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spin the bottle
spik·y /'spaɪki/ adj 1 having long sharp points: a spiky cactus 2 BrE infml easily offended or annoyed
spill¹ /spɪl/ v spilt /spɪlt/ especially BrE || spilled especially AmE — 1 [I;T] to (cause to) pour out accidentally, especially over the edge of a container: She slipped and the wine spilt all over her skirt. | I'm afraid I've spilt some coffee on the rug. 2 [+adv/prep, especially OVER] to spread beyond limits: The crowd spilt over from the church into the streets. | There is a danger that the conflict will spill over into the neighbouring towns. ➔ see also OVERSPILL 3 [T often pass.] especially lit to cause (blood) to flow by wounding or killing: A lot of blood was spilt in that battle. 4 spill the beans infml to tell a secret too soon or to the wrong person ➔ see also cry over spilt milk (CRY)
spill² n 1 also spil-lage /'spɪlɪdʒ/ — an act or amount of spilling: oil spills 2 infml a fall from a horse, bicycle etc: She had a nasty spill when her horse shied.
spill³ n a thin piece of wood or twisted paper for lighting lamps, pipes etc
Spil-lane, Mickey /spɪ'leɪn/ (1918–) an American writer of violent crime NOVELS including I, the Jury, The Girl Hunter, and The Killing Man. The main character in many of Spillane's novels is a TOUGH PRIVATE DETECTIVE called Mike Hammer.
spill·way /'spɪlweɪ/ n a passage for water over or around a DAM (=wall for holding back water)
spin¹ /spɪn/ v span /spæn/ BrE or spun /spʌn/, spun; present participle spinning 1 [I;T] to (cause to) turn round and round fast: The wheel was spinning on its axle. | The teacher spun round to see who had spoken. | The steam spins a turbine to produce electricity. | The washing machine's spinning. (=the part which contains the clothes is turning round fast to remove the water) | We span the coin to see who would have first turn. (fig.) I'd drunk so much my head was spinning. (=I felt ill and faint) 2 [I;T] to make (thread) by twisting (cotton, wool etc): Before weaving we spin the thread/spin the wool into thread. | a spinning mill | (fig.) The old sea captain sat by the fire spinning yarns. (=telling stories) ➔ see also SPINNING WHEEL 3 [T] to produce in a threadlike form: This machine spins fibreglass. | The spider spins a web to catch flies. | spun gold/nylon 4 [+adv/prep] infml to move fast on wheels: We were spinning along at 80 miles per hour.
spin sthg. ↔ off phr v [T] 1 to produce as a SPIN-OFF 2 especially AmE to form (a separate, partly-independent company) from parts of an existing company
spin sthg. ↔ out phr v [T(over)] 1 derog to make (something) last an unnecessarily long time: He span out his farewells so much that I thought he was never going. | She tried to spin the job out over two days. 2 to cause to last as long as possible: I've only got £10, and we've got to spin it out over the whole week.
spin² n 1 [C] an act of spinning: Try your luck on a spin of the wheel! (=at a game of ROULETTE) 2 [S;U] fast turning movement: a spin of ten turns per second | to put a lot of spin on a tennis ball when hitting it | I'll just give the washing a quick spin (i.e. remove the water by putting it in a washing machine and causing it to turn round very fast) 3 [S] infml a short trip for pleasure, especially in a car: Let's go for a spin in my new car. 4 [C] also tail-spin AmE — a steep circular fall by an aircraft: The plane went into/came out of a spin. 5 [S] infml a steep drop: The bad news sent stock-market prices into a spin. 6 [S] BrE infml a state of confused anxiety; PANIC: He's really got himself into a spin over his driving test. ➔ see also FLAT SPIN 7 [S] AmE infml a way of providing information which makes it seem favourable to a particular person or political party: They're trying to put a positive spin on the latest unemployment figures. 8 [S] a property of an ELEMENTARY PARTICLE which influences its behaviour with other particles
spi·na bif·i·da /ˌspaɪnə 'bɪfɪdə/ n [U] med a serious condition in which the SPINE is split down the middle from birth, leaving the spinal cord unprotected
spin·ach /'spɪnɪdʒ, -ɪtʃ|-ɪtʃ/ n [U] a vegetable whose soft loose green leaves can be eaten and which contains a lot of IRON
spin·al /'spaɪnl/ adj of or for the SPINE: spinal disease
spinal column n SPINE
,spinal 'cord n the thick cord of nerves enclosed in the SPINE by which messages are carried to and from the brain
,Spinal 'Tap a FICTIONAL rock group in the film This is Spinal Tap, directed by Rob Reiner. The film is made to look like a DOCUMENTARY and it SATIRIZES HEAVY METAL bands such as Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin.
spin·dle /'spɪndl/ n 1 a machine part round which something turns 2 a round pointed rod used for twisting the thread in spinning
spin·dly /'spɪndli/ adj (especially of a leg) long, thin, and weak-looking: The young horse was standing unsteadily on its spindly legs. | spindly rose bushes
'spin doctor n especially AmE infml a person who makes information or events seem favourable to someone, especially to a politician: The White House spin doctors are hard at work explaining the President's about-face on taxes.
,spin-'dry v [T] especially BrE to remove most of the water from (washed clothes) in a special machine (spin-dryer) that spins round and round very fast
spine /spaɪn/ n 1 also backbone, spinal column fml — the row of bones in the centre of the back of human beings and certain animals that supports the body and protects the SPINAL CORD 2 a stiff sharp-pointed plant or animal part; PRICKLE: a hedgehog's/cactus's spines ➔ see also SPINY 3 the part of a book where the pages are fastened and the title is usually printed
'spine-chilling adj very frightening but in a way that people enjoy: a spine-chilling ghost story/horror movie
spine·less /'spaɪnləs/ adj 1 derog without moral strength or courage: I was too spineless to stand up to the boss, so I ended up working all weekend. 2 (of an animal) having no SPINE —ly adv —ness n [U]
spi·net /spɪ'net||'spɪnət/ n a small HARPSICHORD
'spine-tingling adj making you feel very excited or frightened, in an enjoyable way: a spine-tingling film
spin·na·ker /'spɪnəkər/ n a large three-sided sail that has a rounded shape when blown out by the wind, carried on some racing boats for going with the force of the wind
spin·ner /'spɪnər/ n 1 a person who SPINS thread for cloth 2 a) a cricket ball thrown with a spinning action b) a BOWLER of such balls 3 a BAIT for catching fish that goes round and round when pulled through the water 4 (in some games) a movable pointer which is spun and stops at a point showing the number, kind etc, of moves to be made ➔ see also MONEY-SPINNER
spin·ney /'spɪni/ n BrE a small area full of trees and low-growing plants; COPSE
spinning jen·ny /'spɪnɪŋ ˌdʒeni/ n an industrial machine of former times allowing one person to spin a number of threads at once
'spinning wheel n a small machine used especially formerly at home to SPIN thread, in which a foot-driven wheel moves a SPINDLE
'spin-off n 1 a usually useful product or result of a process other than the main one; BY-PRODUCT ➔ see also SPIN OFF 2 AmE a television programme involving characters which were originally in another programme: The spin-off from 'The Cosby Show' about the daughter at college wasn't on for very long.
Spi·no·za, Ba·ruch /spɪ'nəʊzə, bə'ru:k/ also Benedic·tus de Spinoza (1632–1677) a Dutch PHILOSOPHER, known for his PANTHEISM (=the religious idea that God and the universe are the same thing and that God is present in all living things), whose most famous work is called The Ethics
spin·ster /'spɪnstər/ n old-fash a woman who is not married, especially a woman who is no longer young and who seems unlikely ever to get married ➔ see also BACHELOR
CULTURAL NOTE There is an old STEREOTYPE of a spinster as a MIDDLE-AGED woman who lives alone, is not very attractive, and has never been asked by any man if she will marry him. Spinster is, however, an old-fashioned word which is not used much now.
,spin the 'bottle n [U] a game in which one person of a group sitting in a circle spins a bottle in the middle and