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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Gutter snipe

Gutter \Gut"ter\, n. [OE. gotere, OF. goutiere, F. goutti[`e]re, fr. OF. gote, goute, drop, F. goutte, fr. L. gutta.]

  1. A channel at the eaves of a roof for conveying away the rain; an eaves channel; an eaves trough.

  2. A small channel at the roadside or elsewhere, to lead off surface water.

    Gutters running with ale.
    --Macaulay.

  3. Any narrow channel or groove; as, a gutter formed by erosion in the vent of a gun from repeated firing.

  4. (Bowling) Either of two sunken channels at either side of the bowling alley, leading directly to the sunken pit behind the pins. Balls not thrown accurately at the pins will drop into such a channel bypassing the pins, and resulting in a score of zero for that bowl.

    Gutter member (Arch.), an architectural member made by treating the outside face of the gutter in a decorative fashion, or by crowning it with ornaments, regularly spaced, like a diminutive battlement.

    Gutter plane, a carpenter's plane with a rounded bottom for planing out gutters.

    Gutter snipe, a neglected boy running at large; a street Arab. [Slang]

    Gutter stick (Printing), one of the pieces of furniture which separate pages in a form.