▪ I. smoke, n.
(sməʊk)
Forms: 1 smoca (smocca), 2– smoke, 5 smokke, 6–7 smok; 6 Sc. smoik, 6–8 smoake, 6–9 smoak.
[OE. smoca, f. the weak grade of the stem represented by OE. sméocan smeek v. To a different grade (smauk-) belong MDu. smoock (Du. smook), MLG. (and LG.) smôk, smök (hence Da. sm{obar}g), MHG. smouch (G. schmauch). See also smook n.]
I. 1. a. The visible volatile product given off by burning or smouldering substances.
| α c 1000 Lambeth Ps. xvii. 9 Astah smoca on yrre his. c 1000 in Cockayne Narrat. (1861) 43 Ut æt his nosu eode micel smocca. a 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137, Me henged up bi the fet & smoked heom mid ful smoke. a 1200 St. Marher. 9 On his hehe hokede neose þreaste smeorðrinde smoke ut. c 1290 St. Brendan 491 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 233 Strong was þe stunch and þe smoke. c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4727 Þat es blode and fire and brethe of smoke. c 1400 Destr. Troy 9512 The smoke of þe smert loghys..waivet in the welkyn. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 461/1 Smoke, reke, idem quod Reke. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 100 In the smoke of the gunnes let us entre the gate. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa iii. 133 It cannot be spoiled either by smoke, or too much heat. 1718 Prior Solomon iii. 522 As smoke that rises from the kindling fires Is seen this moment, and the next expires. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 156 A large fire..filling the whole place with smoke. 1829 Lytton Devereux i. viii, Don Diego, inhaling the fragrant weed,..replied to the request of his petitioner by smoke. 1888 F. Hume Mme. Midas i. v, The smoke was pouring out thick and black from the tall red chimney. |
| β 1591 Greene Farew. to Follie Wks. (Grosart) IX. 343 [He] was tied to a post and choaked with smoake. 1660 Boyle New Exper. xxx. (1682) 113 Filled the Reciever with smoak. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 47 Soot may be rather deemed the smoak itself. 1810 Vince Astron. xvii. 159 He compared them to smoak and clouds. |
† b. ellipt. The fumes of incense. Also
fig. Obs.| c 1450 Myrr. Our Lady 327 Mercifull virgyn,..rodde of smoke, but swete smellynge. a 1627 Sir J. Beaumont Poems, The Epiphany 35 Who lift to God for vs the holy smoke Of feruent pray'rs. |
c. The fact of smoke coming out into a room instead of passing up the chimney.
| 1715 Desaguliers Fires Impr. 69 We shall..shew of what service the..passage of Air behind the Back is, for hind'ring Smoke. Ibid. 72 When you wou'd prevent Smoke. |
d. the (big, great) smoke, a colloquial name for London. Also, any large city or town (chiefly
Austral.).
| 1848 H. W. Haygarth Recoll. Bush Life in Australia 6 As he gradually leaves behind him the ‘big smoke’ (as the aborigines picturesquely call the town), the accommodations become more and more scanty. 1864 Slang Dict. 237 Country-people when going to the Metropolis say they are on their way to the Smoke. 1893 J. A. Barry Steve Brown's Bunyip 21 You want to get away amongst the spielers and forties of the big smoke? 1897 F. T. Bullen Cruise ‘Cachalot’ xxv. (1901) 330, I desired to know what brought him so far from the ‘big smoke’. 1903 Farmer & Henley Slang VI. 270 The Smoke = any large city: spec. London: also The Great Smoke. 1971 Sunday Australian 8 Aug. 5/3 The unhappy pilgrimage from bush to big smoke. |
e. transf. The pollen of the yew when scattered in a cloud.
| 1868 Lady Tennyson in Life Tennyson (1897) II. ii. 53 There has been a great deal of smoke in the yew-trees this year. 1869 Tennyson Holy Grail 15 A gustful April morn That puff'd the swaying branches into smoke. |
f. A shade of grey.
| 1882 Cassell's Family Mag. Apr. 314/2 Charming colouring.., smoke, bright blues and drabs. 1923 Daily Mail 13 Feb. 13 (Advt.), Wool hose..in..It. grey, shoe grey, smoke, mole. 1971 [see kasha1 2]. 1978 Hot Car June 981 (Advt.), All Portholes are supplied domed either in clear, blue, green, smoke, bronze or black perspex. |
2. a. With
a and
pl. A volume, cloud, or column of smoke. In
Amer. and
Austr. use
spec. one serving as a signal, sign of an encampment, etc. Also, a particular kind of smoke.
| sing. 1388 Wyclif Rev. ix. 2 A smoke of the pit stiede vp. c 1440 Jacob's Well 67 Þe feend, as a smoke, vanysched awey. 1594 R. Wilson Coblers Prophesie G j b, From one part let a smoke arise. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth iv. (1723) 228 Being succeeded by a Smoak, which..resembles fired Gun-powder. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. 209, I was afraid of making a Smoak about my Habitation. 1796 Withering Brit. Pl. (ed. 3) IV. 361 On being touched throwing up the seeds in form of a smoke. 1802 Barrington New South Wales vii. 224 Mr. Bass discovered a smoke that they had made to draw his attention. 1919 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. XLI. 312 The rate of disappearance of a finely divided smoke of a given concentration was greater than for a coarser smoke. 1950 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) X. 787/1 Determining the particle size of a smoke. |
| pl. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 21585 A-mong the smokys blake, Ther he gan hys bed to make. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxxxi. 421 They can nat..put you out of your realme by their smokes. 1620 Markham Farew. Husb. ii. xvii. (1668) 76 In seed time make great smoaks in your Corn-fields. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1699) 252 We..leave them a sign to know where we are by making one or more great Smoaks. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. xiii. 271 The enemy..were..incamped in the woods about us; for we could see their smokes. 1841 Catlin N. Amer. Ind. (1844) II. xli. 55 Their smokes were seen in various directions. 1890 Melbourne Argus 26 July 4/4 By-and-by answers came from smokes away in the bush. 1972 Combustion Sci. & Technol. VI. 55/1 Carbon smokes are generated by combustion. |
b. The smoke arising from a particular hearth or fire-place; hence, a hearth, fire-place, house. Now
rare.
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 1097 Leading all his life at home in Peace, Alwayes in sight of his own smoak. 1610 in Council Bk. Youghal Corp. (1878) 11 A scavenger..shall be paid yearly out of every smoak, 4d. at Michalmas and Easter. a 1687 Petty Polit. Arith. ii. (1691) 42 In Ireland wherein are..near 300 Thousand Smokes or Hearths. 1792 Stat. Acc. Scotl. IV. 316 For 6 miles in a well inhabited extent,..there was not a smoke remaining. 1883 Good Words XXIV. 717 There are [on Minglay] in all thirty houses, or ‘smokes’, as they are called. |
c. † (
a)
N. Amer. = smudge n.2 2.
Obs. (
b) (See
quot. 1961.)
| 1689 H. Kelsey Jrnl. 29 June (1929) 26 Abundance of Musketers & at night could not gett wood Enough for to make a smoke to Clear y{supm}. 1765 R. Rogers Conc. Account N. Amer. 140 It is difficult to sleep without a smoak in your bed-chamber, to expell [mosquitoes]. 1860 H. Y. Hind Assiniboine in Canad. Red River Exped. I. xiii. 286 At each camping place we were obliged to make ‘smokes’ to drive away these tormentors [sc. mosquitoes]. 1961 Amateur Gardening 4 Nov. Suppl. 47/2 Many of the modern insecticides and fungicides are sold in the form of small containers which when ignited give off clouds of vapour carrying fine chemical into all parts of the green⁓house. These devices are known simply as ‘smokes’. |
3. a. Fume or vapour caused by the action of heat on moisture.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxxiii. (Bodl. MS.), Þat þe lunges mowe open and close þe hoote smoke of þe herte. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 218 Dronknesse makyth for-yetynge..by reyson that the grete smokkes gone vp to the brayn. 1562 Turner Baths 9 They that woulde use the smooke or vaperouse ayer of this water. 1584 Lyly Alex. & Camp. ii. i, Steeds..whose breathes dimmed the sun with smoake. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. ii. (1651) 239 To purge the heart and brain from ill smoakes and vapours that offend them. a 1693 Urquhart's Rabelais iii. xxxvii. 311 Demanding payment for the Smoak of his Roast-meat. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xi. 136 You ought to have sense enough not to knock smoke out of fresh horses before we begin. |
b. A mist, fog, or miasma (see later
quots.).
| 1648 Hexham ii, Een Roock der aerden, a Smoake, a Mist, or Dampe, rising out of the earth. 1788 A. Falconbridge African Slave T. 51 Together with what they call the smokes (a noxious vapour, arising from the swamps about the latter end of autumn). 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 635 Smokes, dense exhalations, mixed with the finer particles of sand, on the Calabar shores and borders of the Great Zahara desert, which prevail in autumn. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 94 Those thick wool-like mists called smokes, which hang about the whole Bight from November till May. |
4. In proverbial, figurative, or allusive uses:
a. In miscellaneous applications or phrases.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 211 Whan every thing was fulli spoke, Of sorwe and queint was al the smoke. 1526 State Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 542 Of whom..I have lernyd many strange thinges, wherof I smelt a smoke at Calays. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 287, I perceiue..where the least smoake is, there to be the greatest fire. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. i. Wks. 1856 I. 13 His eyes looke as if they had bene hung In the smoake of his nose. 1670 G. H. tr. Hist. Cardinals i. i. 20, I..took my leave, as perceiving him fuller of smoak than of meat. 17.. in N. & Q. 3rd Ser. XII. 163/2 Never out of the smoke of your own chimney. 1774 Westm. Mag. II. 109 Their summum bonum lies in drinking themselves dead-drunk,..playing smoak with the girls. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. s.v., If a lent horse has been over-ridden, it is commonly remarked, ‘He played smoke with that horse, he has been good for nothing since’. 1870 Lowell Study Wind. 228 The first lesson of literature, no less than of life, is the learning how to burn your own smoke. |
b. In the proverbs
there is no fire without smoke, and
no smoke without fire, or variants of these: (see
fire n. 1 h).
| c 1450 MS. Douce 52 lf. 20 Where no fyre is no smoke. 1546– [see fire n. 1 h]. 1650 T. Hubbert Pill to purge Formality 133 There is no fire but there will be some smoak. 1654 Gataker Disc. Apol. 11 There is seldom anie smoak, but where there is some fire. 1705 Wycherley in Pope's Lett. (1735) I. 14 You must allow there is no Smoak but there is some Fire. 1820 Coleridge Lett., Conv., etc. I. 118 They..then exclaim: There is no smoke without some fire. |
† c. out of the smoke into the fire, etc., out of a small danger into a great one.
Obs. (
Cf. L.
de fumo in flammam, Ammianus.)
| 1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes f iv b, Leaste by fleynge the smoke, we fall into the fyre. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 299 Thus must I from the smoake into the smother. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xiv. ii. 25 Hee..went just as the old proverbe saith, out of the smoke into the light fire. |
d. Used to designate anything having no real value or substance, or a mere shadow
of something.
| 1548 tr. Papius' Conc. Apothecaries in Recorde Urinal Phys. (1651) 243 That the selfe-conceited..may learne to..brag and vaunt forth their vanities and smokes. 1559 Mirr. Mag. (1563) I v, Our kyngdomes are but cares,..our power a smouldring smoke. 1601–3 Daniel C'tess Cumberland 35 The all-guiding Prouidence..mocks this smoake of wit. 1621 J. Taylor (Water P.) Superbiæ Flagellum D 3 Their Pride is..A smoake, a bubble. 1705 Wycherley in Pope's Lett. (1735) I. 14 If Compliment be the Smoak only of Friendship. 1749 Smollett Gil Blas x. i, Preferring the smoke of public applause to the real advantages which my friendship prepared for him. 1806 Sporting Mag. XXVIII. 279 In his opinion it was all smoke. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 122 The ambitious man will think knowledge which is without honour all smoke and nonsense. |
e. Denoting a clouding or obscuring medium or influence.
spec. in
Espionage, false information to distract opponents.
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Fuligo, To speake obscurely: to cast a darke smoke or miste before their eies. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osorius 273 b, Why shamed he not to blind the eyes of the people with such smoakes? 1594 T. B. tr. De la Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 333 Their eies dimmed with some smoake of honours. 1603 J. Davies (Heref.) Microcosmos Wks. (Grosart) I. 78/1 The Eyes that..smoke of praise Doe dimme, are feeble-sighted. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 I. 167 Truth will not be discerned through the smoak of wrathful expressions. [1859 G. W. Matsell Vocabulum 82 Smoke, humbug; any thing said to conceal the true sentiment of the talker; to cover the intent.] 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 672 Thro' the smoke, The blight of low desires. 1873 Farrar Silence & V. Ser. i. 22 Reading them..through the lurid smoke of sectarian hate. 1966 ‘A. Hall’ 9th Directive xxi. 200 ‘No go. I got myself cornered. One dead.’.. ‘Do you need any smoke out?’ 1977 ‘J. le Carré’ Honourable Schoolboy iv. 91 For smoke..Molly chose a dozen other R's. |
f. Denoting fraudulent dealing in the fulfilment of bargains or promises;
esp. to sell smoke (after L.
fumum vendere), to act dishonestly, to swindle.
| 1589 Greene Menaphon Wks. (Grosart) VI. 106 You get but a handfull of smoake to the bargaine. 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuff Wks. (Grosart) V. 306 That for your selling smoake you may be courtiers. 1655 tr. Sorel's Com. Hist. Francion iv. 24, I abandoned their conversation, because I found they were but sellers of smoak. 1692 Washington tr. Milton's Def. People Pref., To relieve the necessities of Nature..by selling of Smoke, as thou dost. |
g. to come to smoke,
end in smoke,
vanish into, smoke, to come to nothing, be unrealized, be without result.
| 1604 E. Grimstone Siege Ostend 184 Their subtill deuises are come to smoake. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 44 The ill successe of the Queenes affaires (whose..Royall Army they had seene vanish into smoke). 1683 Temple Mem. Wks. 1720 I. 470 Thus ended in Smoke the whole Negotiation. 1704 Collect. Voy. & Trav. III. 699/2 His Designs vanished into Smoke. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. (1815) 168, I take it for granted, this whole affair will end in smoke. 1853 Mrs. Carlyle in New Lett. & Mem. II. 68 One might let him scheme and talk, hoping it might all end in smoke. |
h. like smoke, very quickly, rapidly.
| 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle x, Sail was made, and..she began to snore through it like smoke. 1840 Marryat Poor Jack vi, Away we all went like smoke. 1853 Dickens Bleak Ho. xi, His brandy-balls go off like smoke. 1860 G. J. Whyte-Melville Market Harb. 86 The hounds are running like smoke! |
i. to watch someone's smoke (
slang,
orig. U.S.), to watch someone go, to observe someone's actions; chiefly
imp. in
phr. watch my smoke.
| 1905 G. W. Peck Peck's Bad Boy with Circus ix. 114 The elephant..winked at the other elephants, as much as to say: ‘Watch my smoke.’ 1921 R. D. Paine Comrades Rolling Ocean i. 10 Suspend judgement and watch my smoke. That's all I ask. 1927 Wodehouse Meet Mr Mulliner iii. 82 ‘You are a curate, eh?’ ‘At present. But,’ said Augustine, tapping his companion on the chest, ‘just watch my smoke.’ 1928 C. Sandburg Good Morning, America 18 Let's go. Watch our smoke. Excuse our dust. 1947 Wodehouse Full Moon ii. 27 Look at Henry the Eighth... And Solomon. Once they started marrying, there was no holding them—you just sat back and watched their smoke. |
j. in(to) smoke (slang, chiefly
Austral.), in(to) hiding.
| 1924 C. J. Dennis Rose of Spadgers 72 ‘Jist now,’ says Brannigan, ‘Spike Wegg's in smoke. Oh, jist concerns a cove 'e tried to croak.’ 1938 P. J. Smith Con Man ix. 179 Denman advised Naysmith to remain ‘in smoke’—an expression meaning to hide himself—and play golf until Denman had stood his trial alone for the offence in Glasgow. 1943 K. Tennant Ride on Stranger xvii. 203 The New Zealand delegate returned anonymously, slipped ashore and ‘went into smoke’ like some famous criminal. 1967 K. S. Prichard Subtle Flame 252 Meanwhile Tony's got to be kept in smoke? |
k. to go up in smoke, to be consumed by fire; to be destroyed completely; also
fig., to lose one's temper.
| 1933 [see go v. 94 h]. 1939 ‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife 94 Oh, glory no! He'd go up in smoke. 1946 [see Interimsethik]. 1955 [see highbrow, high-brow n.]. |
5. a. (
a) Tobacco. Now
rare or
Obs.| 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 20* A small Gallon of Sack, and a pipe of the best smoake. 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) 71 Every skull And skip-iacke now will have his pipe of smoke And whiff it. 1649 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wand. West 19 They gave me smoake and drinke in Plimouth. 1853 ‘C. Bede’ Verdant Green i. vii, That if Mr. Larkyns was no smoker himself, he at least kept a bountiful supply of ‘smoke’ for his friends. |
(
b) Opium; (
c) marijuana.
| 1884 Kipling Plain Tales from Hills (1888) 238 The coffin is gone—gone to China again—with the old man and a couple of tolahs of Smoke inside, in case he should want 'em on the way. 1946 C. McCullers Member of Wedding iii. 192 Made crazy one night by a marihuana cigarette, by something called smoke or snow. 1956 S. Longstreet Real Jazz Old & New xiii. 104 He mixed..with studs shying a toy of opium. But there isn't much record that he went for tea-sticks or the smoke himself. 1963 H. Parkhurst Undertow (1964) v. 84 To her ‘smoke’ and the ‘kicks’ were the things that seemed to count. 1977 Rolling Stone 16 June 76/2 He wondered aloud if there were ‘smoke’ in the house, prompting people in the front rows to toss lit joints upon the stage. |
b. A cigar or cigarette; a marijuana cigarette. Also
fig.| 1882 Besant All Sorts 112 The twopenny smoke, to which we cling, though it is made of medicated cabbage. 1893 C. G. Leland Mem. I. 158 She was,..as we used to say at college of certain unpopular people, a ‘bad smoke’. 1967 [see joint n. 14 c]. 1980 ‘D. Kavanagh’ Duffy iii. 52 He'd known who handled smokes, who handled snort and who handled smack. |
6. [
f. the
vb.] A spell of smoking tobacco, etc.
to have (or take) a smoke, to smoke a pipe, cigarette, or cigar.
| 1835 A. B. Longstreet Georgia Scenes 213 Mrs. B. [to Mrs. S.]. Well, let's light our pipes, and take a short smoke, and go to bed. 1837 W. Irving Adv. Capt. Bonneville II. 286 A crowd of visiters awaited their appearance, all eager for a smoke and a talk. 1860 W. H. Russell My Diary in India II. iii. 53 Here..were to be seen a few soldiers,..lounging about, taking an early morning smoke. 1887 Lantern (New Orleans) May, in Amer. Speech (1948) XXIII. 247/2 A book-keeper for a large firm here begged an acquaintance for twenty-five cents to go and have a smoke with. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 241 It was considered reasonable to devote half an hour to rest..and a smoke for the stockmen. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 112 Ideal spot to have a quiet smoke and read the Church Times. 1926 J. Black You can't Win xi. 141, I..found my way into the hop joints. Curiosity was my only excuse for my first ‘smoke’. 1978 O. White Silent Reach xix. 206 Can't say I blame you. Have another smoke? |
7. a. Cape smoke, a cheap kind of brandy drunk in South Africa.
| 1849 E. E. Napier Exc. S. Afr. II. 9 A young Hottentot,..as fond of ‘Cape Smoke’..as any of his tribe. 1880 Gillmore On Duty 366 He produced a bottle of smoke (Cape brandy). 1893 Edin. Rev. Apr. 297 ‘Cape Smoke’ is the most poisonous of all alcoholic drinks. |
b. Cheap whisky; a concoction based on raw alcohol, etc., used as a substitute for whisky.
N. Amer.| 1904 ‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings iii. 52 Brandy, anisada, Scotch ‘smoke’ and various wines. 1928 Daily Tel. 9 Oct. 11/3 Twelve additional deaths today are attributed to week-end ‘jags’, which have been traced to ‘speak-easies’ in the New York east-end, where the liquor is known as ‘smoke’. 1940 Sun (Baltimore) 14 Nov. 8/2 Judge Eugene O'Dunne yesterday ruled that the sale of denatured alcohol diluted with water and known as ‘smoke’—comes within the effect of the liquor laws. 1950 [see rubby-dub s.v. rubby]. 1959 Washington Post 18 Aug. a3/4 It was the smoke that made Heaton a loner and junk peddler in the demolition jungles of the Southwest area. 1980 Amer. Speech 1977 LII. 117 Blends of anti-freeze and water, sometimes including methyl alcohol, solvent or paint remover, cleaning fluid, canned heat, or other alcohol mixtures: smoke. |
8. a. A Persian cat of a deep cinder-colour, with a white under-coat. Also, a short-haired cat with similar blue-grey or black colouring.
Also in combs., as
smoke-breeder,
smoke-fancier, etc.
| 1893 Westm. Gaz. 17 Oct. 4/3 Miss Brigden's cat should not be overlooked among the ‘smokes’. 1933 E. Buckworth-Herne-Soame Cats xviii. 99 A smoke is one of the most handsome cats living. 1958 Listener 28 Aug. 298/2 With two exceptions, the Chinchilla and smoke, short-hairs have the same variety of colour as do long-hairs. 1972 Ing & Pond Champion Cats of World 79/1 The first Smokes were bred by chance. Ibid. 99/2 Black and Blue Smoke. Except that the fur is short rather than long, the standard is the same as..the long-haired varieties. 1976 Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 11 Nov. (Advts. Suppl.) 14/3 Pedigree long-haired male kittens, black and blue smokes. |
b. An abusive and offensive term for a Black.
U.S. slang.| 1913 J. T. Foote Blister Jones viii. 242 ‘Who you callin' a smoke?’ says Snowball, startin' fur Micky. 1932 J. T. Farrell Young Lonigan i. 21 He had bashed the living moses out of that smoke who pulled a razor on him over in Carter playground. 1940 R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely iii. 24 There was five smokes carved Harlem sunsets on each other. 1970 L. Sanders Anderson Tapes xxxiii. 109 Five men. One's a smoke. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. 9. a. Attrib., in the sense of ‘consisting of smoke’, as
smoke-atmosphere,
smoke-barrage,
smoke-burst,
smoke-cloud,
smoke-column,
smoke-devil,
smoke-drift,
smoke-dust,
smoke-fog,
smoke-pall,
smoke-palm,
smoke-plume,
smoke-puff,
smoke-ring,
smoke-tower,
smoke-trail,
smoke-tube,
smoke-vapour,
smoke-whiff,
smoke-wreath, etc.
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iv. iv, It will burn..its whole *smoke-atmosphere too. |
| 1923 Kipling Irish Guards in Gt. War I. 317 A Guards Battalion..came up..under cover of what looked like a *smoke-barrage. |
| 1852 M. Arnold Empedocles ii. 417 Through the black, rushing *smoke-bursts, Thick breaks the red flame. |
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. i. iii, From yonder White Haven rise his *smoke-clouds. |
| 1932 Blunden Fall in Ghosts 10 The youth scurried away to the problem of preventing that *smoke-column from the cookers. |
| 1919 J. Masefield Battle of Somme 5 The No Man's Land, into which our men advanced, was a strip of earth without life, made smoky, dusty, and dim by explosions which came out of the air upon it, and left black, curling, slowly fading, dust and *smoke-devils behind them. |
| 1884 Athenæum 6 Dec. 739/1 Bars of light and shade belonging to the mist and *smoke-drift of London. |
| 1970 R. Lowell Notebook 247 *Smoke-dust the Chinese draftsman made eternal. |
| 1933 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) xiv. 88 *Smoke fog, fog due to particles of smoke in the atmosphere. A thick haze. |
| 1918 G. Frankau Poetical Wks. xx. 153 Southward, gray skies with *smoke-pall overcast. 1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet iii. 159 He actually heard the cow's voice..from beyond the smokepall on the other hill. |
| 1864 Lowell Fireside Trav. 8 Nor did the *smoke-palm of Vesuvius stand more erect and fair. |
| 1920 Glasgow Herald 3 July 6 We may even be deprived of some of these interesting *smoke-plumes that float proudly and unafraid over public works. 1978 Sci. Amer. May 162/1 There are two basic types of smoke plume: the momentum jet..and the buoyant plume. |
| 1897 W. S. Churchill in Daily Tel. 9 Nov. 7/6 The mountain battery..came into action and began shelling the summits, from which the *smoke-puffs were most frequent and continuous. |
| 1890 Sir R. S. Ball Star-Land 335 We can make many experiments with *smoke-rings. 1909 F. L. Barclay Rosary xxiv. 257 ‘And this pleases you?’ inquired the doctor, blowing smoke rings into the air. 1959 I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. xi. 220 A 14-year-old girl, Newbridge, Monmouthshire, writes: ‘If you see a smoke ring coming from an engine you can wish once, and if you see two smoke rings you can wish twice.’ 1971 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 July w.1/5 The industry tries all sorts of promotions from a cigar smoke ring blowing contest at Palisades Amusement Park..to cigar and cognac tasting sessions. |
| 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake ii. Wks. (1876) 19 His stature, on the mighty plan Of *smoke-tower o'er the burning pile. |
| 1933 O.E.D. (Suppl.) s.v. sky sb.1 9, *Smoke-trails made by aircraft. 1979 ‘P. O'Connor’ Into Strong City xxxviii. 142 A puffer making its way up the Clyde. A smoke trail. The sea calm. |
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. i. ii, Thou seest the *Smoke-vapour. |
| 1598 Marston Sco. Villanie iii. ix. 219 Belch impious blasphemies,..Snuffe vp *smoak-whiffs. |
| 1808 Scott Marm. iv. xxx, The *smoke-wreaths..That round her sable turrets flow. 1913 D. H. Lawrence Love Poems & Others 36 To-day a thicket of sunshine with blue smoke-wreaths. 1939 R. Campbell Flowering Rifle vi. 138 Through rolling smoke⁓wreaths, there, like ant-hills rise The kopjes in the nitre-breathing skies. |
b. Used for, or promoting, the escape of smoke, as
smoke-flue,
smoke-funnel,
smoke-hood,
smoke-pipe,
smoke-vent, etc.
| 1840 Cottager's Manual 7 in Husb. III. (L.U.K.), Vertical strata of gravel..alternating with *smoke-flues. |
| 1799 G. Smith Laboratory 143 A sort of funnel, like a *smoke funnel to an oven. |
| 1969 ‘M. Renault’ Fire from Heaven (1972) v. 199 King Archelaos had hung a *smoke-hood over the hearth. |
| 1853 Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) II. 105 The *smoke-pipe of a subsidiary fire. |
| 1856 Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxxi. 424 The *smoke-tubes of the stove. |
| 1912 J. L. Myres Dawn of Hist. viii. 185 In Crete the climate is mild enough..for portable braziers to suffice, and this release from anxiety for *smoke-vents encouraged the architects to daring experiments. 1936 Smoke-vent [see smoke-blackening, sense 9 c below]. |
c. Due to, or caused by, smoke, as
smoke-blackening,
smoke-blackness,
smoke-burn,
smoke-mark,
smoke-nuisance,
smoke-smell, etc.
| 1841 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. IV. 386 Smoke nuisance in large towns. 1874 Ruskin Fors Clav. xxxix. 56 Golden light and song..are better than smoke-blackness. 1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta (1890) 81 Sniffing extraordinary smoke-smells which she discovered in all nooks and crannies of the rooms. 1876 ‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer xxxi. 23 Holding their candles aloft and reading the tangled web-work of names..with which the rocky walls [of the cave] had been frescoed (in candle smoke)... They made a smoke-mark for future guidance. 1936 Discovery Feb. 55/2 The semi-conical apartment at the east end was evidently a fire-chamber, as traces of smoke-blackening were found on stones that had fallen from the roof and had once surrounded a smoke-vent. 1971 S. Hill Strange Meeting ii. 141 He had very pale, almost white eyelashes, and a curious mark, like a smoke burn, across his forehead. |
d. With names of colours, as
smoke-blue,
smoke-brown,
smoke-grey, etc. (used as
ns. or
adjs.).
London smoke: see
London.
| 1807 Aikin Dict. Chem. & Min. II. 98/1 Its colour is ash or smoak-grey. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 388 Their ordinary tint verges upon yellow, or smoke-yellow. a 1847 Eliza Cook Birds iii, There the smoke-brown Sparrow sits. 1901 C. Holland Mousmé 284 Overhung with smoke-blue mosquito curtains. 1903 [see sense 9 e]. 1924 [see Harris]. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 30 June 9-d/3 (Advt.), For sale 1976 Corvette... Red w/smoke gray interior. |
e. Having the colour of smoke; of a brownish or bluish grey colour.
smoke quartz, smoky quartz.
| 1872 E. Hull Build. & Ornament. Stones 175 Smoke quartz. This is a clouded variety [of rock crystal], with a brownish tint. 1884 Western Daily Press 11 Apr. 7/6 There are jackets of the finest cloth, geranium-red, electric-blue, smoke,..and brown. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 21 Sept. 3/2 The smoke fox, a blue-grey colouring which is really dyed. 1903 F. Simpson Bk. Cat xiv. 185 Perfect smoke cats..should be black, shading to smoke grey. |
10. Comb. a. Objective, with
pres. pples.,
adjs., agent-nouns, or nouns of action, as
smoke-belching,
smoke-burner,
smoke-burning,
smoke-chaser,
smoke-consumer,
smoke-consuming,
smoke-consumption,
smoke-consumptive,
smoke-control,
smoke-detecting,
smoke-detection,
smoke-detector,
smoke-discharger,
smoke-generator.
Many of these have been in common use from
c 1840.
| (a) 1596 C. Fitzgeffrey Sir F. Drake (1881) 96 O let our smoak-exhalinge breaths enfold A mightie cloud of sighes. 1612 Selden Illustr. Drayton's Poly-olb. xi. l. 139 Those foggie mists of error, and smoake-selling imposture. 1842 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. V. 42 This..furnace operates not upon the smoke-preventive, but upon the smoke-consumptive principle. Ibid. 131 The..furnace is in reality a smoke-burning and not a smoke-preventing. Ibid., Some new smoke-consuming theory. 1891 Morris News Nowhere 7 The soap-works with their smoke-vomiting chimneys were gone. 1962 Flight International LXXXI. 190/2 The Pyrene Co Ltd have contributed smoke-detecting..equipment to the D.H.121 Trident. 1963 Bird & Hutton-Stott Veteran Motor Car 81 They were extremely refined,..smoke-belching, costly,..and slow. 1974 Smoke-belching [see samlor]. |
| (b) 1604 Jas. I Counterbl. to Tobacco (Arb.) 111 Of so many smoke-buyers, as are at this present in this kingdome, I neuer read nor heard. 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 168 The adaptation of the patent smoke-consumer to a locomotive engine. Ibid. 344 The only effectual smoke-burner I have ever seen. 1851 Catal. Grt. Exhib. I. 328/1 Smoke condenser. 1891 Cent. Dict., Smoke-washer, a device for purifying smoke by washing as it passes through a chimney-flue. 1933 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) xiii. 3 Smoke generator, a pyrotechnic device, placed on the ground, emitting smoke for indicating wind direction. 1935 L. Luard Conquering Seas xii. 153 Shot thirty-five miles east of Cape. Towed for three hours. Double bag. Fish hard and golden. Worked edge of Strunda four days. Good living. Shifted to avoid smoke-chasers.—Trial shoot in 45 fathoms. Nowt. 1942 Sun (Baltimore) 14 May 4/2 Lookouts, smoke-chasers, firemen and organized stand-by crews to prevent, detect and fight forest fires. a 1944 K. Douglas Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) 16 There were also two smoke dischargers to be operated by me. Stacked round the sides of the turret were the six-pounder shells. 1957 Practical Wireless XXXIII. 683/2 Such devices as..a smoke detector and fire indicator. 1961 W. Vaughan-Thomas Anzio ix. 211 The smoke generators, manned by cheerful coloured troops, tried to blot out observation and protect the shipping from sneak raiders. 1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. b16/5 (Advt.), 117 West 58th St... Completely remodeled Prewar Bldg—featuring—..smoke detectors—ceramic tile kitch & bath. 1979 P. Alexander Show me Hero xx. 210 Kemp threw a canister of tear⁓gas... Quinn threw a smoke-discharger. |
| (c) 1842 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. V. 42/1 An incarnation (so to speak) of the principles of smoke-prevention. 1851 Catal. Grt. Exhib. I. p. xcix, Apparatus for effecting Smoke-consumption. 1882 (title), Official Report of the Smoke-Abatement Committee. 1936 Discovery May 146/2 Other uses [of light-sensitive cells] were for..smoke detection in factory chimneys. 1956 Ann. Reg. 1955 4 Densely populated areas designated for smoke-control. 1967 Economist 30 Dec. 1277/1 The real trouble is still the old one: too few smoke control orders in the Black Areas. |
b. Instrumental, with past
pples., as
smoke-begotten,
smoke-bleared, etc.
| 1872 C. W. King Antique Gems & Rings 148 *Smoke-begotten theories of modern German sciolists. |
| 1912 W. de la Mare Listeners 81 Vainly 'gainst that thin wall The trumpets call, Or with loud hum The *smoke-bemuffled drum. |
| 1890 A. Conan Doyle Firm of Girdlestone xiv. 111 Puffing at his weed and staring up at the *smoke-blackened ceiling. 1976 M. Machlin Pipeline lvi. 567 The small smoke-blackened figure walked slowly toward the forepeak of the Globtik Alamo. |
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. vi, A..dwarfish individual, of *smoke-bleared aspect. |
| 1720 Mem. W. Stukeley (Surtees) I. 157 Their painted or rather *smoak-bound hides. |
| 1919 Kipling Years Between 42 Witness thy portrait, *smoke-defiled. |
| 1817 Jrnl. Salem Mechanic 19 Oct. in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1866) VIII. 234, I have not seen a handsome woman since I left Salem; they are here [sc. Pittsburgh] all *smoke⁓dyed. 1822 Lamb Elia i. Distant Correspondents, Elms,..[with] smoke-dyed barks, the theme of jesting ruralists. |
| 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. i. lxx, The *smoke enrolled Their oracles break forth. |
| 1920 Evening Star (Washington) 14 June 1/2 Harry Daugherty..predicted that about 2.11 a.m., ‘in a *smoke⁓filled room’, on a certain night during the republican national convention, the next nominee would be chosen. 1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai v. 77 These damp and smokefilled holes. 1979 Now! 21–27 Sept. 74/3 Presidential candidates are not selected by political pros in smoke-filled rooms these days. |
| 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1862) I. 463 Those streets..so black and *smoke-grimed. |
| 1903 Work 21 Mar. 105/1 Incrustations due to the *smoke-laden atmosphere. 1975 Economist 6 Sept. 20/1 If you've ever tried to make clearheaded decisions in a stuffy, smoke-laden conference room, you'll appreciate what we mean. |
| 1963 Times 25 May 8/4 A fire officer said: ‘When we arrived ammunition was exploding everywhere. Our job was made even more difficult because the building was completely *smoke⁓logged.’ 1976 Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 13 Nov. 16/2 Firemen had to wear breathing equipment to get into the smoke-logged electrical input room on the first floor. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 583 Two shafts of light fall on the *smokepalled altarstone. |
| 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xlii, The daily passage of so many *smoke-pennoned steam-boats. |
| 1893 Kipling Seven Seas (1896) 97 To the *smoke-reddened eyes of Loben. |
| 1888 ― Departm. Ditties (1890) 81 Anger and pain and terror Stamped on the *smoke-scorched skin. |
| 1879 19th Cent. No. 31. 401 The swarming bustle of our *smoke-smothered towns. |
| 1833 Tennyson in Life (1897) I. 130 They are so *smoke-sodden. 1959 C. Devlin Sermons & Devotional Writings of G. M. Hopkins 5 In this *smoke-sodden little town he [sc. Hopkins] came up against people who needed him desperately. |
| 1849 Chambers's Edin. Jrnl. 24 Nov. 327/2 *Smoke-stained walls. 1965 J. A. Michener Source (1966) 71 Along the smoke-stained walls hung spears and clubs, animal skins drying for later use and baskets containing grain. |
| 1602 Carew Cornw. 72 Hanging me thus vp, to be *smoke-starued ouer your chimnies. |
| 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 429 There Fabrickes are..of *smoke-torne straw..and Raine-dropping watles. |
| 1951 L. MacNeice tr. Goethe's Faust ii. 193 Yon *smoke-warmed garment. |
c. With
adjs., as
smoke-dim,
smoke-foul,
smoke-like,
smoke-proof,
smoke-tight.
| 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast. xxviii. 98 We calked and pasted, and, so far as we could, made the ship smoke-tight. 1849 Thoreau Week Concord Riv. (1894) 4 Skirted..with alder-swamps and smoke-like maples. 1888 G. M. Hopkins Let. 1 May (1938) 145, I..dislike any town..for its bad and smokefoul air. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 24 Dec. 7/2 One of the firemen donned a smoke-proof suit and helmet. 1937 ‘G. Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier iv. 71 You walk through the smoke-dim slums of Manchester. |
11. Special combs.:
smoke alarm, a device that automatically gives a warning of the presence of smoke;
smoke-arch U.S., the smoke-box of a locomotive (Webster, 1864);
smoke-bell,
-board (see
quots.);
smoke-boat Naut. slang, a steamship;
smoke-bomb, a bomb which produces a smoke-screen;
smoke bush = smoke plant;
smoke candle (see
quot. 1962);
smoke canister, a canister whose contents can be ignited to produce smoke;
smoke concert N.Z., a concert at which smoking is allowed;
smokefall [after
nightfall]
rare—1, ‘the moment when the wind drops and smoke that had ascended descends’ (Dame Helen Gardner);
smoke-glass, an eyepiece or spectacle of smoked glass;
smoke goggles, goggles that protect the eyes against smoke;
smoke grenade, a grenade that emits a cloud of smoke on impact;
smoke-head, (
a) the head of a column of smoke; (
b)
Naut., a funnel;
smoke helmet, (
a) a helmet used by firemen, enabling the wearer to see and breathe freely in the midst of smoke; also, a similar helmet used by others; (
b) a form of respirator used for counteracting poison gas, etc., in the war of 1914–18;
† smoke-hen, a hen accustomed to perch in the smoke;
smoke-hound U.S. slang, an alcoholic who drinks smoke (see sense 7 b above);
smoke joint [
joint n. 14]
U.S. slang, a bar selling inferior liquor;
smoke-loft, a loft in which the smoking of bacon, etc., is done;
smoke-mantle, part of a furnace for roasting tin-ores;
† smoke-merchant, a tobacconist;
smoke-meter, an instrument for measuring the density or the composition of smoke;
† smoke-money, money paid by householders as a due or tax (see
quots. and
cf. smoke-penny);
smoke night, an evening meeting accompanied by smoking;
smoke-pence,
-penny (see
quots. and
smoke-money);
smoke Persian, a long-haired smoke-coloured cat (
cf. sense 8);
smoke plant, the Venetian sumach,
Cotinus coggygria, which has a feathery inflorescence suggestive of smoke;
smoke point, (
a) the lowest temperature at which an oil or fat gives off smoke; (
b) the height of the tallest flame with which a particular sample of kerosene will burn;
smoke-pole slang, a firearm;
smoke pot, a tin containing substances that produce smoke or a similar opaque vapour;
smoke-proof, an impression taken from a smoked type-punch, etc.;
smoke respirator (see
quots.);
smoke rocket, a rocket that emits smoke;
smoke-sail (see
quot. 1846);
† smoke-seller (see
smoke n. 4 f); also, a tobacconist;
smoke shell Mil., a projectile that generates a dense cloud of smoke after it is fired;
smoke-shop now
U.S., (
a) a tobacconist's shop,
† formerly one in which accommodation for smoking was provided; also, a place where people gather to smoke and talk; (
b) a bar,
esp. one selling inferior or cheap liquor;
smoke-signal, a column of smoke used as a signal (
cf. sense 2 a); also
transf. and
fig.;
† smoke-silver, silver paid as smoke-money;
smoke-stick slang,
= smoke-pole above;
smoke-talk U.S., a social meeting accompanied by smoking;
smoke test, a method of testing the state of drains and pipes by means of smoke;
smoke-tree,
= smoke-plant; (also the American species
Rhus cotinoides);
smoke tunnel, a wind tunnel into which smoke can be introduced to make the airflow visible;
smoke-wagon U.S. slang, a firearm;
smoke-wood (see
quot.);
smoke-writing = sky-writing vbl. n.| 1936 Discovery Nov. 359/2 A *smoke alarm apparatus for the small industrial chimney is also provided. 1977 Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. xii. 17/9 (Advt.), Full basement, low assoc. fee, central humidifier and smoke alarm. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2223/2 *Smoke-bell, a glass bell suspended over a gas-light, to intercept the smoke. |
| 1850 Ogilvie, *Smoke-board, a board hung in front of a fire⁓place, to keep the smoke from emerging into the apartment. |
| 1867 G. E. Clark Seven Years of Sailor's Life xii. 116 Capen and de missis go munyana in de big *smoke boat. 1901 Rudder Jan. 9/2 The magnificent steam yacht Mayflower passed us close aboard. We had a fine contempt for any and all ‘smoke boats’, but the sweetness of her lines..compelled admiration. 1929 F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 127 Smoke boat, the old sailing ship man's term of contempt for a steamer. |
| 1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 308 *Smoke bomb, a shell which, in exploding, emits a dense white smoke, hiding the operations of troops. 1931 V. Bruce Bluebird's Flight iii. 29 Throwing over a smoke bomb, I descended on a nice hard piece of ground. 1973 ‘I. Drummond’ Jaws of Watchdog xv. 205 A little smoke⁓bomb. I put it through a window... Then I went in through another window. |
| 1902 L. H. Bailey Cycl. Amer. Hort. IV. 1529/1 Rhus..Cotinus, Linn. *Smoke Bush. Venice Sumach..fl[ower]s purple, in ample loose panicles. 1940 [see partridge vine s.v. partridge 5]. 1977 Weekly Times (Melbourne) 19 Jan. 29/4 The other sample is from the smoke bush. |
| 1932 C. Gilson Wild Metal iii. i. 248 We had been provided with *smoke-candles; and when we had cleared the Boche out of his trenches, the wind changed and the smoke masked our own fire. 1950 Times 13 May 4/5 The pilot started to descend in order to round the turning point at not more than 300 ft. for recognition purposes. The point was near a golf course..where white strips had been laid out and smoke candles were fired as the Meteor approached. 1962 Ordnance Technical Terminol. (U.S. Army Ordnance School, ad 660 112) 282/1 Smoke candle, munition which produces smoke by vaporizing a smoke producing oil. |
| 1973 ‘I. Drummond’ Jaws of Watchdog x. 135 The *smoke-canisters were not of a recognized pattern..used by any NATO army. 1974 H. MacInnes Climb to Lost World ix. 148 We had smoke canisters all ready, in case we heard a plane. |
| 1888 J. D. Wickham Casual Ramblings 42 They had a *smoke concert with a Salvation Army accompaniment till a clock was ‘ayont the twal’. 1935 A. Mulgan Pilgrim's Way in N.Z. xiv. 90 ‘A man should go on to the football field,’ declared a representative forward at a ‘smoke’ concert, ‘prepared to meet his God.’ |
| 1936 T. S. Eliot Coll. Poems 1909–1935 188 But only in time can..The moment in the draughty church at *smokefall Be remembered. |
| 1769 Phil. Trans. LIX. 334 These two observers looked directly at the Sun, having their instruments armed with *smoke-glasses. 1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bulletin II. 373 A pair of light-tinted smoke glasses will afford great relief. |
| 1962 Flight International LXXXII. 487/2 Stowage provision is made for *smoke goggles at each duty station. 1976 B. Jackson Flameout iv. 59 Fumes and smoke..surged forward into the flight deck. The crew put on smoke goggles. |
| a 1944 K. Douglas Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) 16 Stacked round the sides of the turret were..hand⁓grenades, *smoke grenades and machine-gun ammunition. 1980 Globe & Laurel July/Aug. 229/2 Twice during the night we were attacked by a small enemy force who ran through our position throwing Chinese crackers and smoke grenades. |
| 1915 Kipling France at War 11 He pointed to the large deliberate *smoke-heads. 1942 H. Bloomfield Sailing to Sun xvi. 164 There was smoke coming from the smoke-head of the Owl. |
| 1900 Daily Mail 24 Apr. 3/2 An officer of the brigade donned a *smoke helmet. 1906 Royal Mag. Feb. 338/1 A safety smoke helmet. 1915 D. O. Barnett Let. 10 June 171 We've got a wonderful new respirator issued, a ‘smoke helmet’ made of cloth..which is soaked in a solution. 1972 Police Rev. 17 Nov. 1491/2 Constables equipped and wearing diving or smoke helmets. |
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 162 b, The cause that the old people made choise in their quitrentes of *smoke Hennes, as of the best. |
| 1932 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Nov. 20/4 If a downpour has just started, the jungles are literally emptied into the stations... They come in by the dozen.., ancient *smoke hounds and middle-aged rovers. |
| 1931 ‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route xii. 128 Mark my word, out of the muck hole that was a ‘*smoke joint’ will rise a lily that will outdo the old-time saloon in all those old virtues. |
| 1657 H. Crowch Welsh Trav. 11 Unto the *smoake-loft clim'd he than, and to the bacon crept. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1246 The *smoke-mantle or chimney-hood, at the end of the furnace. |
| a 1618 *Smoke-merchant [see smoke-seller]. |
| 1941 Jrnl. Soc. Automotive Engineers XLVIII. 188/2 The *smokemeter itself is our only means of measuring smoke density precisely. 1961 Guardian 24 Mar. 6/3 In..a letter.. regarding..the control of diesel exhaust smoke..Mr. Marples has indicated that further detailed investigation into the possibilities of using a smokemeter would be worth while. |
| 1662 Petty Taxes 86 Of all the accumulative excises, that of hearth-money or *smoak-money seems the best. 1778 England's Gaz. (ed. 2) s.v. Brighthelmstone, The vicar here..claims the old episcopal custom of a penny per head (commonly called Smoak-Money, or the Garden-Penny). 1850 N. & Q. 1st Ser. II. 120/2 Smoke Money..under this name is collected every year at Battle in Sussex. |
| 1891 Melbourne Punch 2 June 378/3 The Mutual Store ‘*Smoke night’ was held at the Vienna Cafe on Thursday evening. |
| 1584 R. Wilson Three Ladies London i, For here were *smoke-pence, Peter-pence, and Paul-pence to be paid. |
| 1631 Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 176 Parsons, and Impropriators of Churches, at this day in many places of England, are payed this pennie vnder the name of a *Smoke pennie. 1652 Answ. Petit. Poor Husbandmen 19 The Parishioners do commonly blow away all the tithes due for firewood with a smoak penny. 1850 N. & Q. 1st Ser. II. 174/2 Smoke pennies are also yearly levied from most of the inhabitants of the New Forest. |
| 1904 ‘Saki’ Reginald 3 You want one of her *smoke Persian kittens. 1973 Country Life 25 Jan. 226/3 My smoke persian was an individualist like Mr. Fearon's cat. |
| 1856 A. Gray Man. Bot. (1860) 76 Sumach... Leaves (simple in R. Cotinus, the *Smoke-Plant of gardens). 1888 Garden 18 Aug. 159/1 The Venetian Sumach, Wig Tree, or Smoke Plant..is one of the most remarkable of late⁓flowering shrubs. 1948 N. Catchpole Flowering Shrubs & Small Trees 177 Smoke Plant or Burning Bush... The common names relate to the fine, feathery inflorescence. |
| 1933 Petroleum Handbk. x. 181 The *smoke point only gives an indication of the burning quality of a kerosine immediately the lamp is lit. 1951 McMichael & Bailey in M. B. Jacobs Chem. & Technol. of Food & Food Products II. xxv. 1150 If a fat is to be used for frying..its smoke point, or smoking temperature, is of some importance. 1958 Jrnl. Home Econ. L. 778/1 An emulsifier lowers the smoke point of the fat to which it is added. 1975 E. M. Goodger Hydrocarbon Fuels vii. 134 Two kerosine types of burner fuel are classified as C1 and C2, with minimum smoke-points of 35 and 25 mm, respectively. |
| 1929 M. A. Gill Underworld Slang 11/1 *Smoke pole, gun. 1970 N.Z. Listener 21 Sept. 14/5 A long time since he'd fired the old smoke-pole, anyway. 1980 Hunting Ann. 1981 55/1 This requires the hunter to decide in advance whether he wants to hunt with an antique or modern... There is no going out later using a scoped rifle after getting zilched with a smokepole. |
| 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. June 534/3 By taking one or two *smoke pots into a poultry house and seeing where the smoke goes and what happens to it, improvements in ventilation are often suggested. 1965 ‘Lauchmonen’ Old Thom's Harvest x. 135 They all sit down near..their mosquito smoke-pots. 1978 J. Gardner Dancing Dodo xiii. 92 She would..begin her let down west of Brussels, and start up the smoke pots housed in the starboard nacelles. |
| 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 699 The flame..blackens the letter, and thus enables an impression, called a *smoke proof, to be stamped on paper. 1902 De Vinne Title-pages 79 Pleasing as a new ornament in this style might appear in the smoke-proof, it was sure to be a blotch in the print. |
| 1866 C. F. T. Young Fires, Fire-Engines, etc. 44 About the year 1824 one John Roberts..invented a ‘*smoke-respirator’ or hood, by means of which a fireman could enter a burning building or room. 1884 Health Exhib. Catal. 60/1 Tyndale's Smoke Respirators are to enable the wearer to enter into most dense and pungent smoke with perfect safety. |
| 1891 A. Conan Doyle in Strand Mag. July 70/1 ‘It is nothing very formidable,’ he said, taking a long cigar-shaped roll from his pocket. ‘It is an ordinary plumber's *smoke rocket, fitted with a cap at either end to make it self⁓lighting.’ 1954 [see ripple-fired adj. s.v. ripple n.3 7]. 1964 J. S. Scott Dict. Building 265 Smoke Rocket.., a rocket which gives off a dense, lasting smoke which is directed into a drain under test. |
| 1805 Naval Chron. XIII. 379, 90 yards of canvass were puchased to make her *smoke-sail. 1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 288 Smoke-sail, a small sail put up for the purpose of preventing the smoke of the galley from going aft to the quarter-deck, when the ship is riding head-to-wind. |
| a 1618 Sylvester Tobacco Battered 812 Wks. (Grosart) II. 274 ‘Let the *Smoak-seller suffocate with Smoak’: Which our Smoak-Merchants would no lesse befit. 1649 W. M. Wandering Jew (1857) 25 And when the miserable smoke-sellers die, how are they buried? |
| 1919 P. R. Worrall Smoke Tactics 27 *Smoke shells may be used as a visible sign to Infantry and Tanks to mark the barrage. 1937 Times 16 Apr. 8/6 The howitzers used smoke shells mixed with their high explosive to give a screen effect. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. I. 539/1 The 81-mm and 4·2-in. mortars, capable of lobbing high-explosive or smoke shells onto enemy positions, round out the category of infantry weapons. |
| 1798 Sporting Mag. XII. 194 The chit-chat of a Birmingham *smoke shop. 1802 Beddoes Hygëia viii. 31 Among..the artisans that croud the smoke-shops. 1937 C. Himes Nigger in Black on Black (1973) 125 Harold Price..was just leaving the house for his afternoon tonk session down at the smoke shop at 100th Street and Cedar. 1959 R. M. Dorson Amer. Folklore vii. 267 The enterprising folk⁓lorist need not journey into the back hills to scoop up tradition. He can set up his recording machine in the smokeshop or the union grill. 1972 J. Wambaugh Blue Knight (1973) i. 19, I walked down to the smoke shop. I picked up half a dozen fifty-cent cigars. 1977 New Yorker 27 June 31/1 Send out to the smoke shop for three cartons of straw-tipped Melachrinos. |
| 1873 S. W. Cozzens Marvellous Country iv. 65 After leaving the Organos Mountains we had noticed Indian *smoke-signals. 1923 Beaver Dec. 108 Another smoke signal was seen curling upward away to the north. 1944 Living off Land iv. 84 A very useful mode of attracting attention is by means of smoke signals. 1962 Amer. Speech XXXVII. 135 Smoke signals, n. Sometimes trains were taken on a logging railroad without authority. The men had to keep a sharp lookout for smoke from other trains in order to get onto a side track or to back up quickly: ‘We had to watch for smoke signals.’ 1978 Times 20 Jan. 4/8 Mr Enoch Powell['s]..delphic remarks certainly got Mrs Thatcher asking herself what smoke signals he intended. |
| 1664 Spelman Gloss. s.v., By the payment of *Smoke Silver to the Sheriff yearlie. 1698 in Ho. of Lords MSS. (1905) III. 257 The duty commonly called Smoak Silver, Peter Pence or Common Fine. |
| 1927 Flynn's 22 Jan. 376/2, I ups and prods him and says, ‘Hand it over, er this *smokestick'll do the talking.’ 1940 in S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. (1945) viii. 153 A rifle is a smoke-stick, a machine-gun is a death-adder. |
| 1893 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 25 Mar. 2/2 The Association of Railroad and Steamboat Agents..held a *smoke-talk..last evening. |
| 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 716 The ‘*smoke test’..consists of filling the house-drain, soil-pipes, and waste-pipes with a dense and pungent smoke. |
| 1860 Worcester, *Smoke-tree. 1887 G. W. Cox Cycl. Common Things (ed. 6) 573 The Venetian Sumach of Southern Europe is the common smoke tree or fringe tree of the gardens. |
| 1931 Flight 18 Dec. 1243/2 The type of *smoke tunnel used by Mr. Farren for his demonstrations had cost approximately {pstlg}65. 1964 P. Bradshaw Exper. Fluid Mech. vi. 151 Smoke tunnels are usually of open-circuit design to prevent the accumulation of smoke in the airstream. 1975 L. J. Clancy Aerodynamics xiii. 365 The principal requirement of a smoke tunnel is for uniform flow with low turbulence. |
| 1891 J. Maitland Amer. Slang Dict. 251 *Smoke-wagon (Am.), a revolver. The word is used by the negroes of the Chicago levee. 1926 J. Black You can't Win x. 132 I'll have her buy me a pair of ‘smoke wagons’. 1950 Western Folklore IX. 138 Familiar epithets for the revolver were equalizer, shootin' iron,..smoke wagon. |
| 1863 Prior Plant-n., *Smoke-wood, from children smoking its porous stalks, Clematis vitalba. |
| 1932 Flight 8 July 638 The committee recommend that *smoke-writing should not be prohibited or controlled. |
▸
colloq. (
orig. and chiefly
U.S.).
smoke and mirrors n. (
esp. in political contexts) a (
freq. theatrical) deception or dissimulation; an obscuring or embellishment of the truth with misleading or irrelevant information.
Cf. sense 4e.
| [1975 J. Breslin Notes from Impeachment Summer ii. 33 All political power is primarily an illusion... Mirrors and blue smoke, beautiful blue smoke rolling over the surface of highly polished mirrors... If somebody tells you how to look, there can be seen in the smoke great, magnificent shapes, castles and kingdoms, and maybe they can be yours.] [1975 J. Breslin Notes from Impeachment Summer ii. 35 The ability to create the illusion of power, to use mirrors and blue smoke, is one found in unusual people.] 1980 Washington Post (Nexis) 23 Apr. a6 ‘Most of this is just smoke and mirrors.’ The memos suggest that..[he] was orchestrating a campaign to help environmental organizations bring pressure on Congress. 1995 New Jersey Apr. 88/1 The grandstanding of Congress, claiming taxpayer money will no longer fund these types of caucuses, is in fact so much smoke and mirrors. 2003 Village Voice (N.Y.) 18–24 June 40/4 In retrospect, the Bush administration's most publicized war stories have all been the products of smoke and mirrors. |
▪ II. smoke, v. (
sməʊk)
Forms: 1
smocian,
smokian, 3
smokien, 3–4
smoken (5
smokyn), 4–
smoke; 6–7
smoake, 6–9
smoak.
[OE. smocian, f. smoca smoke n. Cf., with different ablaut-grade, MDu. and Du., MLG. and LG., smoken (WFris. smoke), G. schmauchen; also the trans. LG. smöken (whence Da. sm{obar}ge), G. schmäuchen († schmeuchen):—*smaukjan. See also smeek v.] I. 1. a. intr. To produce or give forth smoke.
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. xv. 17 Þa sloh þær micel mist and ferde swilce an ofen eall smociende. c 1000 Lambeth Ps. ciii. 32 Se þe æthrinð muntas & hiᵹ smociað. c 1205 Lay. 25734 Þa iseȝen heo..a muchel fur smokien uppen ane hulle. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 233/490 Al þe se þare aboute barnde and smokede faste. 1388 Wyclif Gen. xv. 17 A furneis smokynge apperide, and a laumpe of fier. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 460/2 Smekyn, or smokyn, fumo, fumigo. 1530 Palsgr. 723/1 This woode smoketh to moche, it is nat drye ynoughe. 1591 Savile tr. Tacitus, Agricola 261 The houses fired and smoking farre of. 1647 Cowley Mistr., Discovery, The Gods may give their Altars o're; They'll smoak but seldom any more. 1700 Dryden Ovid's Met., Baucis & Philemon 52 With Leaves and Barks she feeds her Infant-fire: It smoaks. 1743 Davidson æneid vii. 203 The torch smoaking with grim horrid light. 1815 Scott Guy M. x, They perceived that she [the ship] grounded, smoked, and, finally, took fire. 1905 F. Young Sands of Pleasure ii. iii, The cigarette smoked unheeded in her fingers. |
b. In
fig. uses or contexts.
| 1535 Coverdale Deut. xxix. 20 His wrath and gelousy shall smoke ouer soch a man. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 29 b, Where hertes still burne and malice continually smoketh. 1575 Gascoigne Glasse Govt. iii. i, These young gallants are caught without a net..; no man gladder then I, for as long as that chimney smoketh, I..shall not go hungrie to bed. 1639 S. Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 80 Glory is a perfume fit to smoake no where but before the Altar of vertue. 1677 Hubbard Narr. 48 To cause his jealousie to smoak against those of his own heritage. 1834 De Quincey in Tait's Mag. I. 196/1 Ireland was still smoking with the embers of rebellion. |
c. Of a room, chimney, lamp, etc.: To be smoky, to emit smoke, as the result of imperfect draught or improper burning.
| 1663 Pepys Diary 13 Jan., The dining-room smokes unless I keep a good charcoal fire. 1715 Desaguliers Fires Impr. 31 Every little cranny may be stopp'd up close with⁓out fear of the Room smoaking. c 1725 Pope Upon Dk. Marlborough's House at Woodstock 3 The chimneys..never smoke in any wind. 1807 Gass Jrnl. 176 We found our huts smoked; there being no chimnies in them except in the officers' rooms. 1826 Scott Woodst. xxi, It is best sitting near the fire when the chimney smokes. 1906 H. Wales Mr. & Mrs. Villiers xxiii, The lamp had been smoking in his room. |
2. a. To give off or send up vapour, dust, spray, etc.;
esp. to steam.
With
quot. 1869
cf. smoke n. 1 e.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 226 As smylt mele vnder smal siue smokes for-þikke. 1533 J. Heywood Mery Play 21 (Brandl), Whan I haue beten her tyll she smoke. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 176 Their labour smokes and all of time [= thyme] doth smell, The Hony sweete that in their Coames they lay. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 97 These often heated meats, which smoaked on the outside, yet were cold on the inside. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 274 The lab'ring Yoke and shining Shares, that make the Furrow smoak. 1732 Pope Ep. Bathurst 360 Two puddings smok'd upon the board. 1782 Cowper J. Gilpin 127 Which made his horse's flanks to smoke. 1802 Pinkerton Mod. Geogr. (1811) 329 The water smokes continually. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting ii. 57 It rained incessantly the whole night, and we..lay smoking and steaming. 1869 Tennyson Holy Grail 18, I have seen this yew-tree smoke, Spring after spring, for half a hundred years. |
b. To rise, spread, or move, like smoke.
In later
quots. with suggestion of next sense.
| 1595 Shakes. John v. iv. 34 This night whose blacke contagious breath Already smoakes [etc.]. 1726–46 Thomson Spring 194 A yellow mist, Far smoaking o'er th'interminable plain. 1781 Cowper Truth 238 See where it smokes along the sounding plain, Blown all aslant, a driving, dashing rain. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 106 Where the thin clouds smoke along the sky. 1904 J. Conrad Nostromo i, They [clouds]..smoke in stormy trails across the snows of Higuerota. |
c. To ride, drive, sail, etc., at a rapid pace or great speed. Const.
along (
prep. or
adv.).
| 1697 Dryden æneid vii. 909 Proud of his Steeds he smoaks along the Field. 1725 Pope Odyss. iii. 615 The coursers..held Their equal pace, and smoak'd along the field. 1735 Somerville Chase ii. 232 Then like a foaming Torrent, pouring down Precipitant, we smoke along the Vale. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate iii, Smoking along in his travelling chaise-and-four. 1894 Times 6 Aug. 5/2 The Vigilant came smoking along in style past Ryde. |
d. Austr. slang. = slope v.
2 1. Also
const. off.
| 1893 in Morris Austral Eng. s.v., ‘Do not say we were here. Let us smoke.’ ‘Smoke’..is the slang for the ‘push’ to get away as fast as possible. 1961 P. White Riders in Chariot 415 Dubbo had gone all right. Had taken his tin box, it seemed, and smoked off. |
3. fig. † a. To fume, be angry.
Obs.| a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 212 The Duke..so fumed and smoked at the matter. a 1562 G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 47 Evyn so was she commaundyd to avoyde the court..; whereat she smoked. |
b. School slang. To blush.
| 1862 Farrar St. Winifred's iv, ‘Why, you're smoking now,’ said Henderson, as Walter..began to blush a little. |
† 4. To smart, to suffer severely.
Obs. In early use with allusion to actual burning;
quot. 1773 partly belongs to sense 2.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 64 b, For feare to bee called heretike, and then they would make hym smoke or beare a faggot. 1595 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 352 The farewell was he would make hym smoake for yt before he departed the towne. 1679 Dryden Limberham v. i, Now I am resolv'd I will go see 'em, or some-body shall smoak for't. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. v, No such bad driving; the poor beasts have smoked for it. 1818 A. Royall Let. 19 Feb. (1830) 104 It's as fair cheatin says I, as I ever seed in my life; and you can make him smoke for it. 1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xxviii. 442 The residents will make him ‘smoke’ with high taxes on his land. |
II. 5. a. trans. To expose (a person, place, etc.) to the smoke of some curative, purifying, or aromatic substance; to fumigate,
esp. as a means of disinfecting.
| c 1000 Saxon Leechd. I. 116 Ᵹenim þu þas ylcan wyrte, & smoca hit [sc. the child] mid. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 83 [Let him] after smoke him with ensens couenable to þe tyme. 1530 Palsgr. 723/1, I wyll medyll me with no garmentes that were his tyll they be well smoked. 1546 Bale Eng. Votaries i. (1560) 92 b, They are..Censed, Smoked, Perfumed and Worshypped. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado i. iii. 60 As I was smoaking a musty roome. 1665 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. IV. 32, I smoke your house twice a week. 1772–84 Cook's Voy. (1790) IV. 1215 The ship was smoaked between decks with gunpowder. 1796 C. Marshall Gardening (1813) 398 Orchards, dung, dress, prune, or smoak them. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxix, The next day was Sunday, and a good day for smoking ship. |
b. To expose or subject to smoke, so as to suffocate, stupefy, or make uncomfortable.
It is doubtful whether
quots. 1824 and 1825 are based on real knowledge of the phrase they illustrate.
| a 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137, Me henged up bi the fet & smoked heom mid ful smoke. 1617 R. Brathwait Smoaking Age 87 That Alexander Severus would have smoaked such sellers of smoake. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. Temper i. 44 Others inverted..were so smoaked and suffocated to death. 1686 W. Harris tr. Lemery's Course Chym. (ed. 2) 483 Tabaco kills serpents..if you should smoke them with it. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 358 ¶1 After which they have gone in a Body and smoaked a Cobler. [1824 Scott Redgauntlet let. i, Who taught me to smoke a cobbler? 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss., Smoke-the-Cobbler, a mischievous pastime among children.] 1900 Pollok & Thom Sports Burma vi. 202 They then smoke the bees until they are stupid. |
| fig. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 139 Ile smoake your skin⁓coat and I catch you right. 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in Hum. iv. ii, It vanished away like the smoke of tobacco; but I was smoked soundly first. 1680 V. Alsop Mischief Imposit. xii. 98 They formed themselves into separate bodies for Government, and were soundly smok'd for it in the high Commission. |
c. To fill with, expose to, smoke,
esp. so as to blacken, discolour, or render obscure. Also
const. through (
quot. 1846).
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 398 Let's quit this ground, And smoake the Temple with our Sacrifices. 1631 A. Wilson The Swisser ii. i, With some quaint oath in 's mouth, smoaking his nostrills. a 1704 T. Brown Walk r. Lond. Wks. 1709 III. iii. 64 Others..sat smoaking their Noses, and drinking Burnt-Brandy. 1748 Johnson Van. Human Wishes 85 The painted face..Smoak'd in kitchens, or in auctions sold. 1800 Phil. Trans. XC. 274, I now took two green glasses; but found that they did not intercept light enough. I therefore smoked one of them. 1846 Holtzapffel Turning II. 730 The new piece is laid upon the original, the interstices of which are smoked through with a lamp. 1883 Cent. Mag. XXV. 849/1, I copy pictures and he smokes them and sells them as old masters. |
d. To cure or preserve (bacon, fish, etc.) by exposure to smoke; to smoke-dry.
| 1757 Washington Lett. Writ. 1889 I. 413, I have directed the provision..to be smoked, if there are conveniences for doing it. 1767 Phil. Trans. LVII. 284 The herring..when salted and smoked. 1836 W. Irving Astoria III. 251 Having no other food, she killed the two horses, and smoked their flesh. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 311 Smoking the bacon is much better than merely drying it. |
6. † a. With
out or
away: To convert into smoke.
Obs. rare.
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Chron. ii. 4 To brennen encense beforn hym, and to swote thingis to ben out smokid. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 154 The three Grains of Incense..were strew'd upon a few Embers, and smoak'd away. |
b. To drive
out or
away by means of smoke. Also
fig.,
esp. to force
out into the open (a conspirator); to bring
out publicly (
orig. U.S.).
| 1593 Nashe Christ's T. Wks. (Grosart) IV. 230 In smoaking this..trade out of his starting-holes. 1624 Sanderson Serm. I. 115 The magistrate..that would speedily smoke away these gnats that swarm about the courts of justice. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton xv. (1840) 259 William..proposed, that they should..smoke them out. 1829 Scott Anne of G. xxv, Till we smoke out of his earths the old fox Louis. 1870 M. Bridgman R. Lynne I. iv. 57 He drew out a second cigar, with the..view..of ‘smoking her out’. 1914 Dialect Notes IV. 164 Smoke one out, v. phr., to find and bring from concealment. ‘I'll try and smoke him out again.’ 1948 Times 28 Feb. 5/7 Speculators were ‘smoked out’ by a Congressional inquiry. 1959 Listener 25 June 1105/2 We were using a food guide, compiled by some daring spy who was determined to smoke out tasty food if it cost him his citizenship. 1977 G. V. Higgins Dreamland viii. 83, I had done it to smoke them out, and had succeeded. |
† 7. To cause to smoke; to urge at a high speed.
Obs.—1| a 1658 Cleveland May Day ii, Whiles Phœbus..Smoaks his bright Teem along on the Grand Paw. |
8. a. To get an inkling of, to smell or suspect (a plot, design, etc.). Now
arch. (in common use
c 1600–1850).
| 1608 Chapman Byron's Consp. Wks. 1873 II. 201 Least so he might haue smokt our practises. 1667 Dryden & Dk. Newcastle Sir M. Mar-all i, Sir John, I fear, smokes your design. 1733 Fielding Quix. in Eng. i. viii, Let me tell you,..I begin to smoke a plot. I begin to apprehend no opposition, and then we're sold, neighbour. 1770 Dibdin Deserter ii. i, Oh, Oh, I smoke this business.—Comrade, I'm off, I'm off. 1812 Combe Syntax, Picturesque x. 214 An honest 'Squire, who smok'd the trick, Appear'd well-arm'd with oaken stick. 1837 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. Monstre Balloon vi, Such a trumpery tale every one of us smokes. 1886 Burton Arab. Nts. (abr. ed.) I. 48 The man, not..smoking the plot, waxed exceeding wroth. |
b. absol. To have an inkling or idea; to understand. Now
arch.| 1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode iii. iii, Peace, they smoak. 1688 Shadwell Sq. Alsatia iv, I am sharp, sharp as a needle; I can smoak now, as soon as another. 1757 Foote Author ii, Oh, now I begin to understand..; ecod, I begin to smoke. 1842 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. ii. Lay of St. Medard xxix, St. Medard paused,—he began to ‘smoke’. |
9. To make fun of, to jest at; to ridicule, banter, or quiz (a person). Now
arch.| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Smoke him, Smoke him again, to affront a Stranger at his coming in. 1755 Connoisseur No. 54 ¶4 The Bucks..sat in another box, to smoke their rusty wigs and brown cassocks. 1772 F. Burney Early Diary (1889) I. 159 He..suffered us to laugh at his affectation.., even joining in our mirth and seeming happy to be smoaked. 1818 Keats Lett. (1895) 245 We hated her and smoked her and baited her and I think drove her away. 1859 Thackeray Virgin. lxxxix, Our young men were accustomed to smoke her, as the phrase then was. |
10. To observe, take note of, ‘twig’. Now
arch.| 1715 Addison Drummer iii. i, Thou'rt very smart, my Dear. But see! smoak the Doctor. 1762 Foote Orator ii, Smoke the justice, he is as fast as a church. c 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 199 Kit, smoke his eyes, how they glare. 1856 ‘T. Gwynne’ Young Singleton viii, ‘Smoke the big-wig Lund!’ whispered Fotheringay. |
III. 11. intr. To inhale (and expel again) the fumes of tobacco, or other suitable substance, from a pipe, cigar, or cigarette. More recently, also with reference to marijuana, opium, or other illegal drugs.
† Also with
it.
| 1617 R. Brathwait Smoaking Age 174 The sleeping Dor⁓mouse..sleepes but all Winter, but this Man i' th' Mist smoakes it all the yeare long: hee proportions his nose [etc.]. 1687 Montague & Prior Hind & Panth. Transv. 17 Your Pipe's so foul, that I disdain to smoak. 1721 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) VII. 208 Even children were oblig'd to smoak. 1777 Dalrymple Trav. Sp. & Port. xvii, I declined the favour, but the others smoaked about. 1827 Carlyle Germ. Rom. I. 7 Smoking vehemently on his black stump of a pipe. 1852 Thackeray Esmond ii. xi, Mr. Addison was..smoking out of his long pipe, and smiling very placidly. 1895 Conrad Almayer's Folly xii. 267 ‘And they both smoke,’ added Ali. ‘Phew! Opium, you mean?’ Ali nodded. 1900 Pollok & Thom Sports Burma v. 171 He was..never better pleased than when smoking away at a long Shan pipe. 1957 Sun (Baltimore) 12 Jan. 11/2 Asked how he took dope, Harrod replied that he ‘smoked, snorted and skin-popped’. 1972 Guardian 29 Jan. 9/2 Mr Williams had three previous convictions for possession of cannabis... ‘I've said I smoke sometimes.’ 1977 ‘J. Le Carré’ Honourable Schoolboy xvi. 381 For a large divan secrecy was vital... The safest place to smoke would undoubtedly be upstairs. |
12. a. trans. To use (tobacco, etc.) as material for smoking. Also
fig.| 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 259 Some..have in the mean while smoaked Tobacco, when it was given them. 1716 Church Philip's War (1865) I. 28 Capt. Fullers party being troubled with the..lust after Tobacco, must needs strike fire to Smoke it. 1796 Morse Amer. Geogr. II. 85 They also smoke tobacco to excess. 1811 [see hashish]. 1840 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. St. Odille xiv, So put that in your pipe..and smoke it. 1878 Stanley Dark Cont. xviii. (1889) 324 The bandits' custom of smoking banghi (wild hemp). 1946 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh i. 54 Bejees, Jimmy's started them off smoking the same hop. 1951 Life 25 June 21/1, I heard and saw guys who skin pop,..smoke pot, banging and shoot up the main vein in your arm and leg. 1976 New Yorker 8 Mar. 98/2 We smoked, sure. At one time, everybody in the platoon had smoked pot except the lieutenant. |
b. To use (a pipe, cigar, etc.) in the act of smoking; to take (so many whiffs).
| 1706–7 Farquhar Beaux' Strat. i. i, He..smoaks his Pipe Eight and forty Hours together sometimes. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy vi. vi, My uncle Toby..lighted his pipe, and smoak'd about a dozen whiffs. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 338, I found him..smoking his pipe in the..evening sunshine. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xl, Send down word that he's to spend the change in cigars... I'll smoke 'em. 1902 E. Banks Newspaper Girl 179, I never saw a woman smoke a cigarette till I came to London. |
c. With
out (
= to the end, completely).
| 1705 tr. Bosman's Guinea 306 Which Pipe thus filled they without ceasing can easily smoak out. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain xl, See, I have smoked out your cigar. 1871 M. Collins Marq. & Merch. II. vii. 216 She smoked one [cigarette] out right seldom. |
13. To wear
out, waste (
away), bring
into a certain state, etc., by smoking tobacco or some similar substance. Also, to ‘rag’ by smoking (
U.S.).
| 1604 Jas. I Counterbl. to Tobacco (Arb.) 106 If a man smoke himselfe to death with it (and many haue done). 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) 72 He..smokd out all his living at his nose. 1617 R. Brathwait Smoaking Age 195 Sweet Youth, Smoake not thy time; Too precious to abuse. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 294/2 He who smoaks away the chief of his time. 1823 Scott Quentin D. Introd., I gradually..smoked myself into a certain degree of acquaintance with [him]. 1844 N. Brit. Rev. II. 81 Newton smoked himself into a state of absolute etiolation. 1850 in B. H. Hall College Words (1851) 285, I would not have you sacrifice all these advantages for the sake of smoking future Freshmen. 1880 Harper's Mag. Nov. 950/1 They hazed and smoked Freshmen. 1893 C. G. Leland Mem. I. 131 To go to their rooms..and smoke them sick or into retreating. |
14. intr. Of a pipe: To draw.
| 1883 Harper's Mag. July 174/2 These ‘church-wardens’ smoke freely and softly. |
15. trans. To furnish with tobacco.
rare.
| 1897 ‘Mark Twain’ Following Equator xi. 129 He will..feed you and slake you and smoke you with the best that money can buy. |
IV. 16. To shoot (a person) with a firearm.
U.S. slang.| 1926 J. Black You can't Win xi. 144 Git inside an' stay there or I'll smoke both of youse off. 1942 Detective Fiction May 53/1 You chiseling rat. You didn't figure Tommy and those heels could hold me, did you? I smoked them just like I'm gonna smoke you, Bugs. |
Restrict
† Obs.—1 to sense 7 in
Dict. and add:
[7.] b. To cause (a tyre) to smoulder as a result of friction with the road surface, when accelerating or driving fast around corners, etc.
colloq.| 1977 Chicago Tribune 21 Nov. vi. 8/8 He moved out to try and over-take Bonnett on the outside, smoking his tyres badly as he fought for traction. 1985 Sports Illustr. 9 Sept. 14/3 [He] charged into the lead in his dark green Monte Carlo, driving so hard he was smoking his tires in the turns. 1988 Autosport 29 Sept. 71/1 Boswell behind him was putting everything into the chase, smoking the inside rear tyre every time he came onto the pit straight out of Goddard Corner. |
▸
intr. slang (
orig. N. Amer.). With
up. To smoke marijuana.
| 1975 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. 15 Nov. 1/4 Once in a while somebody would come up with a bag and we'd smoke up. 1984 A. Thomas Intertidal Life (1986) i. 40 He and Alice had been smoking up. 1997 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 11 Dec. a1 The ruling doesn't mean people with illnesses can now freely smoke up. 2003 I. Edwards-Jones Wendy House ix. 255 We all got drunk and smoked up a bit. |