▪ I. dish, n.
(dɪʃ)
Forms: 1 disc, (3 dischs, diss), 3–5 disch, -e, 4 (dise, dych, diȝsch), dissch, -e, 4–5 dyssh, -e, 4–6 disshe, dishe, 5–6 dyssche, dysch, dysche, 6 diszshe, 3– dish.
[OE. disc plate, bowl, platter, = OHG. tisc plate (MHG. and Ger. tisch table), OS. disk table, MDu. and Du. disch table, ON. diskr plate (? from OE.); WGer. *disk(s), a. L. disc-us quoit, dish (in Vulgate), disc. The OE. (like OHG. and ON.) represents a Latin sense of the word, while the sense ‘table’ found in MHG. and other later dialects corresponds to a later Romanic sense, exemplified by It. desco, F. deis, dais (desk, dais).]
I. 1. a. A broad shallow vessel, with flat bottom, concave sides, and nearly level rim, made of earthenware, glass, metal, or wood, and used chiefly to hold food at meals. Now, on the one hand often restricted to those of oval, square, or irregular shape, as distinguished from the circular plate, and on the other extended to all open vessels used to contain food at table, as tureens, vegetable dishes, etc.
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. 786 (O.E.T.), Patena, disc. a 800 Corpus Gloss. 852 Ferculum, disc. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 8 Sel me..in disc heafud iohannes. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 23 Se þe be-dypð on disce mid me hys hand. a 1225 Ancr. R. 344 Ibroken disch. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 46/23 Ane Dischs of seluer he nam also. a 1300 Cursor M. 13159 (Cott.) Ask him..His heued to giue þe in a diss. c 1300 Havelok 919 Ful wel kan ich dishes swilen. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 434 Diȝschis & coupis of siluer. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 32 In a dysshe thy gose thou close. 1535 Coverdale Judg. v. 25 She..broughte forthe butter in a lordly diszshe. 1587 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle (1627) 270 The common saying is, the hog is neuer good but when he is in the dish. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 198 The Wooden dishes that are all over Persia. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 245 ¶2 A small Cabinet..in which were..half a Dozen of Portugal Dishes. 1829 Southey Pilgr. Compostella ii, They both slipt about in the gravy Before they got out of the dish. 1881 Wheatley & Delamotte Art Wk. Earthenware iv. 49 Palissy..took the greatest pains in the moulding of the fishes..which he placed upon these curious dishes. |
b. A hollow vessel of wood or metal, used for drinking, and also
esp. as a beggar's receptacle for alms; a cup;
cf. alms-dish, clack-,
clap-dish.
| 1381 [see alms-dish]. [c 1394 J. Malverne Contn. Higden (Rolls) IX. App. 79 Quoddam jocale argenteum et deauratum formatum ad modum navis, vocatur discus eleemosynarum.] 1488 Will of Pywale (Somerset Ho.), A new treen dyssh w{supt} a pynte of ale therin. 1532 [see clapper n.1 2]. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iii. 150 I'll give..My figur'd Goblets, for a Dish of Wood. 1605 Tryall Chev. i. iii. in Bullen O. Pl. III. 278, I know him as well as the Begger knowes his dish. 1634 Milton Comus 391 Who would rob a hermit of..his beads, or maple dish? 1781 Cowper Truth 80 Books, beads, and maple dish, his meagre stock. |
† c. transf. Applied to an acorn-cup.
Obs.| 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 172/1 Drie the little akorne dishes..and contunde them smalle. |
† d. Phrases.
to cast, lay, throw (something) in one's dish: to reproach or taunt him with it.
to have a hand in the dish: to meddle, interfere.
to have a foot in the dish (? like a pig in the trough): to gain a footing, have a share (
cf. to have a finger in the pie).
Obs.| 1551 T. Wilson Logike (1580) 62 b, When wee charge hym with a like fault, and laye some greater matter in his dishe. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden 67 Hee casts the begger in my dish at euerie third sillable. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Aliboron, A..busie-body; one that hath his hand in euery dish. 1615 Swetnam Arraignm. Women (1880) p. xviii, Hir dowrie will be often cast in thy dish if shee doe bring wealth with her. 1682 Bunyan Holy War 233 We have already also a foot in their dish, for our Diabolonian friends are laid in their bosoms. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 164 ¶5 Some..have been so disingenuous, as to throw Maud the Milk-Maid into my Dish. 1722 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. 8 Under the bloody reign of Queen Mary, this was laid in his dish. |
2. a. The food ready for eating served on or contained in a dish; a distinct article or variety of food.
transf. and
fig.:
spec., an attractive person,
esp. a woman (now only in informal use).
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 17 b, The moost hye deyntyes or delicate dysshes. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 173 Let's carue him, as a Dish fit for the Gods. 1611 ― Wint. T. iv. iii. 8 For a quart of Ale is a dish for a King. 1655 Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. (1746) 190 Cambletes King of Lydia, having eaten of his own Wife, said, he was sorry to have been ignorant so long of so good a Dish. 1675 Hobbes Odyssey (1677) 296 To beasts and fowls is he Somewhere..become a dish. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 78 ¶1 The palate is reconciled by degrees to dishes which at first disgusted it. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 321 The ladies..retired as soon as the dishes had been devoured. 1853 A. Soyer Pantroph. 73 You will obtain a most delicate dish by boiling the cucumbers with brains. |
| transf. and fig. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 283 Heeres a dish I loue not, I cannot indure this Lady tongue. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. ii. vi. 134 He will to his Egyptian dish againe. Ibid. v. ii. 275, I know, that a woman is a dish for the Gods, if the diuell dresse her not. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. xiv, The Theme of Marriage was the best Dish in all their Entertainment. 1929 D. Hammett Dain Curse (1930) xix. 217 He turned his half-wit's grin on me and said: ‘What a swell dish you are.’ 1938 J. Curtis They drive by Night xxiii. 263 So you're Queenie, are you? And a nice little dish you are. 1945 P. Cheyney I'll say she Does! v. 141 She's a swell dish—a lovely piece of frail that one. 1955 Priestley & Hawkes Journey down Rainbow 84 The purple band..marched on to the field, accompanied by drum-majorettes—every one a dish, as they say. 1958 A. Wilson Middle Age of Mrs. Eliot 68 That man I've been talking to is rather a dish, but I'm sure he's a bottom-pincher. 1959 H. Hobson Mission House Murder ix. 65, I got pictures of this dame, she's a swell dish. |
b. by-dish,
side-dish: see
by- 3 a,
side.
made dish: a fancy dish of various ingredients, depending for its success on the cook's skill.
standing dish: one that appears each day or at every meal. (Also used
fig.)
| 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. ii. i. 43 Artificial made dishes, of which our Cooks afford us a great variety. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 146 Meer Quelquechoses, made dishes of no nourishing. 1876 W. H. Pollock in Contemp. Rev. June 56 The mysteries had ceased to be the standing dish of theatrical entertainment. |
c. Slang
phr. one's dish: something exactly suited to one's tastes, requirements, abilities, etc.; one's ‘cup of tea’.
orig. U.S.| 1918 H. C. Witwer From Baseball to Boches 106 They [sc. grenades] ought to of been my dish, seein' what a notorious pitcher I was. 1947 Auden Age of Anxiety (1948) v. 114 Did you lose your nerve And cloud your conscience because I wasn't Your dish really? 1955 Bull. Atomic Sci. Feb. 42/2 Thus they are armed to predict the future, but this, I fear, is not my dish. 1957 Wodehouse Over Seventy iii. 42 My output was not everybody's dish. |
3. As a term of quantity more or less indefinite.
a. As much or as many as will fill or make a dish when cooked.
b. A dishful, a bowlful or cupful.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 144, I haue here a dish of Doues that I would bestow vpon your worship. 1597 ― 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 5 The Prince once set a Dish of Apple-Iohns before him. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. iii. 175 The Boat returned with a good dish of Fish. 1873 Tristram Moab xiv. 254 Trotter..secured a good dish of fish in the pools. |
| b. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iii. 35 Such a dish of skim'd Milk. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 171 He had taken off two or three Dishes of Aquavitæ. 1679 Trials of Green, Berry, etc. 65, I will go to the Coffee-house, and drink a Dish of Coffee. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 57 ¶4 She scalded her Fingers, and spilt a Dish of Tea upon her Petticoat. 1795 Jemima II. 10 Having finished his dish of chocolate. 1824 Byron Juan xvi. xxx, He sate him pensive o'er a dish of tea. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 688 More than one seat in Parliament..had been bought and sold over a dish of coffee at Garraway's. 1862 Sat. Rev. XIII. 526/2 The cook anticipates many a cosy dish of tea with friends. |
c. fig.| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. i. 10 Thou full dish of Foole. 1608 ― Per. iv. vi. 160 My dish of chastity. 1708 Motteux Rabelais v. vii. (1737) 24 Roger..had a Dish of Chat with her. 1753 Gray Lett. Wks. 1884 II. 241 To entertain you with a dish of very choice erudition. 1820 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 183 This new dish of Continental troubles. 1836 Backwoods Canada 183 For the sake of a dish of gossip. |
4. transf. a. A shallow concave vessel or receptacle of any kind. See also
chafing-dish.
| 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Justice ii, The dishes of thy ballance. 1702 W. J. Bruyn's Voy. Levant xxxii. 126 The Ropes which were round the Capstan pulled it out of its Dish. c 1865 J. Wylde in Circ. Sc. I. 305/2 Evaporating dishes are employed. |
b. A microwave reflector or aerial with a concave surface.
| 1948 Gloss. Terms Waveguide Technique (B.S.I.) 11 Dish, a reflector the surface of which is part of a sphere or of a paraboloid of revolution. 1956 Electronic Engin. XXVIII. 539 The actual radiator consists of a 30ft diameter dish. 1957 Ann. Reg. 1956 333 The great radio-telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, with its 250-ft. reflecting ‘dish’. 1960 [see antenna 5]. 1965 New Scientist 8 July 87/1 The new telescope employs three 60-ft parabaloidal [sic] reflectors or ‘dishes’. 1967 Ibid. 18 May 390/3 The present metal aerial dish weighs 100 lb; but there are plans to use a coated dish of carbon fibre material. |
5. A dish-like concavity;
e.g. on one side of a wheel (see
quots.); a depression in a field, etc. More commonly, the condition of wheels having such concavity; the amount of such concavity.
| 1810 T. Williamson Agric. Mech. 95 The dish given to wheels. 1812–6 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art I. 372 Wheels are commonly made with what is called a dish, that is, the spokes are inserted not at right angles, but with an inclination towards the axis of the nave or centre-piece; so that..the wheel appears dished or hollow. 1837 W. B. Adams Carriages 98 Some wheels..get more dish than others. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1154 The third or front wheel may be found without dish. 1846 Worcester, Dish..a hollow in a field. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XI. 311/1 The dish is considerable, amounting to 2 inches in the 5-foot wheel. 1891 Fur, Fin & Feather Mar. 167 The left hind wheel of his wagon is out of dish. |
6. As a specific quantity in various industries:
† a. An obsolete measure for corn.
Cf. toll-dish.
| 1419 Corn-dish [see corn n.1 11.]. 1774 T. West Antiq. Furness (1805) 85, I will provide them mills for their foreign grain at the rate of the twenty first dish. |
b. Tin-mining. A gallon of ore ready for the smelter.
c. Lead-mining. A rectangular box used for measuring the lead ore; by Act 14 and 15
Vict. c. 94 §3 fixed to contain fifteen pints of water;
brazen-dish: see
brazen a. 4.
d. Also, the proportion of tin or lead ore paid as royalty to the mine landlord, etc.
| 1531 Dial. Laws Eng. ii. lv. (1638) 173 If a man take a Tinne work, and give the Lord the tenth dish. 1602 Carew Cornwall 13 b, They measure their blacke Tynne by the..Dish..which containeth..a gallon. 1631 Brazen dish [see brazen a. 4]. 1653 E. Manlove Lead Mines 53 But first the finder his two meers must free With oar there found, for the Barghmaster's fee Which is one dish for one meer of the ground. Ibid. 75 The thirteenth dish of oar within their mine, To th' Lord for Lot, they pay at measuring time. 1667 Primatt City & C. Build. 7 A Horse load..is nine dishes.. weighing about Four hundred and Fifty pound. 1681 Houghton Compl. Miner Gloss. (E.D.S.), Dish, a trough made of wood, about 28 inches long, 4 inches deep, and six inches wide; by which all miners measure their ore. 1884 R. Hunt Brit. Mining 83 Mining for tin and copper was carried on, in 1770..Permission was..obtained from the lord of the soil, and an acknowledgment ‘dish’, or ‘dues’—was paid to him..commonly one-sixth, one-seventh, one-eighth, or even to one-twelfth, or less. |
e. Diamond and
Gold-mining: see
quots.| 1890 Goldfields Victoria 17, I have obtained good dish prospects after crudely crushing up the quartz. 1893 Scott. Leader 19 May 7 About 120 ‘dishes’ go to a ‘load’..it is an astonishing ‘prospect’ (4 carats [of diamonds] obtained from 6 dishes). |
II. [immed. from L.
discus.]
† 7. A quoit; quoit-playing.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif 2 Macc. iv. 14 They hastiden for to be maad felawis of wrastlyng..and of oost, or cumpanye of dishe, or pleyinge with ledun dishe [1388 in ocupacions of a disch, ether pleiyng with a ledun disch; Vulg. disci; Coverdale, to put at y⊇ stone; 1611 the game of Discus]. 1552 Huloet, Dyshe caster, or who that throweth a dyshe, discobolus. |
III. [
f. dish v.]
8. slang. The act of ‘dishing’: see
dish v. 7.
| 1891 Sir W. Harcourt Sp. 30 July, The last reliance of the Tory in an extremity is a policy of ‘dish’ as it is called. |
IV. Comb. 9. a. attrib. as
dish-rack;
b. objective, as
dish-bearer,
dish-designer,
dish-turner,
dish-washing.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 122/1 Dysshe berer at mete, discoferus. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy v, A long procession of dish-bearers. 1884 Tennyson Becket 5 A dish-designer, and most amorous Of..Gascon wine. 1889 R. Cooke Steadfast i. 16 The song of the kettle as it piped away on the shortened hook, where it kept hot for dish washing. 1894 H. Speight Nidderdale 384 Whitesmiths, dish-turners. 1891 Anthony's Photogr. Bulletin IV. 336 Dish-washing..includes all that is required, with regard to cleanliness, in amateur photography. 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXX. 124/2 A dish-washing machine. 1963 Which? 6 Feb. 46/1 Dishwashing machines are comparatively rare. |
c. Consisting, or having the form, of a dish; dish-shaped.
| a 1823 D. Wordsworth Second Tour Scotl. in Jrnls. (1941) II. 344 Porters in white hats with dish-crowns close to the head. 1874 S. J. Thearle Naval Archit.: Wood & Iron Shipbuilding 72 The hollow or dish keel is a variety of the flat keel system. 1893 Kennel Gaz. Aug. 214 Jess III is spoilt by her dish face. 1960 Times 2 Jan. 9/1 The working springer tends to be smaller, lower slung, often with a dish face. 1962 Listener 19 July 112/1 A dish aerial at Goonhilly Down. 1968 Times 20 Dec. 6/8 A special dish telescope 20ft. in diameter. |
10. Special comb.:
† dish-bench,
-bink (
north. dial.),
-board, a rest for dishes, a dresser, a plate-rack;
† dish-caster (see 7 above);
dish-cover, a cover of ware or metal placed over hot food;
dish-cradle,
-cratch (
dial.; in Nares
-catch), a plate-rack;
dish-cross,
-rim,
-ring (see
quots. 1908, 1931);
dish-crowned a., having a crown shaped like a dish;
dish-faced a. (of dogs and horses) ‘having the nose higher at the tip than the stop’ (Stables
Friend Dog vii. 50); (
dial. of persons) having a round flattish face, like a reversed plate;
† dish-headed a., an epithet of monks;
dish-heater, ‘a warming closet attached to a stove or exposed in front of a fire to heat dishes’ (Knight
Dict. Mech.);
dish-lift,
= dumb-waiter 2;
† dish-meat, food cooked in a dish, as
e.g. a pie;
dish-monger, one who deals in, or has much to do with, dishes (of food);
dish-mop orig. U.S., a small mop used for washing dishes, etc.;
† dish-mustard, Turner's name for
Thlaspi arvense;
dish-pan U.S., a pan in which dishes, etc., are washed; hence
dish-pan hands, an inflamed or sore condition of the hands caused by washing-up or by the use of cleaning materials in housework;
dish-plate,
Min. (see
quot.)
dish-rag,
-towel = dish-cloth; chiefly
U.S. also
transf., the dishcloth gourd;
dish-spring, a spring shaped like a dish;
dish-trough = dish n. 6 c. Also
dish-cloth, -clout, -wash, -water, etc.
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 100/2 *Dische benke, scutellarium. 1535 Richmond. Wills (Surtees) 12 A cobbord with a dys⁓bynk. 1877 F. K. Robinson Whitby Gloss., Dish-bink, a kitchen rack for the plates. |
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §146 Swepe thy hous, dresse vp thy *dysshborde. 1562 Richmond. Wills (Surtees) 152 My counter and dishebourd. |
| 1831 Society I. 144 The *dish-covers are slowly raised. |
| 1691 Ray N.C. Words 133 *Dish-Cradle or Credle, a wooden Utensil for wooden Dishes. |
| ? 16.. Comical Dial. betw. 2 Country Lovers (N.), My *dish-c[r]atch, cupboards, boards, and bed. |
| 1785 Daily Universal Register 1 Jan. 3/2 *Dish crosses with lamps, 14 oz. to 20 oz. each. 1908 B. Wyllie Sheffield Plate 75 ‘Dish-crosses’ or ‘spiders’..served two purposes: either to keep a hot dish from marking the polished tables..or to support a spiritlamp which kept the contents of the dish above hot. 1908 H. N. Veitch Sheffield Plate 136 These dish-crosses..are suitable for both round and oval dishes. |
| 1600 Rowlands Let. Humours Blood vii. 13 *Dish-crown'd Hat. |
| 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 12 The *Dish-faced, or Roman Nosed Horse. 1825–80 Jamieson, Dish-faced, flat-faced; applied both to man and beast. 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Dish-faced, hollow-faced. |
| 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 489 b, Those *dish⁓headed dranes of that shavelyng and Cowled rowte. |
| 1859 Sala Twice round Clock 81 With every modern convenience and improvement: with bath-rooms..*dish-lifts, [etc.] 1920 Contemp. Rev. June 890 He walked to the dish-lift and listened intently. |
| [c 1440 Promp. Parv. 122/1 *Dysshe mete, discibarium.] 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2558 Delycate dysshe meates were put out of her presence. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1590) 3 Let me alone, for my actiuity, at the dish meat. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 316/1 All sorts of Bread and Dishmeats are taken out of the Oven. |
| 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass 8 *Dish-mongers..running into excesse of riot. |
| 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 98/1 This *dish mop is made of cotton and is securely fastened to handle. 1913 E. H. Porter Pollyanna v. 47 Nancy, hurrying with her belated work, jabbed her dish-mop into the milk pitcher. 1955 E. Coxhead Figure in Mist viii. 229 She picked up a dish-mop and began to scour a..saucepan. |
| 1548 Turner Names of Herbes 78 Named in englishe *dyshmustard, or triacle Mustard..because the seede is lyke mustard seede in colour and in tast, and the vessel that conteyneth the seede is lyke a disshe. |
| 1872 Newton Kansan 5 Sept. 4/5 Put your corn, while hot, in a *dish-pan. 1942 W. Faulkner Go Down, Moses 176 Ash began to beat on the bottom of the dish-pan with a heavy spoon to call them to breakfast. 1944 B. Hutchison Hollow Men xiii. 187 ‘And me’—she chuckled at this—‘sunk without trace in domesticity, teaching school, dish-pan hands [etc.].’ |
| 1892 Heslop Northumbld. Gloss., *Dish-plates, in mining, plates or rails dished to receive the fore wheels of a tub, to faciliate the teeming. |
| 1839 Southern Lit. Messenger V. 329/2 When he landed he lay there as limber as a *dish-rag. 1872 ‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It 44 It really pretended to be tea, but there was too much dish-rag and sand in it. 1890 Cent. Dict. s.v. sponge-gourd, Vegetable sponge or dish-rag. 1904 N.Y. Tribune 22 May, A novel enterprise, that of raising dishrags, is being exploited by a number of Southern California horticulturists. 1939 Dylan Thomas Map of Love 21 The horrid Woe drip from the dish-rag hands. |
| 1774 in B. Wyllie Sheffield Plate (1908) 71 *Dish-rims. 1908 B. Wyllie Ibid. pl. lxxi, Revolving Dish Stand for round or oval dish. Possibly this is what was meant by a ‘dish-rim’. 1931 E. Wenham Domestic Silver v. 75 [Dish-crosses] represent to the English what the misunderstood *dish-rings mean to the Irish, namely, a stand on which to place a hot dish to prevent it from marking the table. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 34 CC is a *dish-spring, secured in its place by the pin. |
| 1869 Mrs. Stowe Oldtown Folks 275 Aunt Lois..found her *dish-towel freezing in her hand. 1883 Harper's Mag. Feb. 365/2 Mr. Ayer removed her dish-towel from its nail. |
| 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. s.v. Barmaster, [The] Barmaster looks after keeping the *Dishtrough. |
Add:
[I.] [4.] [b.] spec. one used as a receiving aerial for the domestic reception of satellite television; a satellite dish. (Later examples.)
| 1980 New Scientist 28 Feb. 645/1 Even a dish of just under a metre in diameter, as proposed for domestic receiving installations, has such a tight beam that the dish must be aimed at the satellite to an accuracy of within half a degree. 1982 Ibid. 2 Sept. 633/1 The satellite will be one of the first in the world to offer TV to viewers equipped with the necessary ‘dishes’. |
[10.] dish aerial = sense *4 b above.
| 1962 Listener 19 July 112/1 A *dish aerial at Goonhilly Down. 1982 New Scientist 24 June 840/2 Many proponents of satellite broadcasting put about the story that, in the future, people will have satellite dish aerials in their gardens, balanced on their roofs or attached to a wall. 1991 Computing 10 Jan. 76/1 A dirty great 100 ft. radio mast, replete with large dish aerials, on top of Trundle Hill. |
▪ II. dish, v.1 (
dɪʃ)
[f. dish n.] 1. trans. To put (food) into a dish, and set it ready for a meal. Also with
up (
† forth,
out).
| 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinshed II. 81 The thin fare that heere is disht before him. 1598 Epulario B iij, Dish the meat, and lay this sauce vpon it. 1652 N. Culverwel Lt. Nat. 150 (L.) They dish out ambrosia for them. c 1685 in Dk. Buckhm.'s Wks. (1705) II. 48 She..neatly dish'd it up with Egg-sauce. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 189 When your dinner or supper is dished. 1833 Marryat P. Simple i, Jemima, dish up! 1879 Sala Paris herself again (1880) I. xvii. 261 Grilled bones..dished up for you before bedtime. 1930 Brophy & Partridge Songs & Slang of Brit. Soldier 116 Cooked food was ‘dished out’ by the orderly men of the day. 1958 Hayward & Harari tr. Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago i. v. 133 Food was dished out and the used plates stacked in the hand-worked service-lift. |
2. fig. To present (attractively) for acceptance; to serve up. Also with
up (
† forth,
out). In modern use, with
out: to distribute; to give or hand
out (often with the pejorative implication of a lack of care or discrimination). So
to dish it out (
U.S. colloq.): to deal out punishment; to fight hard.
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. ii. 73 For Conspiracie, I know not how it tastes, though it be dish'd For me to try how. 1641 Milton Animadv. (1851) 237 Lest, thinking to offer him as a present to God, they dish him out for the Devill. 1658 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. verse 15 ii. §4 (1669) 121/2 The heavenly viands disht forth in the Gospel. 1756 Washington Let. Wks. (1889) I. 265 Their success..dished up with a good deal of French policy, will encourage the Indians..to fall upon our inhabitants. 1858 Doran Crt. Fools 70 This story..has been dished up in a hundred different ways. 1934 Black Mask Mag. Oct. 13/1 You take [money] away fast enough, but you don't like to dish it out. 1939 I. Baird Waste Heritage vi. 82 Gabby could take it and he could dish it out. 1939 War Illustr. 21 Oct. p. ii/1 The drivel that is dished out between news bulletins. 1955 A. Huxley Genius & Goddess 36 Tripe and hogwash dished out by the moulders of public opinion. 1959 Camb. Rev. 2 May 471/2 They dish out the gestetnered flysheet which does duty for it, free of charge. 1966 B. Kimenye Kalasanda Revisited 11 Offices..which dish out highly-coloured literature extolling the wonders of their country. |
3. nonce-uses.
a. to dish about: to pass round in a dish, to drink in turns from a dish or bowl.
b. To receive (liquid) as in a dish.
| 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1872) III. 311 Then dish about the Mother's Health. 1847 H. Melville Omoo xvi. 59 The Julia reared up on her stern..and when she settled again forward, fairly dished a tremendous sea. |
4. To fashion like a dish; to make concave like a dish or its sides; to hollow
out;
spec. to set the spokes of a (carriage-wheel) at such an inclination to the nave that the wheel is concave on one side (purposely or as the result of an accident).
| 1805 Agric. Surv. E. Lothian 74 (Jam.), Formerly the wheel was much dished, from a mistaken principle. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 584 Dish-out, to form coves by means of ribs, or wooden vaults for plastering upon. 1868 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Ser. ii. IV. ii. 262 The yards are dished out in the centre to the depth of five feet. 1886 A. W. Greely Arct. Serv. I. xxvii. 370 Seven hours' travelling over very rough ground ‘dished’ a wheel, and lunch was taken while repairs were being made. 1887 Sporting Life 20 July 7/2 To facilitate turning the sharp ends, the eastern and western ends [of a bicycle-track] were ‘dished’. |
5. intr. To be or become concave; to ‘cave in’.
| 1669 [see dishing ppl. a.]. 1886 A. W. Greely Arct. Serv. I. xxvii. 387 We had much trouble with our wagon, the wheel dishing frequently. |
6. intr. Of a horse; To move the fore-feet in his trot not straight forward but with a circular or scooping motion.
| 1846 R. Ford Gath. Spain vii. 69 The Andalucian horse..is given to dishing with the feet. 1863 [see dishing ppl. a.] 1869 Sir F. Fitzwygram Horses & Stables §931 The more prominent defects..are rolling, dishing, cutting, and stumbling. 1895 Letter fr. Corresp. I think the best description of a horse that dishes, would be a horse that ‘winds his forefoot’. |
7. trans. slang. To ‘do for’, defeat completely, ruin; to cheat, circumvent. [From the notion of food being
done, and
dished.]
| 1798 Monthly Mag. (Farmer), Done up, dish'd. 1811 E. Nares Thinks I to Myself (1816) I. 208 (D.) He was completely dished—he could never have appeared again. 1819 Abeillard & Heloisa 10 A consummation greatly wish'd By nymphs who have been foully dish'd. 1826 Scott Jrnl. 31 July, It was five ere we got home, so there was a day dished. 1830 Disraeli Let. 27 Aug. (1887) 32 He dished Prince Pignatelli at billiards. 1835 R. H. Froude Rem. (1838) I. 419 You are now taking fresh ground, without owning..that on our first basis I dished you. a 1847 Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor V. xxix. 103 If Fitzhenry can't raise the sum, he will be dished, and that in a few hours. 1869 Latest News 29 Aug. 8 The Conservative leader would be glad again to perform the operation of ‘dishing the Whigs’. 1880 Disraeli Endym. xl, I believe it [the House of Commons] to be completely used up. Reform has dished it. |
▪ III. dish, v.2 Sc. [variant of dush v.] trans. To push violently, thrust.
| 1821 Galt Sir A. Wylie I. 70 (Jam.) They hae horns on their head to dish the like o' me. |