▪ I. news, n. (pl.)
(njuːz)
Forms: 4–7 newes, (5 -esse), 5–6 newys, Sc. newis, (5 nevis), 6 neu(e)s, 7 niewse, 6–7 nues, (6 nuze, 7 nuse), 6– news.
[pl. of new a., after OF. noveles, nuveles (mod.F. nouvelles), or med.L. nova, pl. of novum a new thing.
The synonymous Du. nieuws probably originated in the expressions wat nieuws, iet(s) nieuws, in which the form is genitive singular (cf. new a. B 1), but the evidence is against a similar origin for the English word.]
† 1. New things; novelties. Obs. rare.
Neus in Cursor M. 26768 (Cott.) is evidently a scribal error for treus.
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xxiv. 35 The which fulfilleth, as Fison, wisdam; and as Tigris in the daȝes of newes [L. novorum]. 1551 Robinson More's Utop. (1895) 7 Not for a vayne and curious desiere to see newes. 1565 T. Stapleton Fortr. Faith 109* Differences..betwene the auncient faith of England and the vpstert newes of protestants. |
2. a. Tidings; the report or account of recent events or occurrences, brought or coming to one as new information; new occurrences as a subject of report or talk.
In common use only after 1500.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. clxxix, I bring the newis glad, that blisfull ben. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 431 Yet of late I haue hard of no newys. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccl. 794 He was right pensyue and sore troubled with those newes. 1581 Rich Farew. (1846) 58 These newes were sodainly spred throughout the citie of Cherona. 1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 412 Calling his Lords..about him, to whom hee deliuered these glad newes. 1685 Dryden Thren. August. 19 The amazing news of Charles at once were spread. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Pope 17 June, The great gulf between you and me cools all news that come hither. 1776 Jekyll Corr. (1894) 64 The ill news of your health are still worse than my late suspense. 1821 Shelley Ess. & Lett. (1852) II. 228 There are bad news from Palermo. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 214 The Dutch ministers regularly reported all the Scotch news to their government. 1868 Visct. Strangford Select. II. 265 Courier-borne news..can reach England as quickly by way of Peshawur. |
b. Construed as
sing.| 1566 Pasquine in Traunce 36, I hearde speak of it, when y⊇ newes therof was brought to Pope Iulie the seconde. 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. i. v, When Newes is printed, It leaues Sir to be Newes. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 339 Of such a division..there is no News nor Example in Antiquity. 1711 M. Henry Hope & Fear Balanced Wks. 1853 II. 313/1 The stocks are as the news is. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 660 When..the news was fresh. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxvii, Was there any news in the country? 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 351 The next news was that I was in the water. |
c. In proverbial expressions.
| 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. (1577) 58 Euil newes neuer come too late. 1616 James I Let. 13 May in A. J. Kempe Loseley Manuscripts (1835) 403 No newis is better then evill newis. c 1645 Howell Lett. II. xviii, I am of the Italians mind that said, Nulla nuova, buona nuova, no news, good news. 1685 Dryden Thren. August. 49 Ill News is wing'd with Fate, and flies apace. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xi, The truth of two old proverbs, namely, that Ill news fly fast [etc.]. 1850 F. E. Smedley Frank Fairlegh x. 101 Arguing..(on the ‘no-news being good-news’ system) that I should have heard again if anything had gone wrong, I dismissed the subject from my mind. 1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin xviii. 336 They could not bring themselves to believe that ‘no news was good news’. 1941 A. Huxley Let. 27 Nov. (1969) 473 Matthew never writes; but we interpret no news as good news. |
† d. no news, no novelty, nothing new.
Obs.| 1557 N. T. (Genev.) 1 Pet. i. heading, Saluation in Christ is no newes, but a thynge prophecied of olde. 1618 Bp. Hall Serm. Wks. 1837 V. 112 The poor and proud is the wise⁓man's monster, but the proud and rich are no news. 1659 Hammond On Ps. cvii. 43 'Tis no news to pass from the singular to the plural number, without varying the subject. |
e. that (or it) is news to me: I did not know that.
colloq.| 1898 S. Weyman Castle Inn xvi. 159 For the rest, which this gentleman says, about who she is and her claim..it is news to me. 1919 D. Ashford Young Visiters viii. 69 Ethel he said blushing a deep red I always wished to marry you some fine day. This is news to me cried Ethel still peevish. 1943 J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday xii. 76 If you've had any trouble with your husband, I'm sorry, but it's news to me. 1968 S. B. Hough Sweet Sister Seduced xv. 79, I had thought we were in tune with one another{ddd}that my reactions were her reactions. It was news to me, as she told me in round phrases, that in fact they weren't. 1974 M. Z. Lewin Enemies Within xxxiv. 154 ‘I'm going to Chicago shortly.’ News to me. But not a bad idea. |
f. bad news, used to designate something or someone unpleasant, unlucky, or undesirable (see
quots.).
colloq. For the literal use
cf. quot. 1821
s.v. 2 a above.
| 1926 Maines & Grant Wise-Crack Dict. 5/2 Bad news, piece of pasteboard handed by the waiter after a meal. 1929 M. A. Gill Underworld Slang, Bad news, shot gun. 1930 Amer. Mercury Dec. 454/1 Bad news, trouble. ‘Sucker, stay out of me district! It's bad news if you don't.’ 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 120/1 The bad news, the bill (check) in a restaurant, speakeasy or night club. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §256/1 Difficulty, trouble.., bad news. 1963 I. Fleming On H.M. Secret Service i. 13 Their waiter..had simply put them in the category of ‘bad news’ and hoped they would soon be on their way. 1964 Amer. Speech XXXIX. 189 Bad news, ‘a poor social evening, a wasted night’. 1968 ‘J. Welcome’ Hell is where you find It iv. 67 ‘Where is she?’ I said... ‘Listen, I don't know. She's bad news, that one. 1973 ‘E. McBain’ Let's hear It v. 69 Bikies had begun drifting into the area, sporting their leather jackets and their swastikas... The bikies were bad news. 1973 H. Miller Open City xviii. 197 Any kind of witness would be bad news on a job with such a tight specification. 1974 D. Gray Dead Give Away iii. 31 Milly these days was plain bad news. Her fascination had evaporated. |
g. A person, place, etc., regarded as a topic of discussion or note.
| 1912 Kipling Diversity of Creatures (1917) 192 The great Baron Reuter himself..flashed that letter in full to the front, back, and both wings of this scene of our labours. For Huckley was News. 1946 E. Waugh When Going was Good v. 260 Abyssinia was News. Everyone with any claims to African experience was cashing in. 1965 Listener 23 Sept. 452/2 The reading boom..has made poets news, and it has made them think about being news. 1974 V. Gielgud In Such a Night vii. 58, I am not what is commonly called ‘news’. But..my wife is ‘news’ in the biggest possible way. |
† 3. A piece or item of news.
Obs.| 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. (1577) 2 A case so graue, a newes so new, a victorie so seldome hearde of. 1641 Earl of Monmouth tr. Biondi's Civil Wars v. 157 At that same time there came two important nuses. a 1652 Brome Eng. Moor i. ii, Durst thou hear a news Whose mirth will hazard cracking of a rib? |
† 4. A news messenger.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1665 Pepys Diary 31 July, In the mean time there coming a News thither with his horse to go over [etc.]. |
5. a. The newspaper(s); a newspaper. Now
rare.
| 1738 Swift Pol. Conversat. 183 You know his House was burnt down to the Ground. Yes; it was in the News. 1782 Cowper Names of little Note 10 When a child..Has burnt to tinder a stale last-year's news. 1785 Crabbe Newspaper 26 A daily swarm..Come flying forth, and mortals call them News: For these, unread, the noblest volumes lie. 1886 Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk. s.v., To read out the war 'pon the news. |
b. Printing. (See
quot.)
| 1887 Southward Pract. Print. (ed. 3) 716 ‘Writings’, ‘Printings’, and ‘News’, are kinds [of paper] whose names show the purposes for which they are made. |
c. A television or radio programme in which the news is announced and sometimes discussed; a newsreel. Also
attrib.| 1923 Radio Times 28 Sept. 9/1 10.0. ― Time signal, general news bulletin. Broadcast to all stations, followed by London News and Weather Report. 1925 Daily Herald 23 June 4/3 To hear the news from your favourite announcer is like buying your favourite newspaper. 1932 G. Greene Stamboul Train ii. i. 66 Janet Pardoe said that she wanted to see the news and they both stayed [in the cinema]. 1939 T. S. Eliot Family Reunion ii. i. 97 And now it is nearly time for the news We must listen to the weather report And the international catastrophes. 1940 ‘G. Orwell’ in World Rev. (1950) June 21, I went to the pub to hear the 9 o'clock news. 1947 Auden Age of Anxiety (1948) i. 17 Now the news. Night raids on Five cities. 1953 M. Laski Victorian Chaise Longue 64 It was that programme just before the news. 1968 ‘D. Rutherford’ Skin for Skin iv. 95 Crisp..glanced at his watch. ‘Five minutes till news time... Can you look after her while I listen to the news?’ 1972 D. Delman Sudden Death (1973) iv. 121 It was news time so..I turned on the TV. 1973 J. Drummond Bang! Bang! You're Dead! xxxvi. 126 The ginger-headed Crabbe was watching the nine o'clock news. |
6. attrib. and
Comb. a. With agent-nouns, as
news-bearer,
news-bringer,
news-dealer,
news-gatherer, etc.
| 1611 Cotgr., Rapporte-nouvelle, a *newes-bearer, or tale⁓carrier. 1895 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 357 Citizens who had flocked as near as possible to the newsbearer. |
| 1639 W. C. Italian Convert xxviii. 213 So this *newes bringer had his passe-port to be packing. 1857 Holland Bay Path xxiv. 278 Each of the news-bringers was surrounded with his little knot of auditors. |
| 1673 O. Walker Educ. ix. 77 Breeders of all petit factions, *news-brokers. |
| 1612 Davies Why Ireland, etc. (1747) 178 These *Newes-Carriers did..many times raise troubles. 1788 New London Mag. title-p., Sold by all Booksellers, Stationers, and News-Carriers. 1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress V. 335 The Viscountess..lived and died in the profession of a news-carrier. |
| 1827 in Hone Every-day Bk. II. 1276 Those *newscriers are spoken of in the past sense. |
| 1861 Chicago Tribune 15 Apr., We..are now prepared to furnish *News Dealers and Booksellers with Every Paper, Periodical and Book. 1868 G. Duff Pol. Surv. 47, I wish the news-dealers at Athens would be more scrupulous in their assertions. 1966 R. Ellison in A. Chapman New Black Voices (1972) 407 One newsdealer in Harlem. |
| 1712 Addison Spect. No. 439 ¶2 They have *News-gatherers and Intelligencers distributed into their several..Quarters. 1824 Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1803) 187 By far the best news-gatherer of the country side. 1963 Punch 20 Feb. 273/1 He is a seer rather than an exclusive news-gatherer. 1971 Guardian 20 Dec. 11/1 The Guardian's specialist correspondents are not only newsgatherers but also distinguished commentators. |
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. ii. 283 Poor Woman..Light, credulous, *news-lover. |
| 1849 Southey's Common-pl. Bk. Ser. ii. 412 Indian *News-Messengers. |
| 1759 (title) *News-Readers Pocket-Book. a 1817 T. Dwight Trav. New Eng., etc. (1821) II. 63 A..means of gratifying the curiosity of news-readers. |
| 1858 T. Guthrie Christ Inher. of Saints (1860) 207 News such as these *news-seekers had never dreamed of. |
| 1696 View Crt. St. Germain in Sel. Harl. Misc. (1793) 556 This gentleman..was his weekly *news-sender, and project-drawer. |
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 419 Thinking his life onely reserued to be bound to be the vnhappy *newes-teller. 1612 Davies Why Ireland, etc. 214 It was made pænall..to entertaine any of their Minstrels, Rimers, or Newes-tellers. |
b. Miscellaneous combs., as
news-crammed;
news-gathering,
news-making,
news-seeking,
news-telling,
news-thirsting;
news black-out,
news-board,
news bulletin,
news conference,
news-day,
news editor,
news feature,
news film,
news item,
news magazine,
news-master,
news-matter,
news media,
news-office,
news-page,
news-print,
news-scribe,
news-shop,
news story,
news summary,
news value,
news-whoop;
news-greedy adj.| 1944 Sun (Baltimore) 17 Aug. 1/6 The whole sector east of the Falaise bottleneck was under an Allied *news blackout. 1945 [see black-out 2]. 1974 Hawkey & Bingham Wild Card xxiii. 192 To reduce the risk of panic..a news blackout was requested. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 116 A stately figure entered between the *newsboards. Ibid. 218 He passed Grogan's the tobacconist against which newsboards leaned. |
| 1915 (title) *News Bulletin (Aero Club Amer.). 1923 [see sense 5 c above]. 1925 News bulletin ]see bulletin 2 b]. 1973 C. Egleton Seven Days to Killing xx. 211 Julyan sat..listening to the transistor radio... The music faded to give way to the news bulletin. |
| 1966 ‘G. Black’ You want to die, Johnny? i. 11 At a *news conference in Los Angeles..Lil had said to television cameras..: ‘Boots and I think God is a drag.’ 1972 N.Y. Times 3 Nov. 1/1 The Prime Minister's announcement at a televised news conference was a rejection of demands..that the Liberal Prime Minister resign. |
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 101 Then shal we be *newes⁓cram'd. |
| 1746 Berkeley Lett. Wks. 1871 IV. 305 Regret..which was on the following *news-day increased upon hearing the fate of your niece. |
| a 1883 G. W. Bagby Old Virginia Gentleman (1910) 190 Pollard he declared was ‘the best *news editor in the whole South’. 1931 Daily Express 16 Oct. 11/3 Before I die, I wish to see the countenance of my own news editor when I stand before him admitting a similar circumstance. 1951 Oxf. Jun. Encycl. IV. 300/2 The news editor also receives a great deal of information from Government departments. 1974 Times 16 Nov. 15/5 The issue at the Kentish Times is..whether six journalists styled ‘district editors’..are in fact the editors of newspapers... Each..works under the direction of the news editor of the Kentish Times. |
| 1912 International (N.Y.) Apr. 79/1 It is wonderful what a variety of cultured subjects are concentrated in the Gould article—economics..and heart interest ‘*news feature’ as the daily papers would say. 1973 ‘S. Harvester’ Corner of Playground ii. i. 81 She loved news-features about herself. |
| 1940 J. Reith Diary 16 Jan. (1975) v. 238 Very bothered about a *news film..in which Hore-Belisha was cheered and Gort received in silence. 1941 E. Niggeman Let. 2 Jan. in H. Nicolson Diaries & Lett. (1967) 136, I also went to a News film and saw the film of London's fire. 1965 B.B.C. Handbk. 65 The BBC's own newsfilm cameramen. 1974 Times 9 Dec. 13/2 Producers of television..want..access to Parliament for the making of news film on the big occasions. |
| 1918 W. G. Bleyer Profession of Journalism 27 The Allied governments abroad and our courts at home have struck a hard blow at the Hearst *news-gathering concern. Ibid. 114 The Associated Press is the child of the first effort at cooperative news-gathering ever made. 1966 B.B.C. Handbk. 52 General news-gathering facilities have been enlarged. 1972 H. Evans Newsman's English i. 1 This news-gathering is a prodigious if familiar achievement. |
| a 1618 Sylvester Wks. (Grosart) II. 63 So it also fares with our *news-greedie eare. |
| 1844 Knickerbocker XXIV. 179 *News-items, matters of information, actual discoveries. 1930–1 G. Ade Let. Dec.–Jan. (1973) 149 Here are some news items which have not been printed but which come from pretty reliable sources. 1938 News-item [see cover design s.v. cover n.1 8]. 1958 New Statesman 20 Dec. 871/1 The second intrusive news-item concerns the budget. |
| 1923 (title) Time, the weekly *news-magazine. 1953 Encounter Nov. 5/1 He shifted to the weekly news-magazine, Der Spiegel. 1968 Listener 4 Apr. 442/3 His job was to compile the early morning news magazine which I shall present at ten past seven. |
| 1858 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. l. lxi. 237 Not as a piece of gossip or *news-making. |
| 1624 B. Jonson Neptune's Triumph Wks. 1641 II. 111 Grave Mr. Ambler, *Newes⁓master of Poules. |
| 1923 O. G. Villard Some Newspapers & Newspapermen 88 His rivals and critics accuse him..of going to the very edge of the salacious in some of his *news-matter and fiction. 1959 Times 14 Jan. 12/5 The setting and make-up of newsmatter. |
| 1962 Amer. Speech XXXVII. 44 The *news media in Moscow relayed to the American press the sensational story of Gagarin's space flight. 1972 J. Mann Mrs. Knox's Profession xiv. 105 The news media had got on to the story very quickly. 1973 Sat. Rev. Soc. (U.S.) May 69/3 Survey results can be disseminated through the news media. |
| 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. i. vi, Giue your worship ioy O' your new place, your Emissary-ship, I' the *Newes office. |
| 1808 Scott Marm. v. Introd. 21 When wrinkled *news-page, thrice conn'd o'er, Beguiles the dreary hour no more. |
| 1843 Knickerbocker XXII. 283 The *news-prints kept their works and worth before the public eye. 1897 ‘Sarah Tytler’ Lady Jean's Son 244 That the letters and news-prints might be greedily read. |
| 1791–1823 D'Israeli Cur. Lit. (1866) 341/2 All the race of *news⁓scribes. |
| 1843 James Forest Days (1847) 171 A somewhat timid and *news-seeking gentleman. |
| 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2375/2 The Man being..hang'd before his own *News⁓shop. |
| 1932 *News story [see money n. 6 b]. 1974 M. G. Eberhart Danger Money (1975) xiii. 136 She can't stop the news stories but perhaps she can soften them. |
| 1941 B.B.C. Gloss. Broadcasting Terms 20 *News summary: (1) Brief statement of salient news items, broadcast at a fixed time. (2) Brief statement of principal news items, broadcast as a preface in a news bulletin. 1973 A. MacVicar Painted Doll Affair ii. 33, I turned on the dashboard radio... The pop music was interrupted by a news summary. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Nonciation, a..*newes telling. |
| 1600 Look About You in Hazl. Dodsley VII. 393 In the hollow of *news-thirsting ears. |
| 1906 J. London Let. 8 Apr. (1966) 198 But what I did propose to you was ‘events of large *news-value’. 1926 T. Beer Mauve Decade 172 He had no ‘news value’—Julian Ralph invented the phrase in 1892 although it would be long before it became sacred. 1941 [see ephemeral a.]. 1960 G. Butler Death lives Next Door vii. 149 Ezra could see at once that he had news value. 1972 P. Black Biggest Aspidistra iii. viii. 229 Lord Hill..justified the occasional trivialisation as better than some academic selection of news values. |
| 1775 Adair Amer. Ind. 301 To call them, by sounding the *news-whoop, as soon as he arrived at camp. |
c. Special combs., as
news agency, (
a) a business that sells newspapers and periodicals; (
b) a business organization that collects and supplies news to subscribing newspapers, broadcasters, etc.;
news-agent, a regular dealer in newspapers and periodicals;
news-bell dial., a singing in the ears supposed to portend news;
news-boat, a boat which puts out to passing vessels to receive and communicate news;
news break, a newsworthy item (see also
quot. 1969);
news butch(er) U.S. colloq. [
butcher n. 3 b], a seller of newspapers, sweets, etc., on a train;
news cinema, a cinema which shows a succession of short films, cartoons, and newsreels;
news desk, the department of a newspaper office responsible for collecting and reporting the news;
news-dick literary nonce-wd., a news-hawk, a news-hound;
news flash (see
flash n.2 1 d);
news-girl, a girl who sells newspapers;
news-hawk,
-hound colloq. (
orig. U.S.), a newspaper reporter;
news peg, a news story that forms the basis of an editorial, interview, cartoon, etc.;
newsprint, cheap paper made from mechanical and chemical wood-pulp, and used chiefly for newspapers (see also 6 b); also
news-printing vbl. n.;
news-reader, a person who reads the news on radio or television (see also 6 a); hence
news-reading vbl. n.;
newsreel,
news reel, a short cinema film dealing with news and current affairs; also
attrib.;
news room, (
a) a reading-room specially set apart for newspapers; (
b) the office in a newspaper, radio, or television station, etc., where the news is processed;
news-sheet, a printed sheet containing the news, a simple form of newspaper;
news-stand, a stand or stall for the sale of newspapers;
news theatre = news cinema;
news ticker, a telegraphic recording instrument which automatically prints the news on to a tape;
newsvendor, a newspaper seller;
news-work, the class of composition or printing employed in ordinary newspapers.
| 1873 F. Hudson Journalism 521 *News agencies..branched out and extended into colossal news companies as a..necessity of the age. 1883 Encycl. Brit. XX. 405/2 The demand for such reporting had led, on the passing of the telegraphs into the hands of the state, to the formation of news agencies which undertook to supply the provincial newspapers. 1887 Postal Laws (U.S.) 147 In admitting second-class publications sent from a news agency, postmasters will observe the following [rules]. 1890 [see burglar v.]. 1933 J. Buchan Prince of Captivity iii. ii. 291 A statement to an international news agency. 1959 New Statesman 25 Apr. 564/3 Chancellor is a brilliant journalistic administrator who deserves a very large part of the credit for the wartime and post-war recovery of that famous world news-agency, but he has had no previous experience in actual magazine or newspaper publication. 1974 J. Banning How I fooled the World iv. 23 One difference..between working for a newspaper and working for a news agency was that a news agency correspondent is much more vulnerable. |
| 1851 Mayhew Lond Labour I. 291/2 The regular price at a *news-agent's shop being 5d. 1879 Print. Trades Jrnl. xxix. 43 Charged by your news-agent one shilling for a single number. |
| 1876 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd viii, I've had the *news-bell ringing in my left ear quite bad enough for a murder. |
| 1830 Boston Transcript 1 Sept. 2/2 The *news-boat, T. H. Smith, belonging to the Associated Morning Papers, boarded the packet ship Caledonia,..25 miles outside Sandy Hook, and before she was boarded by any other news-boat. 1833–5 E. Leslie That Gentleman in Casquet Lit. V. 25/1 We were visited by a news-boat. 1860 Merc. Mar. Mag. VII. 347 Steamers bound West..will be boarded by the News-boat, and their advices telegraphed to all parts of America. |
| 1954 D. Dodge Lights of Skaro vi. 218 Filing coverage on one of the *news breaks of our time. 1959 J. Thurber Years with Ross v. 80 Newsbreaks, those garbled..items from American journals..which conveniently fill out..New Yorker columns. 1969 New Yorker 11 Oct. 43/1 We've just received a letter..enclosing three newsbreaks (those little items we print at the bottom of the page) for our consideration. |
| 1930 A. Henderson Contemporary Immortals 54 In connection with his profession as ‘*news butch’ or seller of newspapers, candy and the like, he established a printing press and a small laboratory upon the train. |
| 1894 Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, Okla.) 1 Jan. 3/1 Ben R. Wheeler, an old time and popular *news butcher on the Santa Fe..is in the city. 1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel 294 He got a concession as news⁓butcher on the daily train. 1947 L. M. Beebe Mixed Train Daily 85 The news butcher..still carries as stock in trade the immortal volume of senescent anecdotes, Thomas W. Jackson's On a Slow Train Through Arkansas. |
| 1935 Punch 14 Aug. 192/1 Trousers go wrong the moment you move in them. The *news-cinemas and photographs in the papers tell you that. 1965 M. Stewart Airs above Ground i. 16 There was an hour to Angy's train and we wanted somewhere to sit, so we went to the news cinema. |
| 1950 Kemsley Man. Journalism i. 67 Touch must constantly be kept with the picture *news desk which controls the photographers. 1962 A. Lejeune Duel in Shadows i. 11 The staff of the Night News Desk could be seen in their usual state of harassment. 1973 Times 21 Sept. 5/3 He asked to be put through to the news desk. 1974 New Society 7 Feb. 308/1 Wrote for British newspapers through more than three decades of lack of interest on London foreign newsdesks. |
| a 1953 Dylan Thomas Quite Early One Morning (1954) 80 Two typewriter Thomas the ace *news-dick. |
| 1904, 1938 *News flash [see flash n.2 1 d]. 1972 J. Wilson Hide & Seek vi. 111 He was in control now. News-flashes couldn't scare him. 1974 E. Ambler Dr. Frigo i. 56 There was a television news flash. The announcer didn't get your father's name quite right. |
| 1868 Putnam's Mag. Apr. 518/1 A few years ago, a *news-girl was as rare a sight as a Dodo. 1870 Scribner's Monthly I. 115 Old and young are enlisted in the street-vending service from the grey-haired grandsire..to the tiny news-girl. 1937 B. Board (title) Newsgirl in Palestine. |
| 1931 Amer. Speech VI. 283 *Newshawk.., used for ‘reporter’. 1935 [see big time (big a. B 2)]. 1940 Illustr. London News CXCVI. 544/1 News-hawks reading the tape-machines in New York and California. 1970 E. K. Walker in W. King Black Short Story Anthol. (1972) 54 Bull, flanked by his sergeant, the newshawk, and his cameramen, walked to the ambulance. 1974 N. Freeling Dressing of Diamond 17 Just ringing the police..is equivalent to inviting the newshawks. They'll be here in half an hour. |
| 1918 Hatchet 7 Apr. 48/2 ‘Got what all figured out,’ queried the *news hound eagerly. 1926 Time 12 July 22/3 In a jazzed age no news hound delved through the reference ‘morgue’ of his paper to turn up the great story. 1936 E. Ambler Dark Frontier x. 163 ‘What have you been doing with yourself?’ ‘Trying to be a good newshound.’ 1973 ‘S. Harvester’ Corner of Playground i. iv. 41 You newshounds never spare yourselves once you've gotten latched onto a story. 1974 H. MacInnes Climb to Lost World ii. 35 Our trip was getting more like Conan Doyle's Lost World expedition every day, and I was obviously being cast as Ed Malone of the Daily Gazette. ‘That stalwart news-hound of the cleft sticks’, as Neil put it. |
| 1960 20th Cent. Apr. 357 These jousts don't seem to need a *news peg. 1960 New Statesman 15 Oct. 556/2 The BBC's interview programme Face to Face..subjects selected public figures to sustained personal questioning before the cameras—without necessarily any particular topical news-peg. |
| 1909 Westm. Gaz. 3 June 2/2 The duty of 5 dollars a ton on *news-print. 1935 Geogr. Jrnl. LXXXVI. 354 A large mill on the Wirral which manufactures newsprint. 1967 Karch & Buber Offset Processes xi. 485 Newsprint.., (Use) Newspaper, hand-bills, posters. 1974 Publishers Weekly 18 Feb. 44/2 Newsprint remains a headache for most paperback publishers [in Britain] and one was shocked recently to find himself quoted a price almost twice what he usually pays. |
| 1937 Tablet 2 Oct. 436/2 The growth of large newspaper combines makes competition increasingly difficult, because the large proprietors are in fact deeply interested in the allied industries like the manufacture of *news printing. |
| 1925 Daily Herald 23 June 4/3 Instead of receiving a shock at a national calamity, the *news reader breaks it to you in a calm and quiet voice. 1959 P. McCutchan Storm South i. 6, I hadn't realized it was News-time... I heard the news-reader's voice coming over. 1973 Times 15 Jan. 14/8 Mr William Alexander Moyes, the former BBC news reader and announcer, has been found dead at his flat. 1975 J. Wood North Kill xii. 181 A BBC news-reader was announcing the details. |
| 1951 in M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 8/3 The Editors of Time hope to give..a clearer picture of the world of news-gathering, news-writing, and *news-reading. 1971 T. F. Mitchell in Archivum Linguisticum II. 38 Although the implication of spoken utterance is less assured for some written functions than others, nevertheless rehearsals.., newsreading, lecturing and public address, though not ‘colloquial’ language, illustrate speech with the implication of writing and vice versa. |
| 1916 Wells Fargo Messenger V. 39/3 Some companies issue their *news reels twice a week. 1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 26 Oct. 335/1 There are four motion picture newsreel cameramen, and four ‘still’ photographers. 1934 B.B.C. Year-Bk. 60 There has been another development of this new service by ‘special correspondent’ in the five-minute topical talk which in turn has now been extended to the ‘News Reel’. 1944 L. MacNeice Christopher Columbus 15 The radio play..is competing with the Soviet art-cinema rather than with Hollywood or the standardised news-reel. 1949 Radio Times 15 July 15/2 Radio Newsreel, a summary of events of the past week. 1973 ‘D. Jordan’ Nile Green xliii. 218 We were safe..bowling across the desert like old newsreels of the Eighth Army chasing Rommel into the sea. |
| 1817 Morning Chron. 25 Apr. (Jod.), Every circulating library and *newsroom throughout the kingdom. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 238/1 There are two subscription libraries and two news⁓rooms. 1929 C. N. Warren News Reporting i. 2 Ed Markham, reporter, entered the Times local news room, ready to start his work for the day. 1959 Times 5 May 13/5 The news-room scoop is almost a thing of the past—an exciting aspect of newspaper life remembered only by the journalist whose career began in the heady Fleet Street days before the war. 1973 Scotsman 13 Feb. 15/6 (Advt.), The Scotsman Publications Limited require a newsroom typist... You will be typing our news stories as phoned in live by ‘The Scotsman’ reporters. |
| 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. III. 81 Literature in all its branches, from philosophical treatises to magazines and *news-sheets. |
| 1872 E. Eggleston Hoosier Schoolm. viii. 77 You can buy trap-doors..dirt-cheap at the next *news-stand. 1894 S. Fiske Holiday Stories (1900) 141, I advised him..to buy or rent a news stand in some hotel. 1926 G. Ade Let. 29 Nov. (1973) 116 You.. finally met out west the news-stand girl who had been your friend. 1932 E. Wilson Devil take Hindmost iii. 19 Communist publications, sold openly on news⁓stands. 1973 ‘J. Ashford’ Double Run vi. 42 Ryan crossed the main hall of Charing Cross station to the Smith news-stand in the centre. 1973 Philadelphia Inquirer (Today Suppl.) 14 Oct. 7/2 The Digest..has lowered its newsstand price a dime. |
| 1933 J. B. Priestley Wonder Hero iii. 95 He paid his shilling and entered one of the little *News Theatres. 1961 S. Chaplin Day of Sardine ii. 54 We nipped into the News Theatre one night and saw one of these Barbecue affairs, in colour. 1974 E. Lemarchand Buried in Past ix. 152 Enquiries at steak houses and news theatres in the Tottenham Court Road area. |
| 1902 *News ticker [see ticker3 b]. 1933 Balmer & Wylie When Worlds Collide v. 46 The news-ticker carried, as additional information, only the effect of the announcement on the markets in Europe. 1967 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 1 Aug. (1970) 550 It was 11 when we got back..and Lyndon wanted me to go into his office with him to take that last look at the news ticker. |
| 1834 Gentl. Mag. CIV. i. 101 A public meeting of the *Newsvenders of the metropolis. 1860 W. Collins Wom. White iii. i, The ground floor..is occupied by a small newsvendor's shop. |
| 1820 Rep. Comm. Working on Newspapers in E. Howe London Compositor (1947) xv. 378 The Committee commenced their labours by tracing the Regulations for *News Work back to a certain period. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 217 Illustrated work differs from ordinary newswork in one important particular. 1971 Library XXVI. 302 If we can trust the ‘oral testimony’ reported in 1820, long galleys were in use in newswork as early as 1770. |
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news crawl n. chiefly
U.S. an electronic news ticker.
| 1972 Washington Post 8 Mar. b8/2 The primary winners were announced in a printed *news-crawl superimposed over a spoof of old Westerns. 1990 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 7 June f1/2 KCBS Channel 2 ran a news ‘crawl’ across the action at the Detroit-Portland game. |
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news cycle n. Journalism (
orig. U.S.) a round of media coverage; the period from one broadcast or printing to the next.
| 1922 Los Angeles Times 9 Dec. i. 6/2 As the *news cycles come and go each one carries a fresh effort to protect the innocent investor from the ravening wolves. 1976 N.Y. Times 2 May ii. 27/6 Church got substantial wire service and radio news coverage on at least two news cycles. 2002 M. Robinson Mobocracy iii. 137 The shortening of the news cycle has given polling a new urgency. |
▪ II. news, v. Now
dial. (
njuːz)
[f. the n.] 1. trans. To tell or spread as news.
| 1650 R. Stapylton Strada's Low C. Wars ix. 45 This being newsed about the Town, many afterwards shunned the occasion of meeting with the Prince. 1875 Parish Sussex Gloss. s.v., It was newsed about. 1895 E. Anglian Gloss. s.v., It was newsed at market yesterday. |
2. intr. To tell news; to gossip.
| 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb (1873) 188 Topics to keep himself and his cronies ‘newsin’ for several days. 1886 S.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., There's a deal of newsing goes on in that row. |