What is "wire tapper"

Turn \Turn\ (t[^u]rn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Turned; p. pr. & vb. n. Turning.] [OE. turnen, tournen, OF. tourner, torner, turner, F. tourner, LL. tornare, fr. L. tornare to turn in a lathe, to rounds off, fr. tornus a lathe, Gr. ? a turner's chisel, a carpenter's tool for drawing circles; probably akin to E. throw. See Throw, and cf. Attorney, Return, Tornado, Tour, Tournament.]

1. To cause to move upon a center, or as if upon a center; to give circular motion to; to cause to revolve; to cause to move round, either partially, wholly, or repeatedly; to make to change position so as to present other sides in given directions; to make to face otherwise; as, to turn a wheel or a spindle; to turn the body or the head.

   Turn the adamantine spindle round.
   --Milton.

   The monarch turns him to his royal guest.
   --Pope.

2. To cause to present a different side uppermost or outmost; to make the upper side the lower, or the inside to be the outside of; to reverse the position of; as, to turn a box or a board; to turn a coat.

3. To give another direction, tendency, or inclination to; to direct otherwise; to deflect; to incline differently; -- used both literally and figuratively; as, to turn the eyes to the heavens; to turn a horse from the road, or a ship from her course; to turn the attention to or from something. ``Expert when to advance, or stand, or, turn the sway of battle.''
   --Milton.

   Thrice I deluded her, and turned to sport Her importunity.
   --Milton.

   My thoughts are turned on peace.
   --Addison.

4. To change from a given use or office; to divert, as to another purpose or end; to transfer; to use or employ; to apply; to devote.

   Therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David.
   --1 Chron. x. 14.

   God will make these evils the occasion of a greater good, by turning them to advantage in this world.
   --Tillotson.

   When the passage is open, land will be turned most to cattle; when shut, to sheep.
   --Sir W. Temple.

5. To change the form, quality, aspect, or effect of; to alter; to metamorphose; to convert; to transform; -- often with to or into before the word denoting the effect or product of the change; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect; to turn green to blue; to turn prose into verse; to turn a Whig to a Tory, or a Hindu to a Christian; to turn good to evil, and the like.

   The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee.
   --Deut. xxx. 3.

   And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
   --2 Sam. xv. 31.

   Impatience turns an ague into a fever.
   --Jer. Taylor.

6. To form in a lathe; to shape or fashion (anything) by applying a cutting tool to it while revolving; as, to turn the legs of stools or tables; to turn ivory or metal.

   I had rather hear a brazen candlestick turned.
   --Shak.

7. Hence, to give form to; to shape; to mold; to put in proper condition; to adapt. ``The poet's pen turns them to shapes.''
   --Shak.

   His limbs how turned, how broad his shoulders spread !
   --Pope.

   He was perfectly well turned for trade.
   --Addison.

8. Specifically:

   1. To translate; to construe; as, to turn the Iliad.

      Who turns a Persian tale for half a crown.
      --Pope.

   2. To make acid or sour; to ferment; to curdle, etc.: as, to turn cider or wine; electricity turns milk quickly.

   3. To sicken; to nauseate; as, an emetic turns one's stomach.

9. To make a turn about or around (something); to go or pass around by turning; as, to turn a corner. The ranges are not high or steep, and one can turn a kopje instead of cutting or tunneling through it. --James Bryce. To be turned of, be advanced beyond; as, to be turned of sixty-six. To turn a cold shoulder to, to treat with neglect or indifference. To turn a corner, to go round a corner. To turn adrift, to cast off, to cease to care for. To turn a flange (Mech.), to form a flange on, as around a metal sheet or boiler plate, by stretching, bending, and hammering, or rolling the metal. To turn against.

   1. To direct against; as, to turn one's arguments against himself.

   2. To make unfavorable or hostile to; as, to turn one's friends against him. To turn a hostile army, To turn the enemy's flank, or the like (Mil.), to pass round it, and take a position behind it or upon its side. To turn a penny, or To turn an honest penny, to make a small profit by trade, or the like. To turn around one's finger, to have complete control of the will and actions of; to be able to influence at pleasure. To turn aside, to avert. To turn away.

      1. To dismiss from service; to discard; as, to turn away a servant.

      2. To avert; as, to turn away wrath or evil. To turn back.

         1. To give back; to return.

            We turn not back the silks upon the merchants, When we have soiled them.
            --Shak.

         2. To cause to return or retrace one's steps; hence, to drive away; to repel. --Shak. To turn down.

            1. To fold or double down.

            2. To turn over so as to conceal the face of; as, to turn down cards.

   3. To lower, or reduce in size, by turning a valve, stopcock, or the like; as, turn down the lights. To turn in.

      1. To fold or double under; as, to turn in the edge of cloth.

      2. To direct inwards; as, to turn the toes in when walking.

      3. To contribute; to deliver up; as, he turned in a large amount. [Colloq.] To turn in the mind, to revolve, ponder, or meditate upon; -- with about, over, etc. `` Turn these ideas about in your mind.'' --I. Watts. To turn off.

         1. To dismiss contemptuously; as, to turn off a sycophant or a parasite.

         2. To give over; to reduce.

         3. To divert; to deflect; as, to turn off the thoughts from serious subjects; to turn off a joke.

   4. To accomplish; to perform, as work.

   5. (Mech.) To remove, as a surface, by the process of turning; to reduce in size by turning.

   6. To shut off, as a fluid, by means of a valve, stopcock, or other device; to stop the passage of; as, to turn off the water or the gas. To turn one's coat, to change one's uniform or colors; to go over to the opposite party. To turn one's goods or To turn one's money, and the like, to exchange in the course of trade; to keep in lively exchange or circulation; to gain or increase in trade. To turn one's hand to, to adapt or apply one's self to; to engage in. To turn out.

      1. To drive out; to expel; as, to turn a family out of doors; to turn a man out of office.

         I'll turn you out of my kingdom. -- Shak.

      2. to put to pasture, as cattle or horses.

      3. To produce, as the result of labor, or any process of manufacture; to furnish in a completed state.

      4. To reverse, as a pocket, bag, etc., so as to bring the inside to the outside; hence, to produce.

      5. To cause to cease, or to put out, by turning a stopcock, valve, or the like; as, to turn out the lights. To turn over.

         1. To change or reverse the position of; to overset; to overturn; to cause to roll over.

         2. To transfer; as, to turn over business to another hand.

         3. To read or examine, as a book, while, turning the leaves. ``We turned o'er many books together.''
            --Shak.

         4. To handle in business; to do business to the amount of; as, he turns over millions a year. [Colloq.] To turn over a new leaf. See under Leaf. To turn tail, to run away; to retreat ignominiously. To turn the back, to flee; to retreat. To turn the back on or To turn the back upon, to treat with contempt; to reject or refuse unceremoniously. To turn the corner, to pass the critical stage; to get by the worst point; hence, to begin to improve, or to succeed. To turn the die or To turn the dice, to change fortune. To turn the edge of or To turn the point of, to bend over the edge or point of so as to make dull; to blunt. To turn the head of or To turn the brain of, to make giddy, wild, insane, or the like; to infatuate; to overthrow the reason or judgment of; as, a little success turned his head. To turn the scale or To turn the balance, to change the preponderance; to decide or determine something doubtful; to tip the balance. To turn the stomach of, to nauseate; to sicken. To turn the tables, to reverse the chances or conditions of success or superiority; to give the advantage to the person or side previously at a disadvantage. To turn tippet, to make a change. [Obs.] --B. Jonson. To turn to profit, To turn to advantage, etc., to make profitable or advantageous. To turn turtle, to capsize bottom upward; -- said of a vessel. [Naut. slang] To turn under (Agric.), to put, as soil, manure, etc., underneath from the surface by plowing, digging, or the like. To turn up.

            1. To turn so as to bring the bottom side on top; as, to turn up the trump.

            2. To bring from beneath to the surface, as in plowing, digging, etc.

            3. To give an upward curve to; to tilt; as, to turn up the nose.

               To turn upon, to retort; to throw back; as, to turn the arguments of an opponent upon himself.

               To turn upside down, to confuse by putting things awry; to throw into disorder.

               This house is turned upside down since Robin Ostler died.
               --Shak.

Widegap \Wide"gap`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) The angler; -- called also widegab, and widegut.

Spindle \Spin"dle\, n. [AS. spinal, fr. spinnan to spin; akin to D. spil, G. spille, spindel, OHG. spinnala. [root]170. See Spin.]

1. The long, round, slender rod or pin in spinning wheels by which the thread is twisted, and on which, when twisted, it is wound; also, the pin on which the bobbin is held in a spinning machine, or in the shuttle of a loom.

2. A slender rod or pin on which anything turns; an axis; as, the spindle of a vane. Specifically:

   1. (Mach.) The shaft, mandrel, or arbor, in a machine tool, as a lathe or drilling machine, etc., which causes the work to revolve, or carries a tool or center, etc.

   2. (Mach.) The vertical rod on which the runner of a grinding mill turns.

   3. (Founding) A shaft or pipe on which a core of sand is formed.

3. The fusee of a watch.

4. A long and slender stalk resembling a spindle.

5. A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.

6. (Geom.) A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.

7. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. Any marine univalve shell of the genus Rostellaria; -- called also spindle stromb.

   2. Any marine gastropod of the genus Fusus.

      Dead spindle (Mach.), a spindle in a machine tool that does not revolve; the spindle of the tailstock of a lathe.

      Live spindle (Mach.), the revolving spindle of a machine tool; the spindle of the headstock of a turning lathe.

      Spindle shell. (Zo["o]l.) See Spindle, 7. above.

      Spindle side, the female side in descent; in the female line; opposed to spear side.
      --Ld. Lytton. [R.] ``King Lycaon, grandson, by the spindle side, of Oceanus.''
      --Lowell.

      Spindle tree (Bot.), any shrub or tree of the genus Eunymus. The wood of E. Europ[ae]us was used for spindles and skewers. See Prickwood.

Thrasher \Thrash"er\, Thresher \Thresh"er\, n.

1. One who, or that which, thrashes grain; a thrashing machine.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A large and voracious shark ( Alopias vulpes), remarkable for the great length of the upper lobe of its tail, with which it beats, or thrashes, its prey. It is found both upon the American and the European coasts. Called also fox shark, sea ape, sea fox, slasher, swingle-tail, and thrasher shark.

3. (Zo["o]l.) A name given to the brown thrush and other allied species. See Brown thrush.

   Sage thrasher. (Zo["o]l.) See under Sage.

   Thrasher whale (Zo["o]l.), the common killer of the Atlantic.

Foxfish \Fox"fish`\, n. (Zo["o]l.)

1. The fox shark; -- called also sea fox. See Thrasher shark, under Shark.

2. The european dragonet. See Dragonet.

Fox \Fox\ (f[o^]ks), n.; pl. Foxes. [AS. fox; akin to D. vos, G. fuchs, OHG. fuhs, foha, Goth. fa['u]h[=o], Icel. f[=o]a fox, fox fraud; of unknown origin, cf. Skr. puccha tail. Cf. Vixen.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A carnivorous animal of the genus Vulpes, family Canid[ae], of many species. The European fox ( V. vulgaris or V. vulpes), the American red fox ( V. fulvus), the American gray fox ( V. Virginianus), and the arctic, white, or blue, fox ( V. lagopus) are well-known species.

   Note: The black or silver-gray fox is a variety of the American red fox, producing a fur of great value; the cross-gray and woods-gray foxes are other varieties of the same species, of less value. The common foxes of Europe and America are very similar; both are celebrated for their craftiness. They feed on wild birds, poultry, and various small animals.

   Subtle as the fox for prey.
   --Shak.

2. (Zo["o]l.) The European dragonet.

3. (Zo["o]l.) The fox shark or thrasher shark; -- called also sea fox. See Thrasher shark, under Shark.

4. A sly, cunning fellow. [Colloq.]

   We call a crafty and cruel man a fox.
   --Beattie.

5. (Naut.) Rope yarn twisted together, and rubbed with tar; -- used for seizings or mats.

6. A sword; -- so called from the stamp of a fox on the blade, or perhaps of a wolf taken for a fox. [Obs.]

   Thou diest on point of fox.
   --Shak.

7. pl. (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians which, with the Sacs, formerly occupied the region about Green Bay, Wisconsin; -- called also Outagamies. Fox and geese.

   1. A boy's game, in which one boy tries to catch others as they run one goal to another.

   2. A game with sixteen checkers, or some substitute for them, one of which is called the fox, and the rest the geese; the fox, whose first position is in the middle of the board, endeavors to break through the line of the geese, and the geese to pen up the fox. Fox bat (Zo["o]l.), a large fruit bat of the genus Pteropus, of many species, inhabiting Asia, Africa, and the East Indies, esp. P. medius of India. Some of the species are more than four feet across the outspread wings. See Fruit bat. Fox bolt, a bolt having a split end to receive a fox wedge. Fox brush (Zo["o]l.), the tail of a fox. Fox evil, a disease in which the hair falls off; alopecy. Fox grape (Bot.), the name of two species of American grapes. The northern fox grape ( Vitis Labrusca) is the origin of the varieties called Isabella, Concord, Hartford, etc., and the southern fox grape ( Vitis vulpina) has produced the Scuppernong, and probably the Catawba. Fox hunter.

      1. One who pursues foxes with hounds.

      2. A horse ridden in a fox chase.

         Fox shark (Zo["o]l.), the thrasher shark. See Thrasher shark, under Thrasher.

         Fox sleep, pretended sleep.

         Fox sparrow (Zo["o]l.), a large American sparrow ( Passerella iliaca); -- so called on account of its reddish color.

         Fox squirrel (Zo["o]l.), a large North American squirrel ( Sciurus niger, or S. cinereus). In the Southern States the black variety prevails; farther north the fulvous and gray variety, called the cat squirrel, is more common.

         Fox terrier (Zo["o]l.), one of a peculiar breed of terriers, used in hunting to drive foxes from their holes, and for other purposes. There are rough- and smooth-haired varieties.

         Fox trot, a pace like that which is adopted for a few steps, by a horse, when passing from a walk into a trot, or a trot into a walk.

         Fox wedge (Mach. & Carpentry), a wedge for expanding the split end of a bolt, cotter, dowel, tenon, or other piece, to fasten the end in a hole or mortise and prevent withdrawal. The wedge abuts on the bottom of the hole and the piece is driven down upon it. Fastening by fox wedges is called foxtail wedging.

         Fox wolf (Zo["o]l.), one of several South American wild dogs, belonging to the genus Canis. They have long, bushy tails like a fox.

Corrie \Cor"rie\ (k?r"r?), n. Same as Correi. [Scot.]
--Geikie.

Gasoline engine \Gas"o*line en"gine\, or Gasolene engine \Gas"o*lene en"gine\ . (Mach.) A kind of internal-combustion engine; -- in British countries called usually petrol engine.

Preponderance \Pre*pon"der*ance\, Preponderancy \Pre*pon"der*an*cy\, n. [Cf. F. pr['e]pond['e]rance.]

1. The quality or state of being preponderant; superiority or excess of weight, influence, or power, etc.; an outweighing.

   The mind should . . . reject or receive proportionably to the preponderancy of the greater grounds of probability.
   --Locke.

   In a few weeks he had changed the relative position of all the states in Europe, and had restored the equilibrium which the preponderance of one power had destroyed.
   --Macaulay.

2. (Gun.) The excess of weight of that part of a canon behind the trunnions over that in front of them.

drowsily \drow"si*ly\, adv. In a drowsy manner.

Clamorous \Clam"or*ous\, a. [LL. clamorosus, for L. Clamosus: cf. OF. clamoreux.] Speaking and repeating loud words; full of clamor; calling or demanding loudly or urgently; vociferous; noisy; bawling; loud; turbulent. ``My young ones were clamorous for a morning's excursion.''
--Southey. -- Clam"or*ous*ly, adv. -- Clam"or*ous*ness, n.

Wire tapper \Wire tapper\ One that taps, or cuts in on, telegraph wires and intercepts messages; hence (Slang), a swindler who pretends to tap wires or otherwise intercept advance telegraphic news for betting. -- Wire tapping.