1583
wishbone
Wis·den /'wɪzdən/ also ,Wisden's 'Cricketers' ,Alma-
nack trademark a book about CRICKET which is produced
every year in the UK and which contains the results of all
the important games, the SCORES (=points won) of all the
players etc
wis·dom /'wɪzdəm/ n [U] rather fml 1 the quality of being
wise; good sense and judgment: a man of great wisdom | I
would question the wisdom of borrowing such a large sum of
money. (=I think it is an unwise thing to do) 2 knowledge
gained through learning or experience: the wisdom of the
ancients | folk wisdom | According to (the) received/
conventional wisdom the voters usually make their choice on
the basis of domestic issues.
'wisdom tooth n any of the four large back teeth in
humans, which do not usually appear until the rest of the
body has stopped growing. They sometimes have to be
removed. ➔ see picture at TEETH
wise¹ /waɪz/ adj 1 rather fml apprec having or showing good
sense and judgment, and the ability to understand and
decide on the right action: a wise man/decision/precaution |
.[F+to-v] You were wise to leave when you did. | It was wise of
you to do so. | You'll understand when you're older and
wiser. 2 a word to the wise saying just a slight suggestion is
enough for a clever person (usually used to suggest that a
clever person should be able to realize what the speaker
means without it actually being said) 3 get wise to infml to
learn to understand the methods or behaviour of (especially
someone dishonest): I've got wise to him and his game.
(=cheating) 4 none the wiser infml knowing no more, after
being told: He explained it all to me, but I was none the
wiser! 5 wise after the event understanding what should
have been done to prevent a bad situation that has now
happened: If we had waited another week we could have
bought the car more cheaply. Well, it's easy to be wise after the
event. ➔ see also STREETWISE —ly adv: He wisely refrained
from having any more to drink. | The money has been wisely
invested.
In ordinary speech, a person is usually described as
sensible rather than wise.
wise² v
wise up phr v [I; T(= wise sbdy. ⇔ up)] infml especially AmE to (cause
to) learn or become conscious of the true situation or true
nature of someone or something
wise³ n [S] 1 old use a way; manner: It happened in this wise.
(=like this) | They are in no wise to blame. -wise a) in the
manner of; like: to walk crabwise b) in the position or
direction of: lengthwise | Turn the handle clockwise. c) in
connection with; with regard to: taxwise
Many new adverbs are formed, especially in
American English, by adding -wise to nouns, with the
meaning 'in connection with': The company must try to
improve its position tax wise/sales wise/money wise/
profit wise. Some people do not like this use.
Wise, Ernie ➔ see MORECAMBE AND WISE
wise·a·cre /'waɪzəkə/ n AmE infml WISE GUY
wise-crack¹ /'waɪzkræk/ n infml a clever joking remark or
reply
wisecrack² v [I] infml to make a wisecrack or wisecracks: his
jovial, wisecracking manner
wise guy n infml derog someone who thinks they can supply
information which shows that they know more than others,
but which is in fact of no use: OK, wise guy; if you're so
clever, what's the right answer?
wise 'men also Three Wise Men, Three Kings —
[the] according to the Bible, the three wise men or kings who
followed the star to where Jesus had just been born, and
brought gifts of gold, FRANKINCENSE, and MYRRH ➔ see also
NATIVITY
wish¹ /wɪʃ/ v [not usually in progressive forms] 1 [T+(that);obj] to
want (a particular situation) to exist, when this is impossible
either at the present time or at any time: I wish (that) I had
never met you. | I wish I were a bird. | The party was awful,
and we all wished we had never gone to it. ➔ see HOPE
(USAGE) 2 [(for)] to want and try to cause a particular thing,
especially when it can only happen by magic; make a WISH. In
FAIRYTALES and stories somebody is often given three wishes
by a FAIRY, GENIE etc which means that they have three
chances to ask for anything they want and it will happen or
appear: You have everything you could wish for. 3 [I; T] fml to
want: The newspapers here can print whatever they wish. | I
don't think I ought to, but I will if you wish/if you so wish. |
[+to-v] I wish to make a complaint. | You can change the office
round if you wish to. | [+obj+to-v] Is there anything else you
wish me to bring you? 4 [T+obj‖(+obj(d))] to hope that (some-
one) will have (something), especially expressed as a greet-
ing: We wish you a merry Christmas/good luck/a safe
journey! 5 [T+obj+adj/adv/prep] fml to want (something or
someone) to be: Do you wish your coffee black or white, sir? |
We wished her anywhere except in our house. | She says she
wishes herself dead. 6 wish someone joy of something infml
BrE (used when someone has chosen the wrong thing or
person) to hope that someone will enjoy something more
than seems likely 7 wish someone well to hope that
someone will have success, good luck etc 8 wish you were
here a phrase that is supposed to be commonly written on
holiday POSTCARDS, now mainly written as a joke 9 I/you
wish! spoken used in order to say that you do not think
something is true, even though you or someone else might
wish that it was: 'You look as if you've lost some weight.' 'I
wish!' | 'Do you think I look like Michelle Pfeiffer?' 'You wish!'
In British English it is common in informal situations
to use was instead of were in sentences like I wish I were
a bird. But in American English it would be considered
bad English to use was in this type of sentence.
wish sbdy./sthg. on/upon sbdy. phr v [T] to give or pass on
(a difficult or unwanted person, responsibility etc) to (some-
one else), in order to avoid trouble for oneself: She's a
difficult person; I wouldn't wish her on my worst enemy.
wish² n [(for)] 1 a feeling of wanting something, especially
something that is at present impossible; hope or desire: The
whole world shares the wish for these peace talks to succeed. |
Please respect my wishes and do as I ask. | They have deliber-
ately gone against my wishes. | [+to-v] She had expressed a
wish (=said she wanted) to see the gardens. | I have no wish to
appear rude, but.... | [+that] His last wish (=before he died)
was that he could see his grandchildren again. | (in greetings)
We sent our best wishes for her birthday. (=a wish that she
would have a happy birthday) ➔ see HOPE (USAGE) 2 a thing
wished for; object of hope or desire: She wanted a new bike
for Christmas and she got her wish. | May all your wishes
come true! 3 an attempt to make a particular desired thing or
situation happen, especially when it can only happen by
magic, expressed in a special way or silently; act of wishing
(WISH): He closed his eyes and made a wish.
CULTURAL NOTE Making a wish There are several
customs in the US and the UK that involve making
wishes, although people do not really believe that they can
affect the future. In the US, people make a wish when
they first see a star at night, and in the UK people say
that you should make a wish when you see a SHOOTING
STAR. People also make a wish after blowing out the
CANDLES on their BIRTHDAY cake. Some public places
have FOUNTAINS or WISHING WELLS and people make a
wish as they throw a coin into the water. In the US,
people think of a wish and then try to blow all the seeds
off of a DANDELION (=a wild plant that has yellow flowers
and then white balls of seeds), and say that their wish will
come true if all the seeds come off in one blow. Another
tradition for making a wish is to pull on a WISHBONE (=the
small V-shaped bone in a cooked chicken). Two people
each hold one of the ends of the bone and pull on it, and
the person who pulls off the larger piece of bone makes a
wish. Wishes are very important in stories, especially
FAIRY TALES such as 'Aladdin', which is about a boy who
rubs a magic lamp, and a GENIE (=a magical spirit) comes
out and allows him to make three wishes.
wish-bone /'wɪʃbəʊn/ n a V-shaped bone in the breast of a
chicken or other farm bird
CULTURAL NOTE After the bird has been cooked, the ends
of the wishbone are pulled apart by two people, and the
one who gets the longer piece can make a wish.