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**Twee-dle-dum and Twee-dle-dee** /'twi:dl,dʌm ənd 'twi:dl'di:/ two characters in the book THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS by Lewis CARROLL. They are fat little men, who are both dressed in school uniform and look exactly like each other. Their names are often used to describe two people or groups who are almost exactly the same as each other, especially when they both seem to be bad: Some voters felt there was little real difference between the two party leaders – a case of choosing between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
**tweeds** /twi:dz/ *n* [P] (a suit of) tweed clothes, associated especially with upper-class people who live in the country
**tweed-y** /'twi:di/ *adj* **1** of or like tweed **2** *BrE often rather derog* dressed frequently in tweeds, or seeming to show a liking for healthy outdoor activities in the country: *tweedy ladies with thick leather walking shoes*
**'tween** /twi:n/ *prep poet* between
**tweet** /twi:t/ *v* [I] to make the short weak high noise of a small bird; CHIRP —**tweet** *n*
**tweet-er** /'twi:tə/ *n* a LOUDSPEAKER that gives out high sounds → compare WOOFER
**twee-zers** /'twi:zəʳ||-ərz/ *n* [P] a small tool made from two narrow pieces of metal joined at one end, used for picking up, pulling out, and handling very small objects: *He pulled out the splinter with tweezers.* → see PAIR (USAGE)
**twelfth** /twelfθ/ *determiner, adv, n, pron* 12th → see TABLE 1; see also GLORIOUS TWELFTH
**,twelfth 'man** *n* [(the)] the member of a cricket team who plays if any other member of the team is hurt or cannot play
**,Twelfth 'Night** **1** the evening before the EPIPHANY (6 January), which represents the end of the CHRISTMAS period. Christmas cards and decorations are usually taken down on Twelfth Night **2** a humorous play by William SHAKESPEARE, which tells a complicated story about a young woman called Viola, who dresses as a boy to work as a servant of the Duke Orsino. Eventually she marries the Duke and finds her brother, Sebastian, whom she believed to be dead. → see also MALVOLIO
**twelve** /twelv/ *determiner, n, pron* **1** (the number) 12 → see TABLE 1; see also DOZEN **2** *twelve good men and true* a phrase used to describe the twelve people on a JURY
**twelve-month** /'twelvmʌnθ/ *n* [S] *old-fash* a year
**12-step pro·gram** /,twelv step 'prəʊgræm/ *n AmE* RECOVERY PROGRAM
**twen-ties, the** /'twentiz/ [P] *n* **1** also '20's — the 1920s (=the years from 1920 to 1929): *Fitzgerald wrote about the lifestyle of wealthy Americans in the twenties.*
**CULTURAL NOTE** The twenties are also known as the roaring twenties, and are thought of as a time when life in the US and UK was exciting and fun. When people think of the twenties in the US, they think of GANGSTERS (=members of criminal groups who carried guns and wore very good clothes), and fashionable young women known as FLAPPERS who went to 'speakeasies' (=illegal places where you could dance and drink alcohol) during Prohibition (=the time when alcohol was illegal in the US).
**2** *in his/her/their twenties* aged from 20 to 29: *She has three sons, all in their twenties.* **3** [the] the numbers from 20 to 29
**20th Cen·tu·ry Fox** /,twentiə senʧəri 'fɒks||-'fɑ:ks/ *trademark* a US film production company
**twen-ty** /'twenti/ *determiner, n, pron* (the number) 20 → see TABLE 1 —**tieth** *determiner, n, pron, adv*
**twenty-'first** *n BrE infml* a person's twenty-first birthday often celebrated as a special occasion, e.g. with a party, because in the past people were given the legal rights of adults only when they were 21. In Britain cards sent to people for their 21st birthday often show a picture of a key, standing for the 'key of the door' i.e. the right to act independently of one's parents.
**24 hour clock** /,twenti fɔr aʊə 'klɒk||-aʊər 'klɑ:k/ *n* a clock, or a system of telling the time, according to which, for example, one O'CLOCK in the afternoon is called 1300 hours (pronounced '13 hundred hours'): *The trains run according to the 24 hour clock.*
**twenty-four 'seven, 24–7** *adv infml* if something happens twenty-four seven, it happens all the time, every day
**,twenty-'one** [U] *AmE* for BLACKJACK
**20 Questions** /,twenti 'kwestʃənz/ also **Animal, Veg·etable or Mineral** *AmE* a game in which one person thinks of an object and others have to guess what it is by asking questions about it which can only be answered with 'Yes' or 'No'.
**twen-ty-some-thing** /'twenti,sʌmθŋ/ *n infml* someone who is between the ages of 20 and 29: *A crowd of twentysomethings were gathered outside the club.* —**twentysomething** *adj* → compare THIRTYSOMETHING
**,Twenty-Third 'Psalm, the** the best-known PSALM in the Old Testament of the Bible, which is often sung at funerals. It starts with the words *The LORD IS MY SHEPHERD.*
**,twenty,-twenty 'vision, 20/20 vision** *n* [U] perfect ability to see: *To be a pilot you must have twenty-twenty vision.*
**twenty-two, .22** /,twenti 'tu:/ *n AmE* a gun that takes a small bullet, used for hunting small animals
**twerp, twirp** /twɜ:p||twɜ:rp/ *n infml* an annoying or silly person; fool
**twice** /twaɪs/ *predeterminer, adv* two times: *I've read the book twice.* | *He was shot twice in the chest.* (=with two bullets) | *I work twice as hard as him.* | *He eats twice what you eat/twice the amount that you eat.* | *Take the medicine twice a day.* | *performances twice daily* | *Since his holiday he's been twice the man he was.* (=he's been a lot healthier, more able etc) → see also **once** or **twice** (ONCE), **think twice** (THINK)
**'twice-told** *adj* [A] *lit or old-fash* already told before; well known: *a twice-told tale*
**Twick-en-ham** /'twɪkənəm/ a RUGBY ground in west London, where the English Rugby Football Union is based and where the English national rugby team plays international games. It is sometimes humorously called 'Twickers'.
**twid-dle¹** /'twɪdl/ *v* **1** [I(with);T] to play with (something) with the hands, usually purposelessly: *She irritated him by constantly twiddling (with) her pencil.* | *She twiddled the dial on the radio to see what stations she could pick up.* **2** *twiddle one's thumbs* *infml* to do nothing useful or helpful; waste time
**twiddle²** *n infml* a small twist or turn, especially a decorative or unnecessary one —**twiddly** *adj*
**twig²** *v* -gg- [I;T] *infml* to (suddenly) understand (a situation): *I dropped some hints, but he hasn't twigged yet.*
**twig¹** /twɪg/ *n* a small very thin woody stem branching off from a branch on a tree or bush: *The bird built a nest from twigs.* → see also STICK
**Twig·gy** /'twɪgi/ (1949–) a British MODEL (=someone whose job is to be photographed wearing fashionable clothes) who was the most famous model of the 1960s and who also acted in several films. She was known for being extremely thin and for wearing MINISKIRTS (=very short skirts).
**twi-light** /'twaɪlaɪt/ *n* [U] **1** the time when day is about to become night: *fig.) old ladies in the twilight of their lives* | *(fig.) These secret agents occupy a twilight zone between legality and illegality.* **2** the faint darkish light in the sky during this time → compare DUSK —**lit** /-lɪt/ *adj*
**'Twilight Zone, the** a US television programme, originally made between 1959 and 1963, and then again in the 1980s, with a different story and characters each week. At the start of each programme a voice says 'You are now entering the Twilight Zone' and the stories usually deal with SUPERNATURAL events or SCIENCE FICTION.
**twill** /twɪl/ *n* [U] strong cloth woven to have parallel sloping lines across its surface
**twin¹** /twɪn/ *n* **1** either of two children born of the same mother at the same time: *My brother and I look so alike that people often think we are twins.* | *Jean and John are twins.* → see also IDENTICAL TWIN, SIAMESE TWINS **2** either of two people or things closely related or connected, or very like each other —**twin adj** [A] *a twin-engined plane* | *a policy to combat the twin problems of poverty and unemployment*
**twin²** *v* -nn- [T(with)] especially *BrE* to join (a town) closely with another town in another country to encourage friendly relations: *Harlow in England is twinned with Stavanger in Norway.*