Skeleton
['skelɪt(ə)n] or ['skɛlɪtn]
Definition
(noun.) the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape; 'the building has a steel skeleton'.
(noun.) a scandal that is kept secret; 'there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet' .
(noun.) something reduced to its minimal form; 'the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self'; 'the bare skeleton of a novel'.
Checked by Freda--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The bony and cartilaginous framework which supports the soft parts of a vertebrate animal.
(n.) The more or less firm or hardened framework of an invertebrate animal.
(n.) A very thin or lean person.
(n.) The framework of anything; the principal parts that support the rest, but without the appendages.
(n.) The heads and outline of a literary production, especially of a sermon.
(a.) Consisting of, or resembling, a skeleton; consisting merely of the framework or outlines; having only certain leading features of anything; as, a skeleton sermon; a skeleton crystal.
Checker: Marge
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Framework.[2]. Sketch, outline, draught, rough draught.
Editor: Warren
Definition
n. the bones of an animal separated from the flesh and preserved in their natural position: the framework or outline of anything: a very lean and emaciated person: a very thin form of light-faced type.—adj. pertaining to a skeleton—also Skel′etal.—ns. Skeletog′eny (-toj′-); Skeletog′raphy; Skeletol′ogy.—v.t. Skel′etonise to reduce to a skeleton.—n. Skel′eton-key a key for picking locks without the inner bits.—Skeleton in the cupboard closet house &c. some hidden domestic source of sorrow or shame.
Checker: Lowell
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of seeing a skeleton, is prognostic of illness, misunderstanding and injury at the hands of others, especially enemies. To dream that you are a skeleton, is a sign that you are suffering under useless worry, and should cultivate a milder disposition. If you imagine that one haunts you, there will soon come to you a shocking accident or death, or the trouble may take the form of financial disaster.
Checked by Laurie
Examples
- The glyptodon was a monstrous South American armadillo, and a human skeleton has been found by Roth buried beneath its huge tortoise-like shell. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Perhaps the skeleton in the cupboard comes out to be talked to, on such domestic occasions? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I had quite lost my stomach, and was almost reduced to a skeleton. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- It was the skeleton in his house, and all the family walked by it in terror and silence. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Since then they have taken the form of iron skeleton towers. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Most despicable would it be to come for the sake of those sheep-faced Sunday scholars, and not for my sake or that long skeleton Moore's. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- There is a skeleton in your cupboard here at Blackwater Park that has peeped out in these last few days at other people besides yourself. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- To call them virtues in their isolation is like taking the skeleton for the living body. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- A further glance revealed a second skeleton upon the bed. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- I have never seen any money in the house,' said Mrs Lammle to the skeleton, 'except my own annuity. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The outer masonry walls are built around the skeleton frame, as seen in Fig. 236, and the details of connections for the floor members appear in Fig. 237. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- I almost think yon besotted skeleton spoke truth, and that the reluctance with which I part from thee hath something in it more than is natural. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Turning up the cuffs of his dress-coat--he had placed his overcoat on a chair--Holmes laid out two drills, a jemmy, and several skeleton keys. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- A servant then entering with toast, the skeleton retired into the closet, and shut itself up. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Now, waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- They have got some remarkably fine skeletons lately at the College of Surgeons, says Mr. Candy, across the table, in a loud cheerful voice. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- And by the way,' I said aloud, 'I suppose you never draw any skeletons now? Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- They are closet-skeletons which we keep and shun. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I saw the skeletons of a man, a woman, and two young girls. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- One of the best-known Neanderthal skeletons is that of a youth who apparently had been deliberately interred. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- My mind flew back to Salem House; and could it be Tommy, I thought, who used to draw the skeletons! Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- They were the decaying skeletons of departed mails, and in that lonely place, at that time of night, they looked chill and dismal. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- There are two bronze skeletons bearing scrolls, and two great dragons uphold the sarcophagus. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- In the skeletons of the several breeds, the development of the bones of the face, in length and breadth and curvature, differs enormously. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- To them chains were fastened, and at the ends of many of the chains were human skeletons. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- Behind her, depending from the roof upon rawhide thongs, and stretching entirely across the cave, was a row of human skeletons. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- There are also the skeletons of the microscopic creatures called Radiolaria. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Professor Porter and Mr. Philander were deeply interested in examining the skeletons. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- He may have been personally acquainted with some of these Phoenicians whose skeletons we have been examining. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Was there anything peculiar about any of those skeletons? Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Typed by Evangeline