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smasher
Party.) 6 feel/look small to feel/look ashamed or unimportant 7 small is beautiful a phrase meaning that small things can be better than large things, especially institutions, businesses, and governments (from the book by E.F. SCHUMACHER Small is Beautiful): Small is no longer beautiful for fabric patterns. | Liechtenstein proves that small can be profitable as well as beautiful. → see LITTLE (USAGE) —~ness n [U]
small² adv in a small manner: He writes so small I can't read it.
small³ n [the S+of] the small narrow part of something, especially the middle part of the back where it curves in: a pain in the small of the back → see also SMALLS
'small ad n BrE for CLASSIFIED AD
'small arms /ˌlɔːr/ n [P] guns made to be held in one or both hands for firing
'small beer BrE || small potatoes AmE — n [U] infml derog a person or thing of little importance: He thinks he's a mainstay of the company, but he's really rather small beer.
small 'business n a business which usually employs fewer than 50 people and has a quite small financial TURNOVER
small 'businessman n someone who owns a SMALL BUSINESS: good news for all small businessmen
small 'change n [U] money in coins of small value: (fig.) With a turnover of £150 million, £20,000 is small change.
small 'claims court n a court where people can bring cases to get back money under a certain (quite low) amount from other people or from businesses
smallest 'room n [the] BrE euph the TOILET
small 'farmer n someone who owns a small farm
small 'fortune n [C usually sing.] infml a lot of money: That new car must have cost you a small fortune!
'small fry n [U] infml a young or unimportant person
small-hold-er /'smɔːlˌhəldər/ n BrE a person who owns or rents a smallholding
small-hold-ing /'smɔːlhəʊldŋ/ n BrE a piece of land farmed by one person, smaller than an ordinary farm
'small hours BrE || wee hours ScotE and AmE — n [the P] the early morning hours just after midnight: He came rolling home from the party in the small hours.
small in'testine n the long narrow twisting tube in the body, into which food first passes from the stomach and where most of its chemical change takes place → compare LARGE INTESTINE; see picture at DIGESTIVE
small-'minded adj having or showing a mind that is very limited and ungenerous; PETTY: She made you pay for a sprig of parsley? How small-minded can you get? → compare NARROW-MINDED —~ness n [U]
'small po,tatoes n [P] AmE for SMALL BEER
small-pox /'smɔːlpɒks||ˈpɑks/ n [U] a serious infectious disease that caused spots which left marks on the skin. By 1980 there were no cases of this disease anywhere in the world because of the effectiveness of the smallpox VACCINE.
small ,print also fine print n [(the)U] something that is purposely made difficult to understand or is easy not to notice, such as part of an agreement or CONTRACT: It says in the small print that we're responsible for all repairs.
smalls /smɔːlz/ n [P] BrE old-fash infml small articles of underwear, handkerchiefs etc
small-'scale adj small in size and operation: a small-scale undertaking
small ,screen n [the S] television: a film made for the small screen
small talk n [U] light conversation on unimportant or non-serious subjects: people making small talk at a cocktail party
small-'time adj limited in activity, profits, wealth, ability etc; unimportant: a small-time criminal → compare BIG TIME —~timer n
small 'town n AmE a town of a size up to about 10,000 people —'small-town adj: her small-town background
CULTURAL NOTE The STEREOTYPE of someone who comes from a small town in the US is someone who is not very educated, and who gets married when they are young and has a lot of children. They are also thought to have rather old-fashioned ideas and values, and to be easily tricked into believing something that is not true. They stay in the same town all their lives, and do not travel or know much about other places and CULTURES. However, people also think of small towns as good, safe places to grow up in, because everyone knows one another and helps take care of anyone who needs help.
,small town 'values n [P] AmE behaviour and ideas connected with people from small towns, including honesty, friendliness, politeness, PATRIOTISM, and MODESTY but sometimes also suggesting narrow-mindedness (NARROW-MINDED)
smarm-y /'smɑːmɪlˌɑːr-/ adj unpleasantly and falsely polite; UNCTUOUS
smart¹ /smɑːt||smɑːrt/ adj 1 especially BrE neat and stylish in appearance: You look very smart in that new shirt. | a smart new car → see also SMARTEN 2 especially AmE a) good or quick in thinking; clever: If he's as smart as he says, why did the cops catch him? → see CLEVER (USAGE) b) disrespectful, especially towards someone older such as one's teachers or parents; IMPUDENT: Don't get smart with me, young man! 3 BrE quick and forceful: a smart blow on the head | a smart rise/fall in prices 4 being or used by very fashionable people: London's smartest restaurant —~ly adv: She was very smartly dressed. —~ness n [U]
smart² v [I] 1 to cause or feel a painful stinging sensation, usually in one part of the body and not lasting long: The place where he had cut his knee was smarting. | The smoke made my eyes smart. 2 to be hurt in one's feelings; suffer in mind: She was still smarting from/over his unkind words.
smart³ n 1 a smarting pain 2 something that hurts the feelings or pride: He felt the smart of their insult for many days.
smart al-eck /'smɑːt ælɪk||ˈɑːr-/ also 'smart-arse BrE slang || 'smart-ass AmE slang — n infml a person who annoys others by claiming to know everything and trying to sound clever —~y adj
'smart ,card n a CREDIT or DEBIT card with a memory CHIP. It records and remembers any business one does with it.
smart-en /'smɑːtn||ˈɑːr-/ v
smarten up phr v [I;T(= smarten sbdy./sthg. ⇔ up)] 1 to improve in appearance; (cause to) become neat or stylish: We smartened the office up with a fresh coat of paint. | Smarten yourself up before you go into the interview. 2 smarten up one's act infml to try harder and become more effective
Smar-ties /'smɑːtɪz||ˈsmɑr-/ trademark BrE a type of small, round chocolate sweet with a hard sugar covering in various colours
'smart ,set n [the+sing./pl.v] the very fashionable members of society, considered as a group
smart-y-pants /'smɑːtɪ pænts||'smɑːr-/ n pl. smarty-pants infml a SMART ALECK
smash¹ /smæʃ/ v 1 [I,T (UP)] to (cause to) break into pieces violently and noisily: I dropped the plate on the floor and it smashed/it smashed to smithereens. | Jimmy smashed up his car on the motorway. (=completely wrecked it in a crash) → see also SMASH-UP; see BREAK (USAGE) 2 [I+adv/prep; T+obj+adv/prep] to go, drive, throw, or hit forcefully, as against something solid; crash: She lost control of the car and smashed into a lamppost. | He smashed his fist down on the table and demanded immediate service. 3 [T] to defeat, destroy, or put an end to: The army smashed the rebellion. | The police claim to have smashed this drugs-ring. | His performance smashes all previous records. 4 [T] (in games like tennis) to hit (the ball) with a SMASH
smash² n 1 (the sound of) a violent breaking; crash: the smash of glasses breaking on the floor 2 a powerful blow: a smash that sent his opponent to the floor 3 a hard downward attacking shot in tennis and similar games: to play a smash 4 a SMASH HIT 5 a SMASH-UP: They were killed in a smash on the motorway.
,smash-and-'grab adj [A] BrE (of a robbery) done by quickly breaking a shop window, taking the valuable things behind it, and running away
smashed /smæʃt/ adj [F] infml drunk
smash-er /'smæʃər/ n infml 1 something that is very fine or that one admires 2 a very attractive person