ˈturn-down, a. and n.
Also turndown.
[f. the verbal phr. turn down (turn v. 72).]
A. adj.
1. That turns down or may be turned down; esp. said of a collar worn with the upper part turned down over the neck-band; turn-down bed, a folding bed.
| 1840 Marryat Poor Jack xlvi, He wore..a turn-down collar. a 1860 Alb. Smith Lond. Med. Student (1861) 86 The faithful Mary..has long since retired to rest in the turn-down bedstead of the back kitchen. 1884 Marshall's Tennis Cuts 104 A pretty shape which..admits of a tie being passed under the turn-down corners. |
2. Electr. spec. designating an incandescent lamp of which one small filament only is used when little light is wanted.
| 1911 in Webster. |
B. n.
1. The turned-down part of anything; also, an article of dress that is worn turned down; spec. a turn-down collar (see A. 1).
| 1849 Alb. Smith Pottleton Leg. iv, Her other hand..hidden beneath the turn-down of the thin worn sheet. 1865 Lever Luttrell xxxii. 232, I showed him the turn-down, only the turn-down, of your note. 1896 Punch 8 Aug. 64/1 When he's out of Jackets and Turn-downs, and gets into Tails and Stick-ups! 1903 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 372/1 Heather stockings with loud-patterned ‘turn-downs’. |
2. a. The action of turning down (see turn v. 72 d).
| 1902 Speaker 23 Aug. 550/2, I look back on that period of sour welcome and curt turn-down with feelings I cannot express. |
b. U.S. A person who is ‘turned down’ or rejected, esp. as unfit for military service.
| 1945 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 30 Jan. 4/1 The high proportion of turndowns among Negro registrants. 1977 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 23 July 14/1 We've gotten a lot of turndowns, yeah; but we've gotten guys who're willing, too. |
3. = down-turn, downturn n.
| 1957 Economist 26 Oct. 283 This slow-down in expansion is not the same thing as a turn-down in activity. 1960 V. Packard Waste Makers (1961) xiv. 153 How far Americans could continue running up debts..during an economic turndown was not clear. 1979 Daily Tel. 5 May 23/2 Shares in EMI were sent reeling yesterday after a warning by the company of likely..losses..following an unforeseen and severe turndown in its music division. 1980 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts Mar. 208/2 The industry..is fearful of a turn down in the volume of work. |