▪ I. toss, n.1
(tɒs, -ɔː-)
[f. toss v.]
An act of tossing.
1. A pitching up and down or to and fro.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. Ded., This poore Barque..hath endurde many tosses at Sea, and is now tost on Land. 1801 Southey Thalaba xi. xl, The little boat rides rapidly, And pitches now with shorter toss Upon the narrower swell. a 1849 Sir R. Wilson in Life (1862) I. iii. 139 The continual toss almost made me mad. 1859 Habits Gd. Soc. ix. 286 The man who gives your hand one toss, as if he were ringing the dinner-bell. |
† 2. A state of agitation or commotion. Obs.
| 1666 Pepys Diary 2 June, This put us at the Board into a tosse. 1667 Ibid. 10 Oct., Lord! what a tosse I was for some time in. a 1734 North Lives (1826) II. 319 You can easily imagine what a toss I was in, to lie about a week aboard the ship for want of pratique. 1837 Longfellow in Life (1891) I. 278 The Little-Pedlington community of Boston is in a great toss,..first about the college, and then about Dr. Channing and the abolitionists. |
3. a. An act of casting, pitching, throwing, or hurling; a throw, a pitch. full toss, in Cricket, the delivery of a ball which does not touch the ground in its flight between the wickets.
| 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 119 The Criminal..expected death, a tosse or two at the least. 1833 J. Nyren Yng. Cricketer's Tutor 81 By one stroke from a toss that he hit behind him, we got ten runs. 1862 Pycroft Cricket Tutor 52 Some balls of a loose sort—Volleys, Long-hops, and Tosses. |
b. to take a toss, to suffer a fall from a horse; also fig.
| 1917 [see half n. 7 h]. 1926 Galsworthy Silver Spoon i. xiv. 101 The Government had ‘taken their toss’ over the Editor. 1949 M. Steen Twilight on Floods iv. x. 699 By Jove, old boy, she's taken a toss for you! 1966 [see league n.1 1 e]. 1973 ‘M. Innes’ Appleby's Answer v. 47 The red-haired Lady Curricle, who had ‘taken a toss’, you will remember, over a hedge. |
c. U.S. slang. A search (of a building or person) conducted by the police. Cf. toss v. 1 c.
| 1970 L. Sanders Anderson Tapes xciv. 220 The author was allowed to attend as an observer but not active participant in the search. The toss of the above premises..was..conducted with professional skill. 1972 J. Mills Report to Commissioner 86 You wanta give her a toss, give her a toss, but let's not stand here all night. |
4. a. A sudden jerk; esp. a quick upward or backward movement of the head.
| 1676 Dryden Man of Mode Epil. 22 His various modes from various fathers follow; One taught the toss, and one the new French wallow. 1718 Free-thinker No. 17 ¶8 She throws up her Head with a scornful Toss. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. viii. (1852) 242 The question is dismissed from the minds of some with an indignant toss. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xlviii, She walked in..with a toss of the head which would have befitted an empress. |
b. A spread or fall (of hair).
| 1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist i. 13 My wife lay hiding from the light in the toss of her hair. 1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) vi. 233 Ezana looked at her and saw beyond the brassy toss of her hair. |
† 5. A bout, an encounter. Sc. Obs.
| 1730 T. Boston Mem. x. (1899) 316, I had a toss with Mr. Murray, he affirming and I denying that I had given them ground by word or deed. 1730 ― View of this & other World (1799) 399 You may get enough ado even to die through a vehement toss of sickness. |
6. a. An act of tossing a coin: see toss v. 9, 15; a decision arrived at by this means: see toss-up in 10, and cf. pitch and toss.
| 1798 T. Jefferson Writ. IV. 227 The question of war and peace depends now on a toss of cross and pile. 1838 De Morgan Probabilities 75 Let us find the probability that, out of 200 tosses with a halfpenny, there shall be exactly 100 heads and 100 tails. 1859 All Year Round No. 13. 305 The town won the toss for innings. 1887 L. Stephen in Dict. Nat. Biog. XI. 467/2 They..decided by the toss of a halfpenny that Concanen should defend the ministry. |
b. to argue the toss, to dispute a decision or opinion.
| 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 288 Toss, to argue the, to dispute: wrangle: to have too much to say. 1945 Penguin New Writing XXIV. 84 Poetry was never much in my line, except Shelley, and Terry didn't think much of him, so..we argued the toss about it. 1958 Economist 11 Jan. 92/2 The Prime Minister's..venture..cannot do more than clear the way... More is involved than just arguing the tosses of the moment. 1978 ‘M. Underwood’ Crooked Wood iv. 61 He was not in a strong position to argue the toss. |
c. fig. In negative contexts: a jot, a whit, a very small amount. Usu. in phr. not to care (or give) a toss. colloq.
| 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. xxviii, I don't care a toss where you are. 1925 P. Gibbs Unchanging Quest xviii. 132 She..didn't care a toss what people thought of her. 1973 Time Out 2–5 Mar. 13/1, I don't give a toss whether he's black, white or purple. 1979 Bull. Yorks. Dial. Soc. No. 26. 11 Ah deean't odd wi them as mooan As prices mak em cross. Then spend ther brass on eeaps o things Wat isn't woth a toss. |
7. The throwing off of homing pigeons in a trial of their flight and homing powers.
| 1882 J. L. Burgess Homing Fancier's Ann. 11 The intermediate tosses were Redhill, 184 miles from Brussels, and Worcester, 280 miles. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 1 June 9/2 As some of the ‘tosses’ numbered 6,000 birds at one time, the sight was a remarkable one. 1899 G. J. Larner in 19th Cent. XLV. 819 The first of these two experimental tosses took place on the 17th of December last year. |
† 8. (?) A payment. Obs.
| 1630 Massinger Picture ii. ii, Yet, not to take From the magnificence of the King, I will Dispense his bounty too, but as a page To wait on mine: for other tosses, take A hundred-thousand crowns. |
9. A measure for sprats: see quot.
| 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 69/2 They [sprats] are sold at Billingsgate by the ‘toss’ or ‘chuck’, which is about half a bushel, and weighs from 40 lbs. to 50 lbs. |
10. a. toss-up. The throwing up of a coin to arrive at a decision: see toss v. 15.
| 17.. Laws of Cricket in Grace Cricket (1891) 14 The party that wins the toss-up shall go in first at his option. 1802–12 Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) V. 64 What charity-boy..was ever at a loss to know that the toss-up of a half⁓penny was worth a farthing. 1868 ‘S. Daryl’ Quoits & Bowls 48 A toss-up decides which party is to play first. |
b. fig. A chance where the probability either way is equal; an even chance. colloq.
| 1809 Malkin Gil Blas xi. vii. (Rtldg.) 407 It is a toss up who fails and who succeeds. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xii, It was a toss-up with Tom Pinch whether he should laugh or cry. 1862 J. Skelton Nugæ Crit. vi. 257 It is generally the merest ‘toss-up’ what verdict the..critic pronounces on any work. 1888 Times (weekly ed.) 14 Sept. 15/1 It was a toss up whether Lord Salisbury was going to offer them an Irish Government or a Coercion Act. |
11. toss-off. An act of masturbation. Cf. toss v. 13 d. coarse slang.
| 1735 Rake's Progress iii. 19 Or loudly sing some bawdy Song, Then drops into St. D—n's C—h, And take a Toss-off in the Porch. |
12. Comb.: toss pillow U.S. = scatter cushion s.v. scatter v. 7 b.
| 1956 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Fall & Winter 897 (heading) Toss pillows .. new colors .. styles .. shapes. 1978 Washington Post Mag. 26 Mar. 20/2 (Advt.), Matching toss pillows $10 each. |
▸ Brit. slang. Nonsense, rubbish. Freq. in a load of (old) toss. Cf. to toss off v. 4 at toss v. Phrasal verbs, tosh n.2, and also sense 6c.
| 1990 Viz. Dec. 7/3 (cartoon caption) See this book Tom... Yes, I've read it actually. Yeah. Me n'all. Right load of toss, isn't it. But at sixteen quid a throw, he must be coining it in. 1995 New Musical Express 28 Oct. 53/1 The..bleedin' quadriplegic music-hall toss that is ‘Fortune Fish’. 2003 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 20 Feb. 15 This pop lark's a load of old toss. |
▪ II. toss, n.2 dial.
[A variant of tass1.]
A heap, stack; = tass1.
| 1695 Kennett Par. Antiq. II. Gloss. s.v. Thassare, To lay up hay or corn into a tass, toss, stack or mow. Ibid., A mow of corn in a barn is called in Kent the toss. 1847–78 Halliwell, Toss, the mow or bay of a barn into which the corn is put preparatory to its being threshed. |
▪ III. † toss, n.3
var. of or misprint for tass2.
| 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 231 A Silver Toss, or Cup. Ibid. 399 Bowls of Wine,..most of Silver, some of Gold, which we call a Toss, and is made like a Wooden Dish. |
▪ IV. toss, v.
(tɒs, -ɔː-)
Pa. tense and pple. tossed (tɒst, -ɔː-), also 6– tost.
[In use soon after 1500, and current in nearly all its senses by 1550. Origin uncertain: the only cognate word appears to be the Norw. and Sw. dialect tossa to spread, strew (Aasen); Welsh tosio is from Eng.]
I. trans.
1. To throw, pitch, or fling about, here and there, or to and fro: expressing the action of wind or wave, or the light, careless, or disdainful action of a person, on something easily moved.
| 1506 Sir R. Guylforde Pilgr. (Camden) 73 Howbeit the wroughte sees tossyd and rolled vs ryght greuously. 1526 Tindale Matt. xiv. 24 The shippe was in the middes of the see, and was toost with waves. ― Jas. i. 6 Lyke the waves off the see, tost off the wynde. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 301 Not restynge, they dyd cary the & tosse the from place to place. 1603 Miracles Our Saviour in Farr S.P. Jas. I (1848) 356 The Shaking ships amid the seas ytost. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 19 The shippes are tossed they know not where. 1782 Cowper Parrot i, A native of the gorgeous east, By many a billow tost. 1852 Thackeray Esmond ii. vii, Mistress Beatrix,..tossing her rustling flowing draperies about her, and quitting the room, followed by her mother. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid i. 524 We Troy's ill-starred sons, long tossed by the winds on the deep. |
b. fig. or in fig. context.
| 1545 Brinklow Compl. 21 b, How men be tossed from one court to another. Ibid. 59 b, He that denyeth them but one grote.. how will thei tosse hym in the lawe. 1569 W. Samuel vii Chapter of Job ii, Both night and day they haue their toyl With work and dreames itost. 1592 G. Harvey Four Lett. iii. Wks. (Grosart) I. 195 He tost his imagination a thousand waies. 1611 Bible Eph. iv. 14 That we..be no more children, tossed to and fro, and caried about with euery winde of doctrine. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. xii. lii, Though I poore changeling rove, Tost up and down in waves of worldly floud. 1727 Gay Fables i. xvi. 17 Here, there, by various fortune tost. 1823 Chalmers Serm. I. 245 This unhappy man thus tost and bewildered and thrown into a general unceasing Frenzy. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. i. i, I have been tossed about a good deal of late years. |
c. U.S. slang. To search (a building or person) in the course of a police investigation. Cf. toss n.1 3 c.
| 1939 Fortune July 102/2 [He] sent a couple of detectives across town to ‘toss their flat’ (i.e. search their apartment). 1969 ‘P. Kavanagh’ Such Men are Dangerous vii. 82 They tossed the room while I had breakfast. 1972 B. Garfield Line of Succession iii. 186 He had been tossed seven times..but no drugs had been found on him. 1980 ‘E. McBain’ Ghosts iii. 56 We ought to try for an order to toss his apartment. |
† 2. To turn over and over, to turn the leaves of (a book, etc.). Obs.
| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions Ded. 2 The searche of wisedome and vertue, for whose sake either we tosse, or oughte to tosse so many papers and tongues. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 99, I will to Athens, there to tosse my books. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 159 Whether in tossing ouer your bookes, you haue light vpon that place where Cicero giueth a nip to his daughter. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. Pref., What labour it was to tomble, tosse, and search so manie bookes. 1730 T. Boston Mem. xi. (1899) 373 The huge toil in tossing lexicons and the Hebrew concordance. |
3. To shake, shake up, stir up.
| 1557 N. T. (Genev.) Matt. xxiv. 29 The powers of heaven shall be tossed. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 208 Thomas..was much tossed and shaken. 1811 Ora & Juliet I. 205 She tossed the cup after breakfast, and read the fortunes of the maid-servants. 1834 M. Scott Cruise Midge (1859) 391 A tall solitary palm shot up and tossed its wide spreading fan like leaves in the night wind. |
† b. To fling (hay, wool, etc.) abroad, so as to loosen the mass. Obs. exc. as in 1.
| 1557 Tusser 100 Points Husb. xci, With tossing and raking, and setting on cox: The grasse that was grene, is now hay for an ox. 1573 ― Husb. (1878) 131 No turning of peason till carrege ye make,..By turning and tossing they shed as they lie. 1581 A. Hall Iliad vi. 118 Of some Greeke thou shalt become the slaue Who to his country shal thee leade to tease and tosse his wul. |
c. Tin-refining. (See quot.)
| 1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts Ser. iii. 452/1 The refining [of tin] may be divided into two stages, liquation and tossing... The same effect is sometimes produced by ‘tossing’, or raising the metal in ladles, and pouring, from some height through the air, back again into the pan. |
¶ d. Tin-mining. Erron. used for toze v.2, q.v.
e. In cookery, to stir or turn (food) over, esp. so as to coat it with butter, oil, etc.
| 1723 J. Nott Cook's & Confectioner's Dict. No. 107a Artichokes with cream... Toss them up with butter. 1877 E. S. Dallas Kettner's Bk. of Table 120 The fillets..are to be lightly tossed in butter, taking care not to colour them. 1913 C. M. Pearse Kitchen Garden & Cook 197 Separate the endive into tufts. Toss these in the salad dressing. 1952 G. W. Brace Spire (1953) viii. 69 The salad was tossed amid murmurs of pleasure. 1976 ‘Trevanian’ Main (1977) v. 109 You don't stir a salad. You toss it. |
4. fig. To disturb or agitate socially or politically.
| 1552 R. Ascham Germany 36 Cæsar..also tossed the whole world with battle & slaughter, even almost from the sun setting unto the sun rising. 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 250 Hee tossed both Sea, and Land with mixture of his miseries. 1796 Burke Regic. Peace ii. Wks. VIII. 256 The..speculator Harrington, who has tossed about society into all forms. |
b. To disquiet or agitate in mind; to set in commotion, as by shifting opinions, feelings, circumstances, or influences; to disturb, disorder.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 172 b, To be exercised and tossed in dyuerse temptacyons. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 53 Contrary motions do tosse and diuersly draw his soule. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 55 That troublous dreame gan freshly tosse his braine. 1632 Lithgow Trav. v. 199 Thus was I tost..With strugling doubts. 1833 H. Martineau Tale of Tyne iv, The seamen were tossed in spirit through fear of the press gang. 1834 J. MacDonald in Tweedie Life iii. (1849) 238 My mind is tossed by various considerations. |
II. intr. (Related to I.)
† 5. To be in mental agitation or distraction; to be disquieted in mind or circumstances. Obs.
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. ii. (Percy Soc.) 14 So forthe I went, tossynge on my brayne. 1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 35/1 Katheryne whiche longe tyme tossed in either fortune sommetime in wealth, ofte in aduersitye. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. viii. 20 b, The Captaine generall and the other Captaines thus tossing vp and downe, to and fro, as well with their ships, as also in their mindes, determined to beare towards the Ilande of Mombassa. |
6. a. for refl. To fling or jerk oneself about; to move about restlessly.
| 1560 Bible (Genev.) Job vii. 4, I am euen ful with tossing to and fro vnto the dawning of the day. 1575 Gamm. Gurton i. v. 11 See how Hodg lieth tomblynge and tossing amids the floure. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 151 Burning fevers shall leave you never a whit sooner,..if you tosse in woven imagerie,..than if you lie under..ordinarie coverings. 1754 Gray Pleasure 45 Wretch, that long has tost On the thorny bed of Pain. 1886 Tip Cat xix, The child was tossing and turning and talking in her sleep. |
b. for pass. To be flung or rocked about; to be kept in motion; to be agitated.
| 1582 [see 5]. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 8 Your minde is tossing on the Ocean. 1809 J. C. Moore Camp. Spain 2 The soldiers..remained tossing on board the crowded transports. 1827 Pollok Course T. x. 471 The unfathomable lake, Tossing with tides of dark, tempestuous wrath. 1835 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 131 A fleet of merchantmen tossing on the waves. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan i. i. 20 Roots that cling as the branches toss. |
III. trans.
* To throw in a specified direction.
7. To throw, cast, pitch, fling, hurl (without any notion of agitation).
| 1570 Googe Pop. Kingd. iv. (1880) 47 b, The Dice are shakte and tost, and Cardes apace they teare. 1611 Bible Isa. xxii. 18 He will surely violently turne and tosse thee, like a ball into a large countrey. 1670 Cotton Espernon ii. vi. 283 Had he known his temerity, he would have caus'd Marsillac to have been tost out of the Windows. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 139 We lost one Man, who was Tossed off the Maintop Mast into the Sea. 1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Abbé Conti 31 July, The governor's daughter..tossed a note to him over the wall. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. xiv, The falc'ner tossed his hawk away. 1830 in Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) II. 308 Two or three, or even one man, may, if not tossed out at once, disturb and interrupt every thing. 1853 Kingsley Hypatia xvi, He tossed his purse among the crowd. 1857 G. Bird's Urin. Deposits (ed. 5) 217 It seems now to run some risk of being tossed aside as a thing of no consequence. |
b. absol. To fling oneself (like a body tossed).
| 1728 Young Love Fame v. 477 They throw their persons with a hoydon-air Across the room, and toss into the chair. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. xiii, She tossed out of the room, being in one of her flighty humours then. |
8. esp. Of two players: To throw, or impel by hitting (a ball, etc.) to and fro between them: cf. to toss from pillar to post (pillar n. 11). Often fig. or in fig. context.
| 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy) 67 From poste unto piller tossed shalt thou be. a 1533 Frith Another Bk. agst. Rastell Pref. A v, It is not Inoughe for a man playinge at tennes to tosse the ball agayn, but he must so tosse it that the tother take it not. 1550 Crowley Last Trump. 562 To play tenise, or tosse the ball. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 248 This Ball was busily tossed betweene the King and the Pope. 1879 Stainer Music of Bible 83 Shrill echoes ever and anon tossed from side to side. |
b. fig. spec. To bandy (a subject or question) from one side to the other in debate; to discuss; to make the subject of talk.
| c 1540 tr. Pol. Verg. Eng. Hist. (Camden) II. 8 The Frenche, somewhat appalled,..tossed the matter amongst themselves what best were to do. 1637 Gillespie Eng. Pop. Cerem. iii. viii. 177 When questions and controversies of Faith, are tossed in the Church. 1700 Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 68 There is nothing more usual among schollars..than to toss an argument, and that sometimes to too great a height of heat and animosity. 1795 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 325 If we were to toss the matter about..for twenty days, we could only end as we began. 1859 Tennyson Lancelot & Elaine 233 Then she, who..heard her name so tost about, Flush'd slightly at the slight disparagement. |
** spec. To throw up.
9. To throw up, throw into the air; esp. to throw (a coin, etc.) up, to see how it falls; = toss up, 15 a.
to toss in a blanket, to throw (a person) upward repeatedly from a blanket held slackly at each corner: see blanket n. 2. to toss a pancake, to throw it up so that it falls back into the pan with the other side up.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (1531) 166 As a ball, whiche yf it be tossed and cast vp streyght, it falleth down directly..in the hande of hym that cast it vp. 1597, 1682 [see blanket n. 2]. 1598 Florio, Zombata, a tossing in a blanket. 1619 [see pancake 1]. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 45 He that has a minde to be tossed in the Air, sits down on a good seat of Wood, that is fastened to the end of the Ropes. 1688 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. IV. 125 Capt. Ouseley is said to be come to town to give his reasons for tossing the Mayor of Scarborough in a blanket. a 1711 Ken Blondina Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 526 A mad furious Bull..Who gor'd and toss'd her to the Sky. 1713 Young Last Day i. 250 The foaming surges, tost on high. a 1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 206 Turn it [a pancake] or, if you can, toss it, which is much better. 1841 Catlin N. Amer. Ind. I. iv. 25 Mons. Chardon ‘tossed the feather’ (a custom always observed to try the course of the wind). 1863 Kingsley Water Bab. i, He was tossing halfpennies with the other boys. 1900 G. C. Brodrick Mem. & Impress. 4 The newly-elected members were bound to undergo the ceremony of ‘chairing’, and were regularly ‘tossed’ at a particular spot. |
| fig. 1791 Boswell Johnson 8 May an. 1778, I don't care how often, or how high, he tosses me, when only friends are present. 1843 Lytton Last Bar. iv. ii, He thinks he tosseth all London on his own horns. |
b. absol. = toss up, 15 b. (Cf. toss n.1 9.)
| 1833 J. Nyren Yng. Cricketer's Tutor 20 The parties shall toss for the choice of innings. 1893 D. J. Rankin Zambesi Basin iv. 66 We tossed who should have first shot. My friend won. |
c. To wager with (a person) on the toss of a coin. Usu. const. for (something).
| 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 196/1 To ‘toss the pieman’ is a favourite pastime with costermongers' boys... If the pieman win the toss, he receives 1d. without giving a pie. 1858 G. H. Lewes Sea-Side Stud. iv. i. 271 We used to ‘toss’ the pieman for epicurean slices of pudding—a vulgar, but seductive form of juvenile gambling. 1942 Wodehouse Money in Bank (1946) xv. 128 He was in the frame of mind when he would have patted a small boy on the head and given him sixpence, though it is probable that a moment later he would have tossed him for it and won it back again. 1983 ‘D. Shannon’ Exploit of Death (1984) i. 18 ‘I'll toss you for the job.’ Conway produced a quarter and flipped it. |
d. To release (a homing pigeon) in a race or trial flight. Cf. toss n.1 7.
| 1882 J. L. Burgess Homing Fancier's Ann. 10 Five hundred and eighty-nine birds were tossed at 4 a.m. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 596/2 Training..consists in taking it [sc. the bird] out in a closed wicker basket and liberating or ‘tossing’ it at gradually increasing distances from its loft. |
10. To throw or jerk up suddenly without letting go; † spec. to brandish (arms) (obs.). to toss oars, ‘to throw them up out of the rowlocks, and raise them perpendicularly an-end’ (Adm. Smyth).
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 48 Sword,..speare,.. Where haue yee left your lord, that could so well you tosse? 1598 Barret Theor. Warres iii. i. 37 The good Picquier ought to learne to tosse his pike well. 1626 Gouge Serm. Dignity Chivalry §11 More fit..to lift a pitchforke then to tosse a pike. 1697 Dryden Alexander's Feast vi, Behold how they toss their torches on high. 1718 Pope Iliad iii. 323 Paris thy son, and Sparta's King advance, In measur'd lists to toss the weighty lance. 1830 Marryat King's Own xxx, The boats' crews tossed their oars while the cheers were given. 1894 C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 181 The junior salutes the senior, if the latter be royalty, or a flag-officer, by tossing oars. |
† b. To drink out of (a cup, etc.), tilting it up; hence, to empty by drinking; = toss off, 13 a. Obs.
| 1568 U. Fulwell Like will to Like B iv, From morning til night I sit tossing the black bole. 1695 Congreve Love for L. iii. xv, For my Part, I mean to toss a Can, and remember my Sweet-Heart, a-fore I turn in. 1708 Hudson in Hearne Collect. 3 Aug. (O.H.S.) II. 123 Who w{supt}{suph} our merry Greek tosst a bottle. |
11. To lift, jerk, or throw up (the head, etc.) with a sudden, impatient, or spirited movement.
| 1591 Sylvester Ivry 119 Some Savage Bull..tosses his head on high. 1678 Dryden All for Love i. i, Sea-horses..Toss'd up their heads, and dash'd the ooze about 'em. 1756 C. Smart tr. Horace, Sat. i. vi. (1826) II. 55 Do you..toss up your nose at obscure people. 1822 Scott Nigel i, Tossing his head as one who valued not the raillery to which he had been exposed. 1849 Miss Mulock Ogilvies i, The first speaker tossed her head. |
IV. With adverbs.
12. toss in. To finish, to give up. N.Z. slang.
| 1956 D. M. Davin Sullen Bell ii. iv. 128 I'd toss it in for tonight, Miss Simm. It's an ugly night and you should get your train home. 1971 N.Z. Listener 19 Apr. 56/5 In the end they saw some hogsbacks up above the col so they tossed it in and glissaded down back to their bivvy. |
13. toss off. a. To drink off with energetic action. b. To dispose of in an off-hand manner. c. To do or make easily, without effort. d. trans. and intr. To masturbate. slang.
| c 1590 Greene Fr. Bacon i. 15 Tossing off ale and milk in country cans. 1816 T. L. Peacock Headlong Hall xi, Having..insisted on every gentleman tossing off a half-pint bumper. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop lxii, Drink that... Toss it off, don't leave any heel-tap. 1845 Judd Margaret ii. i, Have you read Cynthia?.. It is a delightful thing to toss off a dull hour with. 1874 L. Troubridge Life amongst Troubridges (1966) 80 A new rage..for painting the panels of the shutters of our bedrooms..and they only take a jiffy to toss off. 1884 G. Allen Philistia II. 32 Herbert, having tossed off his coffee. 1879–80 Pearl (1970) 258, I don't like to see, though at me you might scoff, An old woman trying to toss herself off. 1915 L. Strachey Let. 12 Mar. in P. N. Furbank E. M. Forster (1979) II. i. 16 À propos of Maurice tossing himself off..you say—‘He knew what the price would be—a creeping apathy towards all things.’ 1927 Joyce Let. 25 July (1966) III. 162 The verb ‘to toss off’ an expression for ‘to masturbate’. 1937 M. Hillis Orchids on your Budget (1938) vi. 109 Any man worth anything could toss off a rarebit or an omelet. 1969 Jeremy I. iii. 22/1 All they want to do is toss off in the cottage while they look at my prick. 1979 Church Times 17 Aug. 7/1 [These books] do not provide bibliographical support for the learned references tossed off in the articles. 1981 ‘D. Kavanagh’ Fiddle City iv. 82 Would you like me to toss you off?.. It's ten if you're worried about the price. |
14. toss out. See prec. senses and out; in quot., to dress smartly, ‘trick out’.
| 1759 Goldsm. Bee 13 Oct. (On Dress), A damsel, tossed out in all the gaiety of fifteen. |
15. toss up. a. See also prec. senses and up.
| 1588 Deloney Q. Eliz. at Tilbury Poems (1912) 476 Tossing up her plume of feathers to them all as they did stand. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 36 Rubbing my quiet bosome, tossing up A gratefull spirit to Omnipotence! 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. 59 The Boat..lay as the Wind and the Sea had toss'd her up upon the Land. 1743 in Howell St. Trials (1813) XVII. 1179 One's hair is now tossed up in such a manner that its hard to distinguish between a person's own hair and a wig. 1840 Marryat Poor Jack vi, We tossed up our oars, and laid by. 1859 Habits Gd. Society vii. 249 The head should..not [be] tossed up nor jerked on one side with that air of pertness. |
b. absol. To toss a coin or some object in the air to wager on which side it will fall, or to determine a question by this: see head n. 3 b.
| 1704 Hymn Vict. lviii, Victoria Tosses-up for Cross or Pile. 1762 Wilkes Let. to Earl Temple (1769) I. 31 They tossed up, and it fell to my adjutant to give the word. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas i. v. ¶9 Tossing up for heads or tails was not my ruling passion. 1861 Dickens Gt. Expect. xxxi, Some inclining to both opinions said ‘toss up for it’. |
† c. To cook or dress (food, a meal) hastily; to prepare, to serve up. Also fig. Obs.
| c 1685 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Confer. Wks. 1705 II. 54 Our ancient Matron had tossed up a nice Breakfast, out of the remainders of the Capons. 1710 Tatler No. 258 ¶1 To toss up the Fragments of a Feast into a Ragoust. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 137 The Booksellers..had a better Knack at tossing up a Title [for a book]. 1818 Scott Rob Roy viii, But you have not dined—we'll have something nice and ladylike, sweet and pretty like yourself, tossed up in a trice. |
Add: [III.] [7.] c. trans. (Without advb.) To discard or throw away. Cf. chuck v. 2 c. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 20 June 2-b/1 But the large numbers of outdated books take up too much space and must be tossed, he added. 1985 Dirt Bike Mar. 14/3 The top end should be removed and inspected frequently... When that ring end gap exceeds the manual specs, toss it. 1989 M. H. Kingston Tripmaster Monkey (1990) i. 7 Wittman tossed his smoke and headed for an exit from the park. |
▪ V. toss, tosser etc.,
erron. ff. toze, tozer, etc.