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dandelion clock
and damned if she doesn't informal people will find fault with
her whatever course of action she chooses
damned² n [the P] in the Christian and Muslim religions,
people who have behaved so immorally that after death
they are sent to Hell to be punished for ever
damned·est¹ /'dæmdɪst/ n do one's damnedest informal to do
everything possible: She's doing her damnedest to pass the
exam.
damnedest² adj [the+A] informal, especially AmE the most unusual,
surprising etc: Isn't that the damnedest thing you've ever
heard?
damn·ing /'dæmɪŋ/ adj likely to lead to ruin or failure: We
found some damning evidence that implicated both of them.
Damocles → see SWORD OF DAMOCLES
Da·mon, Matt /'deɪmən, mæt/ (1970-) an American actor
whose films include Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan,
and The Talented Mr Ripley. He and actor Ben Affleck wrote
Good Will Hunting for which they each won an Oscar in
1997.
damp¹ /dæmp/ adj rather wet, often in an unpleasant way:
damp grass | damp clothes | The tenants complained to their
landlord about the damp walls in the bedroom. | an unhealthy
damp climate | Use a damp cloth to clean the table. —ish adj
—ly adv
Compare damp, humid and moist. Damp is often
used in a bad sense: I can't wear these socks; they're
damp. Moist is used especially of food and parts of the
body, and often has a good sense (=not too dry): a rich
moist cake | moist eyes/lips. Humid is a more scientific
word usually used of climate or weather: It was hot and
humid in the jungle.
damp² also damp·ness /'dæmpnəs/ — n [U] slight wetness:
There's a patch of damp on my bedroom wall. → see also
RISING DAMP
damp³ v [T] 1 to wet slightly; DAMPEN: Damp the dress before
you iron it. 2 to make (a stringed musical instrument) sound
less loudly, e.g. by using a DAMPER
damp sthg. ⇔ down also dampen sthg. ⇔ down — phr v
[T] 1 to make (a fire) burn more slowly, often by covering it
with ash 2 to control and reduce; RESTRAIN: They were too
keen at first and we had to damp down their enthusiasm.
'damp course also 'damp-proof ,course n BrE a thick-
ness of material in a wall to prevent RISING DAMP (=wetness
coming up through the bricks)
damp·en /'dæmpən/ v [T] 1 to make damp: The rain hardly
dampened the ground. 2 to reduce the strength of (feelings,
especially of happiness or keenness): It was an unpleasant
event and it dampened our spirits for a while.
damp·er /'dæmpə/ n 1 an influence that makes people feel
sad or discouraged: The accident put a damper on our
party. 2 a metal plate, door etc, that can be moved to
control the amount of air that reaches a burning fire and
make it burn more or less brightly 3 an apparatus that stops
the shaking of a piano string
,damp 'squib n BrE informal something which is intended to be
exciting, effective etc, but which fails and disappoints
dam·sel /'dæmzəl/ n 1 lit a young unmarried woman, espe-
cially one of noble birth 2 damsel in distress humor a
woman who is in a difficult situation from which a man can
save her (from old stories in which a damsel is often held as a
prisoner and is saved by a young KNIGHT humorously known
as a knight in shining armour): 'Thank you very much.' 'Not
at all, madam. Always happy to help a damsel in distress.'
dam·son /'dæmzən/ n (the small acid purple fruit of) a kind
of PLUM tree: damson jam
dan /dæn/ n a level of skill in a MARTIAL ART, higher than a
BLACK BELT: He's a first dan in judo. → compare BLACK BELT
dance¹ /dɑːns||dæns/ v 1 [I] to move the feet and body in a
way that matches the speed or movements of music: She
loves to dance. | They danced all night to the music of the
band. | Would you like to dance with me?
CULTURAL NOTE Many people in the US and UK enjoy
dancing, and music is usually played at parties and other
celebrations so that people can dance. Schools often
have dances or DISCOS for their students, and in the US
most schools have a special formal dance at the end of
the school year, called a PROM (see Cultural Note there).
CHARITY organizations and UK universities have formal
dances called BALLS where women wear long dresses
and men wear DINNER JACKETS. When young people want
to dance, they go to NIGHTCLUBS with their friends, an
activity known as CLUBBING.
2 [T] to perform (a type of dance): We danced the
waltz. 3 [T+obj+adv/prep] to cause to dance: She danced the
baby round the room. 4 [I] to move quickly up and down,
or about: The branches of the trees danced in the breeze. |
The figures on the computer screen danced up and down in
front of my eyes. (=I couldn't read them properly) 5 dance
attendance on/upon someone BrE to pay someone a lot of
attention, get everything they might need etc, showing
that one is very keen to please them 6 dance to some-
one's tune to do what someone wants without asking
questions, in a way that shows complete obedience
—dancer n: Is he a good dancer? | She's a dancer on the
stage. | folk dancers
dance² n 1 [C] an act of dancing: Let's have one more dance
before we go home. | She did a little dance of excitement. | to
play dance music 2 [C] (the name of) a particular set of
movements performed to music: The waltz is a beautiful
dance. | a traditional tribal dance 3 [C] a social meeting or
party for dancing, especially older-style dancing rather than
DISCO dancing: They're giving/holding a dance on New
Year's Eve. 4 [C] a piece of music for dancing: The band
played a slow dance. 5 [(the) U] (sometimes cap.) the art of
dancing, especially BALLET dancing → see also COUNTRY
DANCE, SONG AND DANCE, SQUARE DANCE, lead someone a
dance (LEAD¹)
'dance-band n a group of musicians (a band) who play
music for dancing to —dance-band adj: a dance-band
singer
'dance floor n 1 a special floor for dancing on 2 on the
dance floor at dancing: She's wonderful on the dance floor.
'dance hall n a large public room where people pay to go and
dance. Dance halls are rather old-fashioned now and are
connected in people's minds with dancing before the 1960s.
Many older-style dances, where people WALTZ etc, are now
held in hotels. Most young people who like dancing go to
DISCOS or NIGHT CLUBS.
,Dance of 'Death also danse macabre an imaginary
dance which people are supposed to perform as they are
being led to their death by a SKELETON (=a body consisting
only of bones) representing death. It was very common in
pictures and drawings in the MIDDLE AGES, but there are also
descriptions of it in music and literature.
,dance of the ,seven 'veils, the n a sexy Eastern dance
(known to most Westerners through old films) in which a
woman slowly removes seven long pieces of thin material
(the veils) from her body as she dances
'dance ,studio n a large room usually with mirrors on the
walls and bars to hold onto where people learn or practise
dancing
'dancing ,girl n a professional woman dancer in a place of
popular entertainment, especially in the past. People some-
times use the expression Bring on the dancing girls mean-
ing 'Let's add some (more) excitement to this occasion!'
,Dan 'Dare the main character in one of the stories in the
British COMIC for boys called The Eagle, popular especially in
the 1950s and 1960s. He is the brave CAPTAIN of a spacecraft
and has many exciting adventures, and his main enemy is
the Mekon.
D and C /,diː ænd 'siː/ n an operation to clean out the inside
of a woman's WOMB in order to treat various medical
conditions. The letters stand for 'dilation and curettage'.
dan·de·li·on /'dændəlaɪən/ n a common small wild bright-
yellow flower whose seeds travel long distances on the wind
→ see picture at FLOWER
'dandelion ,clock n BrE a soft round mass of white seeds of
the dandelion on a STALK