The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rock \Rock\, n. [OF. roke, F. roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS. rocc.]
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A large concreted mass of stony material; a large fixed stone or crag. See Stone.
Come one, come all! this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I.
--Sir W. Scott. (Geol.) Any natural deposit forming a part of the earth's crust, whether consolidated or not, including sand, earth, clay, etc., when in natural beds.
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That which resembles a rock in firmness; a defense; a support; a refuge.
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress.
--2 Sam. xxii. 2. Fig.: Anything which causes a disaster or wreck resembling the wreck of a vessel upon a rock.
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(Zo["o]l.) The striped bass. See under Bass. Note: This word is frequently used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, rock-bound, rock-built, rock-ribbed, rock-roofed, and the like. Rock alum. [Probably so called by confusion with F. roche a rock.] Same as Roche alum. Rock barnacle (Zo["o]l.), a barnacle ( Balanus balanoides) very abundant on rocks washed by tides. Rock bass. (Zo["o]l.)
The stripped bass. See under Bass.
The goggle-eye.
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The cabrilla. Other species are also locally called rock bass. Rock builder (Zo["o]l.), any species of animal whose remains contribute to the formation of rocks, especially the corals and Foraminifera. Rock butter (Min.), native alum mixed with clay and oxide of iron, usually in soft masses of a yellowish white color, occuring in cavities and fissures in argillaceous slate. Rock candy, a form of candy consisting of crystals of pure sugar which are very hard, whence the name. Rock cavy. (Zo["o]l.) See Moco. Rock cod (Zo["o]l.)
A small, often reddish or brown, variety of the cod found about rocks andledges.
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A California rockfish. Rock cook. (Zo["o]l.)
A European wrasse ( Centrolabrus exoletus).
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A rockling. Rock cork (Min.), a variety of asbestus the fibers of which are loosely interlaced. It resembles cork in its texture. Rock crab (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large crabs of the genus C, as the two species of the New England coast ( Cancer irroratus and Cancer borealis). See Illust. under Cancer. Rock cress (Bot.), a name of several plants of the cress kind found on rocks, as Arabis petr[ae]a, Arabis lyrata, etc. Rock crystal (Min.), limpid quartz. See Quartz, and under Crystal. Rock dove (Zo["o]l.), the rock pigeon; -- called also rock doo. Rock drill, an implement for drilling holes in rock; esp., a machine impelled by steam or compressed air, for drilling holes for blasting, etc. Rock duck (Zo["o]l.), the harlequin duck. Rock eel. (Zo["o]l.) See Gunnel. Rock goat (Zo["o]l.), a wild goat, or ibex. Rock hopper (Zo["o]l.), a penguin of the genus Catarractes. See under Penguin. Rock kangaroo. (Zo["o]l.) See Kangaroo, and Petrogale. Rock lobster (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large spinose lobsters of the genera Panulirus and Palinurus. They have no large claws. Called also spiny lobster, and sea crayfish. Rock meal (Min.), a light powdery variety of calcite occuring as an efflorescence. Rock milk. (Min.) See Agaric mineral, under Agaric. Rock moss, a kind of lichen; the cudbear. See Cudbear. Rock oil. See Petroleum. Rock parrakeet (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian parrakeet ( Euphema petrophila), which nests in holes among the rocks of high cliffs. Its general color is yellowish olive green; a frontal band and the outer edge of the wing quills are deep blue, and the central tail feathers bluish green. Rock pigeon (Zo["o]l.), the wild pigeon ( Columba livia) Of Europe and Asia, from which the domestic pigeon was derived. See Illust. under Pigeon. Rock pipit. (Zo["o]l.) See the Note under Pipit. Rock plover. (Zo["o]l.)
The black-bellied, or whistling, plover.
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The rock snipe. Rock ptarmigan (Zo["o]l.), an arctic American ptarmigan ( Lagopus rupestris), which in winter is white, with the tail and lores black. In summer the males are grayish brown, coarsely vermiculated with black, and have black patches on the back. Rock rabbit (Zo["o]l.), the hyrax. See Cony, and Daman. Rock ruby (Min.), a fine reddish variety of garnet. Rock salt (Min.), cloride of sodium (common salt) occuring in rocklike masses in mines; mineral salt; salt dug from the earth. In the United States this name is sometimes given to salt in large crystals, formed by evaporation from sea water in large basins or cavities. Rock seal (Zo["o]l.), the harbor seal. See Seal. Rock shell (Zo["o]l.), any species of Murex, Purpura, and allied genera. Rock snake (Zo["o]l.), any one of several large pythons; as, the royal rock snake ( Python regia) of Africa, and the rock snake of India ( Python molurus). The Australian rock snakes mostly belong to the allied genus Morelia. Rock snipe (Zo["o]l.), the purple sandpiper ( Tringa maritima); -- called also rock bird, rock plover, winter snipe. Rock soap (Min.), a kind of clay having a smooth, greasy feel, and adhering to the tongue. Rock sparrow. (Zo["o]l.)
Any one of several species of Old World sparrows of the genus Petronia, as Petronia stulla, of Europe.
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A North American sparrow ( Puc[ae]a ruficeps).
Rock tar, petroleum.
Rock thrush (Zo["o]l.), any Old World thrush of the genus Monticola, or Petrocossyphus; as, the European rock thrush ( Monticola saxatilis), and the blue rock thrush of India ( Monticola cyaneus), in which the male is blue throughout.
Rock tripe (Bot.), a kind of lichen ( Umbilicaria Dillenii) growing on rocks in the northen parts of America, and forming broad, flat, coriaceous, dark fuscous or blackish expansions. It has been used as food in cases of extremity.
Rock trout (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of marine food fishes of the genus Hexagrammus, family Chirad[ae], native of the North Pacific coasts; -- called also sea trout, boregat, bodieron, and starling.
Rock warbler (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian singing bird ( Origma rubricata) which frequents rocky ravines and water courses; -- called also cataract bird.
Rock wren (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of wrens of the genus Salpinctes, native of the arid plains of Lower California and Mexico.
WordNet
n. a drill for penetrating rock [syn: bore bit, borer, stone drill]
Wikipedia
Rock Drill is the last studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, which was released in the UK in 1978. The album includes Tommy Eyre on keyboards; the band's original keyboardist Hugh McKenna was absent due to an internal dispute - however, three songs from the album are co-credited to him. McKenna has since recorded his regrets at the dispute, given what lay ahead in the next five years.
The album cover shows the torso cast from Sir Jacob Epstein's challenging 1913 sculpture The Rock Drill, symbolising mankind's descent into a human-machine hybrid. Alex Harvey found this statue deeply moving and it influenced the entire "Rock Drill Suite". Zal Cleminson rates "The Dolphins" as one of the best things SAHB ever produced, next to "Faith Healer" and "Give My Compliments To The Chef". One track recorded during the Rock Drill session that never made it onto the finished album is "Engine Room Boogie". The track ended up as the B-side of SAHB's final single release "Mrs. Blackhouse" (1977 Mountain - Cat No: TOP 32). The band performed "Mrs. Blackhouse" and "Engine Room Boogie" at the 1977 Reading Festival on Sunday 28 August with Tommy Eyre on keyboards. This was the SAHB's final gig. Cleminson, Chris Glen and Ted McKenna continued together in a band called Zal but no material was released.
The album was re-released on CD, both coupled as a 2-in-1 album with SAHB Stories and as an individual CD.
Rock Drill (c. 1913–1915) and the associated Torso in Metal from Rock Drill (c. 1913–1916) are Jacob Epstein's most radical sculptures. Rock Drill comprises a plaster figure perched on top of an actual rock drill. The combination of an industrial rock drill and the carved plaster figure makes the artwork an example of a " Readymade" created at the same time as Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel (1913). A 1974 reconstruction, by Ken Cook and Ann Christopher, is part of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery's collection. Rock Drill has been heralded as embodying the spirit of "radical Modernism more dramatically than any other sculpture, English or continental, then or since".
Jacob Epstein (1880–1959) was an American-born sculptor who had moved to Europe in 1902, and taken British citizenship in 1911. Although Epstein was not officially a member of the Vorticists, not having signed the Vorticist Manifesto, the full-figure sculpture has also been hailed as the pinnacle of Vorticist art. Originally a positive statement, Rock Drill stood as a celebration of modern machinery and masculine virility. Wyndham Lewis described the sculpture as 'one of the best things he [Epstein] has done. The nerve-like figure perched on the machinery, with its straining to one purpose, is a vivid illustration of the greatest function of life.'
In 1940, however, recalling the horrors of the 1914–18 war in the context of the Second World War, Epstein reinterpreted the sculpture much more negatively:
Rock Drill may refer to:
- Rock Drill (Jacob Epstein), a 1913 sculpture by Jacob Epstein
- Rock Drill (Ezra Pound), a section of The Cantos, a 1956 work by Ezra Pound
- Rock Drill (album), a 1978 album by Sensational Alex Harvey Band
- "Rock Drill", a 2006 song by The Chemical Brothers
Usage examples of "rock drill".
He looked for the thinnest place he could imagine in the white rock wall before him, socked the rock drill point into it, and signaled the man on the drill motor.
So while he was hanging back and sort of scuffling his feet and mumbling that he was sorry, I picked up a rock drill and motioned him over to me.
They died because one of McMurphy's men activated his rock drill, and that man didn't know someone had wired his controls to eleven hundred kilos of Imperial blasting compound.
If the last draconian showed up, it would get an unpleasant taste of a triple-headed rock drill.
A rock drill, a hammer, and fifteen pounds of pitons, snap rings, and expansion bolts clanged and dangled from the web belt around his waist.
They carried with them an extra spool of superfiber and a rock drill.