Christmas bonus
238
Christmas. | the Christmas holidays → see also the ghost of
Christmas past (GHOST), XMAS and see Feature on page A10
Christmas 'bonus n an additional payment made at
Christmas by some employers to their workers. In the UK, the
government also gives a Christmas bonus to all OAPS (=older
people who no longer work).
'Christmas box n in the UK, a gift of money to the person
who delivers your letters, newspapers, milk etc to thank
them for their services during the year. Very few people still
give such a gift.
'Christmas cake n [C;U] a sweet heavy cake eaten in the UK
at Christmas. It contains a lot of dried fruit and is covered
with ICING (=powdery sugar mixed with water) → compare
CHRISTMAS PUDDING
'Christmas card n [C] a card that you send to friends and
relatives at Christmas with your good wishes → see Feature
on page A10
Christmas 'carol n [C] a Christian song sung at Christmas;
CAROL¹ → see Feature on page A10
Christmas Carol, A a short novel by Charles DICKENS
about an unpleasant old man called SCROOGE who hates to
spend money. On CHRISTMAS EVE several GHOSTS visit him
to warn him about what will happen if he does not change.
When he wakes up the next morning, he becomes a happy
generous person, especially to his worker Bob CRATCHIT and
Cratchit's sick son, TINY TIM.
Christmas 'cookie n a flat sweet type of cake with ICING
(=powdery sugar mixed with water) on the top, eaten in the
US at Christmas
Christmas 'cracker n a brightly coloured tube of paper
that makes a harmless exploding sound when two people
pull it apart. It usually contains a small cheap toy, a joke,
and a paper hat, and is used at meals or parties at Christmas,
especially in the UK → see picture at CRACKER
Christmas 'Day n [C;U] December 25th, the day when
Christians celebrate the birth of Christ
Christmas 'dinner n [C;U] a meal eaten on or before
Christmas Day with your family or friends → see Feature on
page A11
CULTURAL NOTE In the US and UK, Christmas dinner
typically includes TURKEY with various vegetables and
SAUCES and, in the UK, this is usually followed by
CHRISTMAS PUDDING.
Christmas 'Eve n [U] the day, and especially the evening,
before Christmas. Christmas Eve is not a public holiday in
Britain or the US: I always go to my parents' house on
Christmas Eve. → see Feature on page A11
'Christmas present n a present given at Christmas
Christmas 'pudding n [C;U] a sweet PUDDING eaten in the
UK at the end of Christmas dinner. It contains a lot of dried
fruit and is often covered with burning BRANDY (=strong
alcohol) → compare CHRISTMAS CAKE
Christmas 'stocking n a long sock which children hang
beside a FIREPLACE or beside their bed on Christmas Eve so
that it can be filled with small presents. TANGERINES and
nuts are often put into the sock. Small children are told that
the presents are brought by SANTA CLAUS who has climbed
down the CHIMNEY during the night.
Christ-mas-sy /'krɪsməsi/ adj infml typical of or connected
with Christmas: a nice Christmassy feeling
Christ-mas-time /'krɪsməstaɪm/ n [U] the season when
people prepare for and celebrate Christmas, from mid-
December to the end of the year: I hope to see all of my
relatives at Christmastime.
'Christmas tree n a FIR or SPRUCE tree, either real or
artificial, that you decorate specially for Christmas with
TINSEL, thin coloured glass balls, small coloured lights (FAIRY
LIGHTS) etc. It usually has a star, a fairy, or an ANGEL on the
top. A family's Christmas presents are often placed around
the bottom of the tree.
Chris-to /'krɪstəʊ/ (1935–) a US artist, born in Bulgaria, who
works with his wife, Jeanne-Claude. He is known for his
large temporary works that change the appearance of the
land or of large buildings. In 1995 he wrapped the Reichstag
building in Berlin in silver plastic for two weeks.
Chris·to·pher, Saint /'krɪstəfər/ (?–?250 AD) a man who
was supposed to have carried the Christ across a river, and
who, as a result, became the PATRON SAINT of travellers →
see also SAINT CHRISTOPHER
Christopher 'Robin a character in stories and poems by A.
A. MILNE. He is a small boy who is a friend of WINNIE THE
POOH.
chro·mat·ic /krəʊ'mætɪk, krə-/ adj 1 of colours; col-
oured 2 of the musical SCALE (chromatic scale) which
consists of SEMITONES
chrome /krəʊm/ n [U] a hard ALLOY (=combination of
metals) of chromium with other metals, especially used for
covering objects with a thin shiny protective metal plate:
The trimmings on the car are made of chrome.
chrome 'yellow n [U] a bright yellow
chro·mi·um /'krəʊmiəm/ n [U] a blue-white metal that is a
simple substance (ELEMENT) found only in combination with
other chemicals, used for covering objects with a thin shiny
protective plate: chromium-plated
chro·mo·some /'krəʊməsəʊm/ n tech a threadlike object
found in all living cells, which passes on and controls the
nature, character etc of a young plant, animal, or cell → see
also X CHROMOSOME, Y CHROMOSOME
chron- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
chron·ic¹ /'krɒnɪk||'krɑː-/ adj 1 (of a disease) continual;
lasting a long time: chronic hepatitis | (fig.) chronic unemploy-
ment → compare ACUTE 2 [A] suffering from a disease over a
long period: a chronic alcoholic/invalid | chronic depression |
(fig.) a chronic complainer 3 BrE slang very bad; terrible: The
food was absolutely chronic! —ally /kli/ adv: chronically ill
chronic² n [U] AmE infml a very strong and smelly type of
MARIJUANA
chronic fa'tigue syn'drome n AmE → see ME
chron·i·cle¹ /'krɒnɪkəl||'krɑː-/ n. [-(of)] a record of historical
events, arranged in order of time: The Daily Chronicle (=title
of a newspaper) | (fig.) Every time I visit my grandmother she
gives me a chronicle of her complaints.
chronicle² v [T] to make a chronicle of (events): to chronicle
the growth of a town —cler n
chron·o·graph /'krɒnəgrɑːf||'krɑːnəgræf/ n tech an instru-
ment for measuring and recording periods of time
chron·o·log·i·cal /ˌkrɒnə'lɒdʒɪkəl, ˌkrɑːnə'lɑː-/ adj
arranged according to the order of time: We'll talk about the
causes of the war in chronological order. —ly /kli/ adv
chro·nol·o·gy /krə'nɒlədʒi||-'nɑː-/ n 1 [U] the science
which measures time and gives dates to events 2 [C] a list or
table arranged according to the order of time: a chronology
of the events of last year
chro·nom·e·ter /krə'nɒmɪtə||-'nɑː-/ n tech a very exact
clock for measuring time, especially as used for scientific
purposes
chrys·a·lis /'krɪsəlɪs/ n pl. chrysalises /-sɪz/ the PUPA (=an
insect in its inactive stage) of a MOTH or BUTTERFLY in its
hard outer shell → compare COCOON
chry·san·the·mum /krɪ'sænθɪməm/ || also mum AmE infml
— n a garden plant with large brightly coloured bushy
flowers → see picture at FLOWER
Chrys·ler /'kraɪzlər/ trademark 1 a large US company that
makes cars of many different types and sizes. In 1998,
Chrysler joined with the German car maker Daimler-Benz to
form a new company. 2 a type of car made by this company
'Chrysler ,Building, the a famous building in New York
City which has a shiny pointed top. It was built in 1930 and
has 77 STOREYS
Chubb /tʃʌb/ trademark a type of strong lock on a door, made
by the British company Chubb
chub·by /'tʃʌbi/ adj (especially of children and young adults)
pleasantly fat: chubby cheeks → see FAT (USAGE) —biness n
[U]
chuck¹ /tʃʌk/ v [T] 1 infml to throw (something), especially
with a short movement of the arms: [+obj][+obj/d] Chuck me
the ball. | [+obj+adv/prep] Chuck the ball to me. | I chucked the
empty packet away/chucked it in the bin. | (fig.) Don't make so
much noise, or the driver will chuck us off (the bus). 2 [(N)]
slang to stop or give up; leave: He got fed up with his job and