fangs (plunder) being found in his house. 1790 Morrison Poems 110 Snap went the sheers, then in a wink, The fang was stow'd behind a bink. |
II. An instrument for catching or holding.
† 3. A noose, trap. In quots. fig. Obs.
| 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 470 The Britis fled, and wes fane of that fang To leif the Romanis in the thickest thrang. 1794 Piper of Peebles 277 The Laird was fairly in a fang, An' naething for him now but hang. |
4. a. A canine tooth; a tusk. In pl. applied gen. to the teeth of dogs, wolves, or other animals remarkable for strength of jaw.
| 1555 Eden Decades 187 Theyr fanges or dogge teeth. 1613 Heywood Silver Age iii. 157 These phangs shall gnaw vpon your cruded bones. a 1700 Dryden Ovid viii. 535 The fatal Fang drove deep within his Thigh. a 1771 Gray Poems, Descent of Odin 10 Eyes that glow, and fangs that grin. 1808 Med. Jrnl. XIX. 58 This is done by inserting his [a leech's] three fangs into the skin. 1867 Emerson May Day, etc. Wks. (Bohn) III. 439 Wolves shed their fangs. |
| fig. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 196 By the verie phangs of malice, I sweare I am not that I play. a 1633 Austin Medit. (1635) 191 Fast in the Iron fangs of that Foxe Herod. 1794 Fox Sp. 21 Jan. Wks. 1815 V. 159 The relentless fangs of despotism. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) I. i. 28 Sufficient to bring him within the fangs of the recent statute. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset II. lii. 89 Having strong hopes..that Grace's father might escape the fangs of justice. |
b. In various transferred uses: (see quots.).
| 1694 Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 123 The Phangs of a Tooth-drawer. 1776 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad vii. 282 The anchor's moony fangs. 1789 Trans. Soc. Encourag. Arts VII. 193 The fangs on the fliers are alternately driven. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Fang, a fin. From the fancied resemblance of their pointed ends to long teeth. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xlvi. (1856) 423 The water-line was toothed with fangs of broken ice. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 14 Fangs of crystal set on edge in his demesne. |
† c. pl. The mandibles of an insect. Obs.
| 1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon. (1634) 102 The matter thereof [of wax] they gather from flowers with their Fangs. 1713 J. Warder True Amazons (ed. 2) 3 Her [a Bee's] Fangs, or Mouth, wherein are her Teeth. |
d. The venom-tooth of a serpent; also the claws, provided with poison-ducts, which terminate the cheliceræ of a spider.
| 1800 Med. Jrnl. IV. 295 The punctures made by the poisonous fangs were evident. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. xii. §1 The fang of a viper..is a perforated tooth. 1855 Kingsley Heroes ii. 206 Where are your spider's fangs? 1862 Darwin Fertil. Orchids v. 220 Each horn is tubular, like an adder's fang. 1875 Cambridge in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9) II. 294 The channel [of the poison] running completely through the fang [in a spider]. |
| fig. 1809–10 Coleridge Friend, The serpent fang of this error. 1849 Robertson Serm. Ser. i. xiii. 224 The fang of evil pierces the heel of the noblest as he treads it down. |
e. colloq. A human tooth. Also Comb. and fig.
| 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop iii, The few discoloured fangs gave him the aspect of a panting dog. 1891 Farmer Slang II. 374/1 Fang-faker, a dentist. 1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 22 ‘To put in the fangs’—to demand money, etc. 1936 Wodehouse Laughing Gas v. 57 Possibly because they were old dental college chums,..these two fang-wrenchers shared a common waiting-room. 1943 Hunt & Pringle Service Slang 31 Fang farrier, dentist. 1957 ‘N. Culotta’ They're Weird Mob (1958) viii. 109 Jimmy got himself some bread and butter and an open tin of jam. ‘Yer good on the fang, mate,’ said Joe. |
† 5. a. A claw or talon. Obs.
Although this sense would appear on etymological grounds likely to have existed, it seems to rest solely on the authority of the Dicts. Possibly it may have been wrongly inferred from figurative applications of sense 4, in which the pl. is often equivalent to ‘clutches’, ‘grasp’, with little or no conscious allusion to the literal use.
| 1731 J. K. New Eng. Dict. (ed. 3), Fang, a claw. 1749 B. Martin, Fangs, claws. 1755 Johnson, Fang, the nails, the talons. |
† b. (See quot.)
| 1768 E. Buys Dict. Terms Art, Fangs, (in Botany) the shoots or tendrils by means of which one Plant takes hold of another. |
6. The pointed tapering part of anything which is embedded in something else. a. A spike; the tang of a tool.
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1776), Dog, a sort of iron hook, or bar, with a sharp fang at one end, so formed as to be easily driven into a plank. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 222 Fang, the narrow part of the iron of any instrument which passes into the stock. 1887 S. Cheshire Gloss., Fang, a prong, e.g. a yelve-fang. |
b. The root of a tooth; one of the prongs into which this divides.
| 1666 Phil. Trans. I. 381 That Tooth..which had not a phang like other Cutters. 1803 Med. Jrnl. X. 365 If the fangs were capable of an increase by the ossific inflammation. 1872 Huxley Phys. vi. 142 One or more fangs which are embedded in sockets. |
† c. A prong of a divided root. Obs.
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 200 Take out your Indian Tuberoses, parting the Off-sets (but with care, lest you break their Fangs). 1727 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Anemone, [Sifting earth upon the bed] till..there remain only above ground the Fangs of these young Anemones. |
III. Technical uses.
7. Naut. a. A rope leading from the peak of the gaff of a fore-and-aft sail to the rail on each side (used for steadying the gaff). Now usually vang.
| 1513 Douglas æneis v. xiv. 8 Now the lie scheit, and now the luf, thai slak, Set in a fang, and threw the ra abak. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine G iv, The mizen-yard is furnished with fangs, or vangs in the room of braces. |
b. pl. The valves of a pump-box. [Cf. 1 b.]
| 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. |
8. Mining. (See quots.) [Derbyshire dialect: perh. a separate word. Also windfang.]
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies i. 230 A Spindle, a Lampturne, a Fange. 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. G iv b, Fange is a Place..which is left as we drive along the Drift, on purpose to carry Wind along with us. 1802 Mawe Mineral. Derbysh. Gloss., Fang, a case made of wood, &c., to carry wind into the mine. 1836 R. Furness Medicus Magus 51 [The devil] quite rusty with the smoke, Fled up the Fang. [Here app. used for ‘chimney’.] Ibid. 69 (Glossary) Fang, a passage made for conducting air after the miner. |
IV. 9. attrib. and Comb.: fang-bolt, a bolt having a spiked nut or washer, used for attaching iron to wood.
| 1876 J. W. Barry Railway Appliances ii. 73 Fang-bolts consist of bolts long enough to pass through the sleepers, with a screw cut on the lower end to fit a wide flat nut, having on it fangs or short spikes. 1915 C. J. Allen Mod. Brit. Perm. Way 60 Whereas this type of fang-bolt has in all three separate parts—bolt, nut, and washer—it will be noticed that the Great Southern and Western and Great Eastern fang-bolts..consist of the bolt and a fanged nut only. |
▪ II. fang, n.2 Austral. colloq.
Brit. /faŋ/, U.S. /fæŋ/, Austral. /fæŋ/
[‹ fang- (in the name of Juan Manuel Fangio (1911–95), Argentinian motor-racing driver who won the world championship in 1951 and then held the title from 1954 until 1957). Compare fang v.3]
A high-speed drive in a motor vehicle. Cf. fang v.3
| 1970A. Buzo Front Room Boys i. in Plays 20 If I were one of the back room boys, you wouldn't see me here before noon. I'd be down by the pool or out for a fang in the Jag. 1999 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 16 Jan. 39 The worst thing he can do is send a 20-year-old hot-head away after having a bit of a ‘fang’ at the centre who is no more competent behind the wheel then [sic] when he arrived. 2006 Echo (Austral.) (Nexis) 24 Aug. 25 Not many cars manage to leave me feeling so happy after a quick fang or simple drive to the shops. |
▪ III. fang, v.1 Now arch. or dial.
(fæŋ)
Forms: α. Inf. 1–2 fón, 3 fo-n; pa. tense 1–4 feng, (3 fang, south. veng, venk, 4 feyng), 3–5 fong(e, (5 fone), 8 south. vung; pa. pple. 1 fangen, 3 fon, 5 fonge. β. Inf. 3 Orm. fangenn, 3–6 fong(e(n, (3 foangen), 4–6 fange, (fannge, fonnge), 5 fangyn, (6 fangue), 7 phang, south. vang, 3– fang; pa. tense and pa. pple. 4–5 fonged, -ett, -id, -it, Sc. fangit, 4– fanged.
[Com. Teut.: OE. fón, redupl. str. vb. corresp. to OFris. fâ, OS. fâhan, OHG. fâhan (MHG. vâhen, mod.Ger. (poet) fahen), ON. fá (Da. faae, Sw. få), Goth. fāhan:—OTeut. *fanhan, pret. fefang-, pa. pple. fangano-. About 1200 the stem fang- of the pa. pple. appears as a present-stem (inf. fangen), and gradually supersedes the older form; a similar change has taken place independently in the other Teut. langs.: cf. Du. vangen, mod.HG. fangen, late Icel. fanga (Da. fange, Sw. fånga). The weak pa. tense and pa. pple., which are peculiar to English, appear first in 14th c.; the original strong forms seldom occur after the 15th c.]
† 1. trans. To lay hold of, grasp, hold, seize; to clasp, embrace. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 3733 Mann mihhte himm fon & pinenn. a 1300 Cursor M. 17723 (Cott.) Symeon..iesus tuix his handes fang. a 1400–50 Alexander 2971 Felly fangis it [a torche] in his fist. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 299, I wil him fang With mi fingers. a 1450 Le Morte Arth. 1796 In hys hand a swerd he fone. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 425 Sodanly in armys he coud him fang. |
b. To catch (fish); to take in a snare. Also fig. Obs. exc. arch.
| c 900 Bæda's Hist. i. i. §1 Her beoþ oft fangene seolas & hronas. a 1225 St. Marher. 3 As þe fuhel þe is fon i þe fuheleres grune. a 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5480 Of þat fysche þat þai þus fang. c 1450 Henryson Mor. Fab. 69 Might wee that herring fang. 1637 Gillespie Eng. Pop. Cerem. iv. viii. 36 He hath..fanged himselfe faster in the snare. 1850 Blackie æschylus II. 185 May Até Fang them in her hopeless snare! 1877 ― Wise Men 206 A little child..Can fang a stickleback with pin for hook. |
† c. To seize upon (booty); to catch, apprehend, get into one's power (a person); to capture (a city), to seize (lands, possessions). Obs. exc. arch.
| 1016 O.E. Chron., Hi fang woldon fon. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 80 He might this ilk nonne fange To slake his lust. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 425 Ffaunge the fermes in fatthe of alle þa faire rewmes. c 1400 Destr. Troy 956 His goddis..hym grace lent The flese for to fonge. c 1440 York Myst. xix. 128 May I þat faitour fange. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 56 The toure of Baris..was so verray stronge That all the werld fro two men with force moght noght it fonge. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5744 Þat na thefe suld him [a horse] fang. c 1470 Harding Chron. cxxxix. iv, To assayle the citee, and haue fongid With might of menne. 1522 Skelton Why not to Court 1157 [He] wyll..streitly strangle us, And he may fange us. 1570 Levins Manip. 23 To Fangue, comprehendere. 1607 Dekker & Webster Northw. Hoe i. Wks. 1873 III. 10 Hee's in the lawes clutches, you see hee's fanged. 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 23 Destruction phang mankinde. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 327 Death fang'd the remnant of his lugs. 1922 G. Blair Haunted Dominie 21 O what shall then betide me, when Death shall fang my shoulders. |
| absol. 1638 Shirley Mart. Soldier in Bullen O. Pl. (1882) I. 242 It has ever beene my profession to fang and clutch and to squeeze. |
† d. To get, get at, obtain, procure. Also, to get together, collect. Obs.
| 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 552 For ensample, bi my sawe soþ mow ȝe fonge Of iubiter. a 1400–50 Alexander 2059 Amonta þe miȝtfull his men þan he fangis. c 1400 Melayne 984 Go fonnge the another fere. c 1440 York Myst. xxvi. 16 Ther fanged I my fame. 1513 Douglas æneis vi. ix. 138 Furth renting all, his fude to fang full fane. 15.. Childe of Bristowe 33 Hazl. E.P.P. (1864) 112 He rought not whom he begiled, worly good to fong. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 3 He him bethocht for to fang sum defence. a 1605 Montgomerie Natur Passis Nuriture 34 To fang his friendship they war fane. |
† e. to fang up: ‘to pluck up’ (the heart); to ‘take up’, interrupt sharply. Obs.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 988 Fange vp ȝour hertis. Ibid. 2197 Þan fangis him vp þe fell kyng a fuyll feyned laȝtir. |
2. To receive, accept. a. To receive as a gift, or as one's due; to earn as wages; also, to accept as one's lot. Obs. exc. dial.
| Beowulf 2989 He þam frætwum feng. c 1000 Sal. & Sat. 686 (Gr.) Foh hider to me burh and breotone bold to ᵹewealde rodora rices. c 1200 Ormin 5390 Seoffne ȝifess þatt man foþ Off Haliȝ Gastess hellpe. c 1205 Lay. 6240 Ah eower monradene ic wulle fon. 1258 Proclam. Hen. III, Riȝt for to done and to foangen. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 540 Þe fowre frekez of þe folde fongez þe empyre. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 836 It mot ben a man of also mek an herte Þat myȝte..þat Holly Gost fongen. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 2642 Wha juges men with wrang, The same jugement sal thai fang. c 1475 Partenay 2423 When thes Barons thys answere had fong. 1482 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 313 Euery seruant that ffangyth wagys, schalle [etc.]. 1846 Spec. Cornish Dial. 27 But ded'st fang any money? as a body may say. |
† b. to fang cristendom: to receive baptism, become Christian. Also, of Christ, to fang mennishe or fang mankind: to assume human nature. Obs.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 133 God fundede from heuene to eorðe to fongen mennisshe. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 73 He willede anon in hys herte to fonge Cristendom. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Magdalena 242 Howe mane-kynd þat he can fange. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 279 Sche wold reney hir lay, And cristendam of prestes handes fonge. |
† c. To receive as a guest; to welcome. lit. and fig. Obs.
| c 1275 Lay. 13378 He..hehte þe beste cnihtes..þreo hundred him come to and he ȝam wolde wel fon. c 1400 Destr. Troy 366 He fongid þo freikes with a fine chere. c 1418 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 247 Fals beleve is fayn to fonge The lewde lust of lollardie. c 1430 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 209 Þe modir þat wolde deeþ fong. 1578 Scot. Poems 16th C. (1801) 130 Sa blyth as bird my God to fang. |
3. = take in various uses; esp. with obj. arms, counsel, leave, a name, one's way; to undertake (battle). Also const. to, unto, to be: To take (a person or thing) for (a purpose).
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 287 (Gr.) Mid swilcum mæᵹ man ræd ᵹeþencean fon. c 1205 Lay. 22878 Elc þer feng water & clæd. 1290 Beket 7 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 106 Gilbert Bekat..him bi-þouȝte þe Croiz for-to fo In-to þe holie land. c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 1122 Armes y fenge for loue of [þe]. c 1330 Amis & Amil. 970 Pray him..That he the batail for ous fong, Ogain the steward. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1556 Hir leue fayre con scho fonge. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 245 Straught unto Kaire his wey he fongeth. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 786 Þei schulden..mene-mong corn bred to her mete fongen. a 1400–50 Alexander 805* (Dublin MS.) Frist of my faire foles fang þe a hundreth. Ibid. 3186 Þe name of an Emperoure ne wald he neuire fange. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3831 Yf that a man outrageousli hem [wynes] fonge, They birien witte. 1420 Siege Rouen in Archæol. XXI. 67 As they satte here mete to fonge. c 1440 Bone Flor. 1831 They went Florence to leman have fonge. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 133 Let us fownde a slepe to fang. 1567 Sempill Ballates i. (1872) 2 Zit neuer did sho se his maik in France Off royall bluid to fang to be hir feir. |
4. intr. To seize, lay hold, take hold on; to take to, betake oneself to, turn to, proceed to or against; to set upon, attack.
| Beowulf 1542 Heo..him toᵹeanes feng. 855 O.E. Chron., And þa fengon his ii sunu to rice. a 1000 Byrhtnoth 10 (Gr.) Þa he to wæpnum feng. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 181 Ðe honde foð to..alle þinge þe hire beð biheue. c 1205 Lay. 659 Þe mete forð iwat for þer fengen feole to. Ibid. 1707 [Heo] fusden to þa Freinscan & heo hem to ȝan fengen. Ibid. 5909 Þa odere..fengen heom to-ȝæinenes. Ibid. 27176 Þæt whenne Rom-leoden þer comen riden Þat heo uengen heom on. Ibid. 31785 Þeos feng to his riche after his fader daiȝe. c 1320 Cast. Love 895 Wiþ-outen eny meþ on me heo foþ. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 457 He [þe rauen] fongez to þe flyȝt. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3309 He fongede faste one þe feleyghes [of a wheel]. a 1400–50 Alexander 1990 Fyne, fole, of þi fare, & fange to þi kythis. c 1420 Metr. St. Kath. (Halliw.), Yonge to Cryste sche can to fonge. 1880 W. Cornwall Gloss. s.v., ‘I don't fang to your notions.’ |
5. To engage on, set about, begin on; to begin, commence to do (something).
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §4 Ic ᵹetiohhod hæfde on oðer weorc to fonne. a 1000 ælfric Interr. Sigewulfi (Mac Lean) xxi, We foð nu on þa axunge þar we hi ær forleton. a 1225 St. Marher. 22 Þe feondes..fengen to ȝeien Margarete meiden..leowse ure bondes. c 1275 Woman of Samaria 4 in O.E. Misc. (1872) 84 He venk to prechie. c 1306 Execution Fraser 89 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 216 Nou ichulle fonge ther ich er let Ant tellen ou of Frisel. |
b. With on adv.: To begin. Cf. onfang v. = Ger. anfangen. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 31415 Ȝet ich þe suggen wulle ane sunder rune hu þu mihte fon on þat hit ne buð nauere undon. a 1225 St. Marher. 5 Þe edle meiden..feng on þeos bone. a 1225 Juliana 10 He feng on to tellen him hu his dohter droh him from deie to deie. a 1250 Owl & Night. 179 And fo we on mid riȝte dome. |
† 6. To promise, resolve, undertake. Const. with inf. (or its equivalent). Obs.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 61 God us ȝefe in horte to fon Þet we ne þenchen ufel to don. a 1400 Cov. Myst. (1841) 243 To do penawns loke that ȝe ffonge. c 1400 Destr. Troy 599, I shall fonge you to forther, & my faith holde. |
b. to fang to: to be sponsor for. dial.
| [994 O.E. Chron., Se cyning æþelræd his onfeng æt bisceopes handa.] c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 558 Seynt Ede hurre self was redy tho þer, To fonge to þe child as he had y teyȝt. 1674 Ray S. & E.C. Words 80 He vangd to me at the Vant. 1746 Exmoor Scolding 8 Whan tha vung'st to..Rabbin. 1888 Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk. 797 When the paa'sn come there wad-n nobody vor to vang to un. |
† 7. intr. To take one's way, go, proceed; also, to swerve from. Obs.
| c 1400 Song Roland 577 In Cristis name let us furthe fonge. c 1456 Turnament of Tottenham 193 in Percy Reliq., He saw Tyrry away wyth Tyb fang. 1522 World & Child in Hazl. Dodsley I. 257 Conscience. Manhood, will ye by this word stand? Manhood. Yea, Conscience..I will never from it fong. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. I. Proheme (1821) 13 The fatall hors did throw thair wallis fang. |
▪ IV. fang, v.2
(fæŋ)
[f. fang n.]
1. trans. To strike one's fang or fangs into. Of an anchor: To ‘bite’ with its fluke. rare.
| 1808 J. Barlow Columb. vii. 216 And with thin moony anchors fang the coast. 1839 Bailey Festus (1854) 531 What though sin, Serpent-like, fanged her. |
2. to fang a pump, (loosely) a well: to give (it) a grip of the water; to prime. Cf. fang n. 1 b, 7 b. Also fig.
| 1819 Blackw. Mag. V. 654 To fang a well signifies to pour into it sufficient liquid to set the pump at work again. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 19 If the wall's fanged I'll bring up a gush with a single drive. 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1883 W. C. Smith N.C. Folk 181 Little he read, and what he did Was mostly sermons to ‘fang his pump’. |
▪ V. fang, v.3 Austral. colloq.
Brit. /faŋ/, U.S. /fæŋ/, Austral. /fæŋ/
[‹ fang n.2 or its etymon fang- (in the name of Juan Manuel Fangio: see fang n.2).]
1. intr. To drive at high speed in a motor vehicle.
| 1973 A. Buzo Rooted 36 Let's hop in the B and fang up to the beach. 1995 Sydney Morning Herald 1 Dec. (Metropolitan suppl.) 31/1 You could just fang out to Panthers in Penrith, hand over $5 for a bucket of balls and slam them into the little dam. 2002 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 22 Apr. 19 Ain't nothin' like it! Fanging down a hill with the wind in your face and nature all around! Eh, Min? |
2. trans. To drive (a motor vehicle) at high speed.
| 1981 Bulletin (Sydney) 10 Nov. 43/3 We pick up sheilas, get drunk, steal cars, fang 'em. 1984 National Times (Sydney) 14 Sept. 14/4 They've had half a dozen drinks and, you know, they want to impress the girls and their mates at how fast they can fang their car around the corner. 2005 Sunday Mail (S. Austral.) (Nexis) 25 Dec. 72 If you fang the Yaris..fuel economy barely seems to suffer. |