Crossword clues for smother
smother
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Smother \Smoth"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Smothered; p. pr. & vb. n. Smothering.] [OE. smotheren; akin to E. smoor. See Smoor.]
To destroy the life of by suffocation; to deprive of the air necessary for life; to cover up closely so as to prevent breathing; to suffocate; as, to smother a child.
To affect as by suffocation; to stife; to deprive of air by a thick covering, as of ashes, of smoke, or the like; as, to smother a fire.
Hence, to repress the action of; to cover from public view; to suppress; to conceal; as, to smother one's displeasure.
Smother \Smoth"er\, v. i.
To be suffocated or stifled.
To burn slowly, without sufficient air; to smolder.
Smother \Smoth"er\, n. [OE. smorther. See Smother, v. t.]
Stifling smoke; thick dust.
--Shak.-
A state of suppression. [Obs.]
Not to keep their suspicions in smother.
--Bacon. -
That which smothers or causes a sensation of smothering, as smoke, fog, the foam of the sea, a confused multitude of things.
Then they vanished, swallowed up in the grayness of the evening and the smoke and smother of the storm.
--The Century.Smother fly (Zo["o]l.), an aphid.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
c.1200, "to suffocate with smoke," from smother (n.), earlier smorthre "dense, suffocating smoke" (late 12c.), from stem of Old English smorian "to suffocate, choke, strangle, stifle," cognate with Middle Dutch smoren, German schmoren; possibly connected to smolder. Meaning "to kill by suffocation in any manner" is from 1540s; sense of "to extinguish a fire" is from 1590s. Sense of "stifle, repress" is first recorded 1570s; meaning "to cover thickly (with some substance)" is from 1590s. Related: Smothered; smothering.
Wiktionary
Etymology 1 vb. 1 (context transitive English) To suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less completely, the respiration of. 2 (context transitive English) To extinguish or deaden, as fire, by covering, overlaying, or otherwise excluding the air: as, to smother a fire with ashes. 3 (context transitive English) To reduce to a low degree of vigor or activity; suppress or do away with; extinguish; stifle; cover up; conceal; hide: as, the committee's report was smothered. 4 (context transitive English) In cookery: to cook in a close dish: as, beefsteak smothered with onions. 5 (context transitive English) To daub or smear. 6 (context intransitive English) To be suffocated. 7 (context intransitive English) To breathe with great difficulty by reason of smoke, dust, close covering or wrapping, or the like. 8 (context intransitive English) Of a fire: to burn very slowly for want of air; smolder. 9 (context intransitive English) Figuratively: to perish, grow feeble, or decline, by suppression or concealment; be stifled; be suppressed or concealed. 10 (context soccer English) To get in the way of a kick of the ball Etymology 2
n. 1 That which smothers or appears to smother, ''particularly'' 2 # smoldering; slow combustion 3 # cookware used in such cooking 4 # The state of being stifled; suppression. 5 # Stifling smoke; thick dust. 6 # (context Australian rules football English) The act of smothering a kick (see above).
WordNet
n. a confused multitude of things [syn: clutter, jumble, muddle, mare's nest, welter]
a stifling cloud of smoke
v. envelop completely; "smother the meat in gravy" [syn: surround]
deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing; "Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow"; "The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor" [syn: asphyxiate, suffocate]
conceal or hide; "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn" [syn: stifle, strangle, muffle, repress]
form an impenetrable cover over; "the butter cream smothered the cake"
deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion; "smother fires" [syn: put out]
Wikipedia
Smother is a 2008 comedy film starring Diane Keaton as a mother who is over-attached to her adult son. The movie is directed and co-written by Vince Di Meglio.
Smother is the third studio album by British indie rock/ dream pop band Wild Beasts released on 9 May 2011 by Domino Records. It reached #17 in the UK Albums Chart. According to the band, it represents a more synthesiser-based sound than previous efforts, influenced by "moving to Dalston", Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, minimalist composer Steve Reich, noise pop duo Fuck Buttons, and Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein.
Smother, smothered or smothering can refer to:
- Asphyxia caused by obstructing air flow
- Smother (film), a 2008 American film
- Smother (album), a 2011 album by Wild Beasts
- Smothered (film), a 2014 film by John Schneider
- Smothered (song), by nu metal band Spineshank
- Smothering (food), a cooking technique associated with Cajun and Louisiana Creole cuisine
- Smother play, a type of endplay in bridge
- An Australian rules football tactic, see One percenter (Australian rules football)#Smother
Usage examples of "smother".
There is neither tree nor bush, the sky is grey, the earth buff, the air blae and windy, and clouds of coarse granitic dust sweep across the prairie and smother the settlement.
Batouch, smothered in his burnous, his large head sunk upon his chest, slumbered like a potentate relieved from cares of State.
Valyn asked anxiously as Mero pulled himself up off of the bed with a smothered oath.
I should say, in order to keep down the fat lest it overlie and smother the soul.
Arabella Radman, her radiant beauty smothered in the folds of old age as she suffered her eternally youthful husband catering to her fragile needs.
Dam mR dammit, dam reit She dropped the box and backed up against the wall, smothering the flames--but not before she burned her hands and her back.
A simple gag should smother all the screaming, and before Seriema was missed, the job would be done, and he would be gone.
One evening he went to a cottager who had a row of skeps, and bought one of them, just as it was after the man had smothered the bees.
With his lips he smothered hers, kissing her until he felt her lips soften, the eddy of her breath swirling with his.
She smothered a yawn, not inclined to leave the comfort of the bed so soon despite the hour.
The oppressive pall of fear that had smothered the people was dissolved at last.
Soft arms were flung around his neck, his sweaty, sooty face was smothered in plump and delicious kisses.
He took a handful of her hair and smothered the remainder of the sentence.
Thus the limit-age, so that the People would not be faced with a choice between an intolerable smothered existence and a virtual prohibition against new births.
When she woke to find herself smothered in dark cloth, encircled by strong arms, Elf thought he was up to yet more wickedness, but something she did not care for.