Crossword clues for forestall
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Forestall \Fore*stall"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Forestalled; p. pr. & vb. n. Forestalling.] [OE. forstallen to stop, to obstruct; to stop (goods) on the way to the market by buying them beforehand, from forstal obstruction, AS. forsteal, foresteall, prop., a placing one's self before another. See Fore, and Stall.]
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To take beforehand, or in advance; to anticipate.
What need a man forestall his date of grief, And run to meet what he would most avoid?
--Milton. -
To take possession of, in advance of some one or something else, to the exclusion or detriment of the latter; to get ahead of; to preoccupy; also, to exclude, hinder, or prevent, by prior occupation, or by measures taken in advance.
An ugly serpent which forestalled their way.
--Fairfax.But evermore those damsels did forestall Their furious encounter.
--Spenser.To be forestalled ere we come to fall.
--Shak.Habit is a forestalled and obstinate judge.
--Rush. -
To deprive; -- with of. [R.]
All the better; may This night forestall him of the coming day!
--Shak. -
(Eng. Law) To obstruct or stop up, as a way; to stop the passage of on highway; to intercept on the road, as goods on the way to market.
To forestall the market, to buy or contract for merchandise or provision on its way to market, with the intention of selling it again at a higher price; to dissuade persons from bringing their goods or provisions there; or to persuade them to enhance the price when there. This was an offense at law in England until 1844.
--Burrill.Syn: To anticipate; monopolize; engross.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
late 14c. (implied in forestalling), "to lie in wait for;" also "to intercept goods before they reach public markets and buy them privately," which formerly was a crime (mid-14c. in this sense in Anglo-French), from Old English noun foresteall "intervention, hindrance (of justice); an ambush, a waylaying," literally "a standing before (someone)," from fore- "before" + steall "standing position" (see stall (n.1)). Modern sense of "to anticipate and delay" is from 1580s. Related: Forestalled; forestalling.
Wiktionary
Etymology 1 vb. 1 (context transitive English) To prevent, delay or hinder something by taking precautionary or anticipatory measures; to avert. 2 (context transitive English) To preclude or bar from happening, render impossible. 3 (context archaic English) To purchase the complete supply of a good, particularly foodstuffs, in order to charge a monopoly price. 4 To anticipate, to act foreseeingly. 5 To deprive (with ''of''). 6 (cx UK legal English) To obstruct or stop up, as a road; to stop the passage of a highway; to intercept on the road, as goods on the way to market. Etymology 2
alt. 1 (context obsolete or historical English) An ambush; plot; an interception; waylaying; rescue. 2 Something situated or placed in front. n. 1 (context obsolete or historical English) An ambush; plot; an interception; waylaying; rescue. 2 Something situated or placed in front.
WordNet
Usage examples of "forestall".
The dense star fields glowed brightly, with no space debris in the relatively small areas between old suns, and the only reason for patrolling it at all was to forestall a Cassiopeian scouting sweep into Empire from the rear.
How the justices who later dissented could have brought themselves to join this per curiam opinion defies understandingunless they, too, were playing a game, trying to prevent a result with which they disagreed by forestalling the possibility that the Court would have to overrule the state court.
They also urged him to seize the Dodecanese, and especially Rhodes, as soon as possible, in order to forestall the arrival of the German Air Force, with its consequent threat to our communications with Greece and Turkey, and to form a strategic reserve of four divisions to be ready to help these two countries.
In his indictment he did not acquit himself, but called all irenicists hairsplitting fools who, to forestall the worst, had consistently prolonged the national disaster.
Landing at Konakri does not appear to offer any chance of success in view of difficulty of communications to Bomako, the lack of transport with the force, and the probability that forces from Dakar would forestall.
They also appeased the general apprehension of a scarcity of bread, by orders to prevent the exportation of corn, and by enforcing the old laws against monopoly, forestalling, and regrating.
Grant, in command at Cairo, began his career as a general by cleverly forestalling the enemy at Paducah, where the Tennessee flows into the Ohio.
If the United States embarks on a military campaign against Iraq, Baghdad might very well decide to try to overthrow King Abdallah as a way of forestalling or derailing the campaign.
Victoria made it a point to call on members from both crews to help her check out the accident site, hoping it would forestall the problem Raphael foresaw, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that tensions were building.
This manwhoever he ishas come very close to forestalling the mission to Rak Hagga with his accusation.
Her indignation flashed brilliantly in her eyes as she turned towards Katie, but once again she was forestalled as Silas himself intervened pleasantly.
The government imposed price ceilings on basic food commodities as a means to forestall skyrocketing prices, but many wholesale suppliers disregarded the ceilings and demanded higher prices anyway.
A British oath from the deck of the ship went out to meet a fine French explosion of profanity from the boat, both forestalling the splash of the tangled rope into the water under the bows of the ship, and a full ten yards out of the reach of the man who stood, boathook in hand, ready to catch it.
To forestall any attempts by Floyt to return to Terra, a Spican flotilla commanded by a Camarilla member had been dispatched to the Solar system under the cover of a goodwill tour.
But I will borrow from Mr Bergson himself a few complementary explanations, in order, as far as possible, to forestall any misunderstanding.