Briar
[braɪə] or ['braɪɚ]
Definition
(noun.) a pipe made from the root (briarroot) of the tree heath.
Editor: Susanna--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Same as Brier.
(n.) A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax.
(n.) Fig.: Anything sharp or unpleasant to the feelings.
Checker: Wendy
Definition
Same as Brier (1).
Checker: Yale
Unserious Contents or Definition
To see yourself caught among briars, black enemies are weaving cords of calumny and perjury intricately around you and will cause you great distress, but if you succeed in disengaging yourself from the briars, loyal friends will come to your assistance in every emergency.
Typist: Pierce
Examples
- This is you, who have been as slippery as an eel this last month, and as thorny as a briar-rose? Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- But if Briar Chapel seemed alive, so also did Briarmains, though certainly the mansion appeared to enjoy a quieter phase of existence than the temple. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- A bleak back-ground of trees, some white linen hung out on the sweet-briar hedge, and a great waft of damp air. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- A field overgrown with briars and brambles, may frequently produce as great a quantity of vegetables as the best cultivated vineyard or corn field. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- There are briars besetting every path, Which call for patient care; There is a cross in every lot, And an earnest need for prayer. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- While Prussia was fighting Austria, Napoleon III was trying to escape with dignity from the briars of Mexico. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Inputed by Delia