tush
1494
Siena, and its capital city, Florence. Tuscany is a popular place
for MIDDLE-CLASS British people to go on holiday. → see also
CHIANTISHIRE
tush¹ /tʌʃ/ interj old use (an expression of dissatisfaction usu-
ally mixed with blame)
tush² /tʌʃ/ n AmE slang for BOTTOM
tusk /tʌsk/ n a very long pointed tooth, usually one of a pair,
that comes out beyond the mouth in certain animals,
especially the elephant
Tus·ke·gee In·sti·tute, the /ˌtʌskəˈɡiː ˌɪnsttjuːt/
one of the first colleges for African Americans in the US. It
was started by Booker T. WASHINGTON in 1881 in Tuskegee,
Alabama.
tusk·er /ˈtʌskər/ n infml an elephant
Tus·saud, Madame /tʊˈsoʊd||tuˈsəʊ/ (1760–1850) a Swiss
woman who made MODELS of people in WAX, including
famous people who were killed by the GUILLOTINE in the
FRENCH REVOLUTION. In 1802 she established her WAXWORKS,
called MADAME TUSSAUD’S, in London.
tus·sle¹ /ˈtʌsəl/ v [I(with)] infml to fight roughly without
weapons; struggle roughly
tussle² n infml a rough struggle or fight: After quite a tussle we
beat them by one point.
tus·sock /ˈtʌsək/ n a small thick mass of grass
tut interj (the sound like a /t/ made by sucking rather than
forcing air out, and often read as /tt/, used for expressing
slight disapproval or annoyance): Tut (tut)! I’ve got some
chalk on my coat.
Tu·tan·kha·men, Tutankhamon /ˌtuːtənˈkɑːmən/ (14th
century BC) an Egyptian PHARAOH (=ruler) whose burial place
and the valuable things in it were discovered in 1922. Many
of these things can now been seen in Cairo.
tu·te·lage /ˈtjutɪlɪdʒ||ˈtuː-/ n [U] fml 1 instruction; teach-
ing: He made good progress under her tutelage. 2 the state or
period of being under someone’s care and protection
3 responsibility for someone, their education, prop-
erty, actions etc; protection
tu·te·la·ry /ˈtjuːtʃləri||ˈtuːtʃləri/ adj [A] fml or tech providing
protection; acting as a GUARDIAN: tutelary deities
tu·tor¹ /ˈtjutər||ˈtu-/ n 1 a teacher who gives private
instruction to a single pupil or to a very small class and who
sometimes lives with the family of his or her pupil: a
maths/French tutor | a piano tutor 2 (in British universities
and colleges) a teacher who directs the studies of a number
of students and/or is responsible for giving them advice
about personal matters
tutor² v [T(in)] fml to act as a tutor to; give instruction to → see
TEACH (USAGE)
tu·to·ri·al¹ /tjuːˈtːriəl||tuː-/ n (especially in British universi-
ties and colleges) a period of instruction given by a TUTOR:
I’ve got a tutorial at 2.00.
tutorial² adj fml of a tutor or his/her duties
tut·ti frut·ti /ˌtuːti ˈfruːti/ n, adj [U] (ice cream) with very
small pieces of mixed fruit and crushed nuts mixed in
tut-’tut¹ interj TUT
tut-tut² /ˌtʌt ˈtʌt/ v -tt- [I] infml to express impatience,
annoyance, disapproval etc, by saying tut-tut
tu·tu /ˈtuːtuː/ n a short skirt made of many folds of stiffened
material worn by women BALLET dancers
Tutu, Des·mond /ˈdezmənd/ (1931–) a South African priest
in the Anglican religion, who was Archbishop of Cape Town
(1986–96). He had a leading part in the fight against APARTHEID,
and he was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Nelson
MANDELA made him head of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission in 1995, and he remained in that position
until 1998.
Tu·va·lu /tuːˈvɑluː/ a country in the South Pacific Ocean,
east of the Solomon Islands, made up of nine CORAL islands,
and formerly called the Ellice Islands. Population: 10,297
(1997). Capital: Fongafale.
tu·whit tu·whoo /tə ˌwɪt tə ˈwuː/ interj the sound made by
an OWL
tux·e·do /tʌkˈsiːdəʊ/ also tux /tʌks/ infml — n pl. -dos AmE a
man’s jacket, usually black, worn on formal occasions, e.g.
weddings; a DINNER JACKET → see picture at EVENING DRESS
TV /ˌtiː ˈviː/ n [C;U] abbrev. for 1 television; TV can mean
either the piece of equipment, or the system of receiving
programmes in this way: Have you seen our new TV? | There
was nothing good on TV, so we listened to some music. |
M*A*S*H* used to be Dad’s favorite TV show. | TV
programme/series/drama/star etc a new TV series about
exploration | Jonathan Ross, the TV personality | on TV Did
you see it on TV? What a game! | a TV in every room
CULTURAL NOTE Daytime TV In the US, there are usually
SOAP OPERAS, TALK SHOWS, old films, and old television
programmes on during the day. In the UK, there are a
variety of programmes, including children’s programmes
and shows about homes and cooking. People often think
that the people who watch daytime television are at home
because they do not have a job, because they are ill, or
because they are women who are bored with doing their
HOUSEWORK.
2 [U] infml a TRANSVESTITE
,TV ’dinner n [C] a meal that is sold already prepared, so that
you just need to heat it before eating
,tv e’vangelist → see TELEVANGELIST
,TV ’Guide a US weekly magazine which gives the times and
details of television programmes, as well as articles about
programmes, actors etc → compare RADIO TIMES, TV TIMES
TVP /ˌtiː viː ˈpiː/ n [U] abbrev. for TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN
,TV ’Times trademark a British weekly magazine that gives the
times and details of television programmes, as well as
articles about programmes, actors etc → compare RADIO
TIMES, TV GUIDE
twad·dle /ˈtwɒdl||ˈtwɑːd/ n [U] fml foolish talk or writing
nonsense
twain /tweɪn/ n [(the)U] old use or poet (a set of) two; pair: ‘East
is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.’
(Rudyard Kipling)
Twain, Mark (1835–1910) a US writer best known for his
novels The Adventures of Tom SAWYER and The Adventures of
Huckleberry FINN, and for his descriptions of life on the
Mississippi River. His real name was Samuel Longhorne Clem-
ens.
Twain, Sha·ni·a /ʃənaɪə/ (1965–) a Canadian singer and
SONGWRITER who first became known for her COUNTRY
MUSIC style and later had great success with POP records. Her
ALBUMS include The Woman in Me, Come On Over, and UP!
twang¹ /twæŋ/ n 1 a quick ringing such as the sound made
by pulling, then suddenly freeing, a very tight string of
wire 2 [C usually sing.] a quality of sound of human speech
produced by pronouncing the words at the back of the
mouth or through the nose: He spoke with a nasal twang.
twang² v [I,T] to (cause to) make a twang: to twang a ruler/a
guitar string
’twas /twɒz||twɑːz/ short for (old use or poet) it was
’Twas the Night Before Christmas an old Christmas
poem by Clement Moore which is especially popular in the
US. It describes SANTA CLAUS and his visit to a family’s house
on Christmas Eve. The poem is often printed in newspapers
and magazines at Christmas, and there are many parodies
(PARODY) of it. It begins with the words:
’Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse.
twat /twɒt, twæt||twɑːt/ n taboo slang 1 old-fash the female sex
organ 2 BrE an unpleasant or foolish person
tweak /twiːk/ v [T infml] 1 to take hold of, pull, and twist
(especially the ear or nose) with a sudden movement 2 to
make small changes to (something such as a car engine or
computer PROGRAM) in order to improve its performance
—tweak n: He gave her ear a friendly little tweak.
twee /twiː/ adj BrE infml too delicate or pretty; unpleasantly
DAINTY: That painting of little cottages with lace curtains is
rather twee.
tweed /twiːd/ n [U] a rough woollen cloth woven from
threads of several different colours used mostly to make
JACKETS suits, and coats: a tweed suit → see also HARRIS
TWEED