churlish
240
churl·ish /'tʃɜlɪʃ||'ɜːr-/ adj bad-tempered and rude: a churl-
ish reply | It would be churlish to refuse such a kind offer.
→ly adv →ness n [U]
churn¹ /tʃɜːn||tʃɜːrn/ n 1 a container in which milk is
shaken until it becomes butter 2 BrE a large metal container
in which milk is stored or carried from the farm
churn² v 1 [T] to make (milk) into butter or make (butter)
from milk using a churn 2 [I;T(UP)] to (cause to) move about
violently: The ship churned the water up as it passed. | (fig.) My
stomach started to churn when I thought about my exams.
churn sthg. ⇔ out phr v [T] infml, often derog to produce in
large amounts, by or as if by machinery: She churns out three
or four new books every year.
chute /ʃuːt/ n 1 a long narrow structure that slopes down,
used for sliding things from one place to another or for
people to slide down: The pool has the added attraction of a
water chute. 2 infml a PARACHUTE
'Chutes and 'Ladders trademark the name used in the US
for the children's game of SNAKES AND LADDERS
chut·ney /'tʃʌtni/ n [U] a mixture of various fruits, hot-
tasting seeds, and sugar, eaten with other dishes such as meat
or cheese, and especially with CURRY: mango chutney
chutz·pah /'hʊtspɑ/ n [U] apprec slang, especially AmE disrespect-
ful confidence; NERVE
CIA /,siː aɪ 'diː/ n the CIA abbrev. for the Central Intelligence
Agency; the department of the US government that collects
information about other countries, especially secretly →
compare FBI
cia·bat·ta /,tʃə'bɑːtə, -'bætə/ n [C;U] a type of Italian bread
made with OLIVE oil and popular in the UK
ciao /tʃaʊ/ interj It (used to say HELLO or goodbye)
ci·ca·da /sɪ'kɑːdə||sɪ'keɪdə, -'kɑː-/ n a tropical insect with
large transparent wings that makes a high singing noise
ci·ca·trice /'sɪkətrɪs/ also cic·a·trix /-trɪks/ n pl. cicatrices
/,sɪkə'traɪsiːz/ litt or med a SCAR
Ci·ce·ro, Mar·cus Tul·li·us /'sɪsərə, 'mɑːkəs
'tʌlɪəs||'mɑːr-/ (106-43 BC) a Roman politician who was
known as an orator (=someone who is good at making
speeches) and is considered to be one of the greatest Latin
writers
CID /,siː aɪ 'diː/ abbrev. for the Criminal Investigation Depart-
ment; the part of the British police that consists of DETECTIVES
who try to solve serious crimes using any information they
can find. CID officers do not wear police uniform, so they
are sometimes called 'plain-clothes' officers. The CID's head
office is at New Scotland Yard in central London, but each
main police station in the UK has its own CID.
Cid, The → see EL CID
ci·der || also cyder BrE /'saɪdə/ n [C;U] 1 BrE (a glass of) an
alcoholic drink made from apples. A lot of cider, especially
strong cider, is made in the West Country: Two glasses of
cider and a beer, please. → see also SCRUMPY 2 AmE a fresh
non-alcoholic drink made from apples → see also HARD
CIDER
Cider with Ro·sie /,saɪdə wɪð 'rəʊzi||-'dər-/ a novel by
Laurie LEE about a boy growing up in a small country village
in England during the 1920s and 1930s
cif /sɪf/ trademark a BRAND (=type) of liquid cleaning product
for hard surfaces
ci·gar /sɪ'gɑː/ n a tube-shaped roll of uncut tobacco leaves
for smoking, usually larger and more expensive than a
cigarette. Cigars are connected in people's minds with cer-
tain famous, and often rich, men, for example Winston
Churchill and Groucho Marx. → see also close, but no
cigar (CLOSE)
cig·a·rette || also -ret AmE rare /,sɪgə'ret||,sɪgə'ret, 'sɪgəret/
also fag BrE infml — n a thin paper tube of finely cut tobacco
for smoking: She lit her cigarette and then stubbed it out
almost immediately. | a packet of cigarettes | an ashtray full of
cigarette ends
ci·ga'rette ,card /||...'. ,.. '... ,./ n a card bearing a picture
of, for example, a car, bird etc, formerly found in cigarette
packets and intended to be collected into sets
ci·ga'rette ,end /||...'. ,.. '... ,./ also cigarette butt
especially AmE — n the part of a cigarette that remains when
you have finished smoking it
ci·ga'rette ,holder /||...'. ,.. '... ,./ n a narrow tube for
holding a cigarette when smoking it
ci·ga'rette ,lighter /||...'. ,.. '... ,./ n a LIGHTER
ci·ga'rette ,paper /||...'. ,.. '... ,./ n [C;U] (a piece of) thin
paper used in making your own cigarettes, including ciga-
rettes containing MARIJUANA, an illegal substance in Britain
and the US
cig·gy /'sɪgi/ n BrE infml a cigarette: Want a ciggy?
ci·lan·tro /sɪ'lɑːntrəʊ, -'læn-/ n [U] AmE for CORIANDER
Cil·la /'sɪlə/ → see BLACK, CILLA
Ci·mi·no, Michael /tʃɪ'minəʊ/ (1940-) a US film director
who won an Oscar for the Deerhunter in 1978, but whose
film Heaven's Gate (1980) was known for being expensive to
make but not very successful
C-in-C /,siː ɪn 'siː/ n abbrev. for COMMANDER IN CHIEF
cinch /sɪntʃ/ n [S] infml 1 something done easily: The exam
was a cinch. 2 something certain to happen: It's an absolute
cinch that this horse will win the race.
Cin·cin·nat·i /,sɪnsɪ'næti/ a city in southwest Ohio in the
US, next to the Ohio River, which is an important industrial
centre
cinc·ture /'sɪŋktʃə/ n lit a belt
cin·der /'sɪndə/ n a very small piece of burnt or partly burnt
wood, coal etc: Clear out yesterday's cinders before you make
the fire. | The cake was burnt to a cinder. (=burnt black)
'cinder block n [C;U] AmE for BREEZEBLOCK
Cin·de·rel·la /,sɪndə'relə/ 1 the main character in a FAIRY
TALE called Cinderella. Cinderella is a beautiful young woman
who is treated like a servant by her cruel STEPMOTHER and
stepsisters. When PRINCE CHARMING invites all the young
women to a BALL (=a large formal party where people
dance), Cinderella cannot go because she has only old torn
clothes. Then her FAIRY GODMOTHER appears and says 'You
shall go to the ball', and she magically changes six white
mice into horses and a PUMPKIN (=a large, round, yellow
vegetable) into a carriage to take her to the ball. She then
magically changes Cinderella's old clothes into a beautiful
dress and gives her a pair of glass SLIPPERS (=shoes). Cin-
derella goes to the ball, but her fairy godmother tells her that
she must come home before midnight, when the magic will
stop working and her carriage will turn back into a pumpkin.
At the ball the Prince falls in love with her and dances with
her all the time and Cinderella forgets her fairy godmother's
warning. When the clock starts to STRIKE midnight, she
suddenly runs away, but she loses one of her glass slippers.
The Prince finds the slipper and then makes every unmar-
ried woman in the country try it on, and he promises to
marry the woman that it belongs to. Cinderella puts on the
slipper, the slipper fits, and she marries the prince. In the
UK, the story is often performed as a PANTOMIME (=a humor-
ous play for children) at Christmas → see also UGLY SISTERS,
THE 2 someone or something that does not get as much
attention or respect as it deserves: the British film industry
for so long the Cinderella of the cinema world | the Cinderella
profession of teaching
'cinder track n a race track covered with fine CINDERS
(=small piece of burnt wood, coal etc)
cine- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
cin·e·ma /'sɪnɪmə/ n 1 [C] BrE || movie theater AmE — a
theatre in which films are shown: There is only one cinema in
our town. | a new eight-screen cinema complex 2 [the+S] also
pictures BrE infml || movies especially AmE — a showing of a film:
Let's go to the cinema tonight. 3 [the+S] especially BrE || movies
especially AmE — the art or industry of making films: He's
worked in the cinema all his life. | a leading figure in the Italian
cinema → see also BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION
cin·e·ma·go·er /'sɪnɪməˌgəʊə/ n [C usually plural] BrE some-
one who goes to the cinema to see a film → AmE MOVIEGOER
cin·e·ma·tog·ra·phy /,sɪnɪmə'tɒgrəfi||-'tɑː-/ n [U] tech the
art or science of making films —pher n
cin·e·phile /'sɪnɪfaɪl/ n [C] someone who likes films very
much and considers them to be a form of art, not just
entertainment