581
GI
get-a-way /'getəweɪ/ n [S] infml an escape made after a
crime: The burglar made his getaway across the roof. | As the
thieves ran out of the bank the getaway car was waiting with
its engine running. → compare DRIVEAWAY CAR; see also GET
AWAY
Geth-sem-a-ne /geθ'seməni/ a garden where Jesus went
with his followers, and where he was betrayed (BETRAY) by
one of them, JUDAS, and taken prisoner by the Romans
get-to, gether n a friendly informal meeting for enjoyment:
When you're next in town we must have a little get-together. →
see also GET TOGETHER
Get-ty, J. Paul /'geti/ (1892-1976) a US businessman who
owned an oil company and became one of the richest men
in the world. He built the Getty Museum in Malibu, Califor-
nia, which has a large collection of valuable paintings and
other types of art.
Get-tys-burg Ad-dress, the /ˌgetzbɜːg ə'dresl-bɜːrg-/
a famous speech made by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 in the
town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He expressed his grief for
the soldiers killed in the American Civil War, and talked
about the principles that they died for, in words that are often
remembered by Americans: Four score and seven years ago, our
fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in
liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created
equal ... We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have
died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth
of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and
for the people shall not perish from the earth.
get-up /'getʌp/ n infml a set of clothes, especially unusual
clothes: She looks ridiculous in that getup. → see also GET UP
get-up-and-'go n [U] infml apprec a forceful active quality of
mind; determined desire to get things done
gey-ser /'giːzər || 'gaɪ-/ n 1 a natural spring of hot water
which from time to time rises suddenly into the air from the
earth 2 BrE an apparatus which is used in kitchens, bath-
rooms etc, for heating water by gas
Gha-na /'gɑːnə/ a country in West Africa between Côte
d'Ivoire and Togo. Population: 20,467,747 (2003). Capital:
Accra. In 1957, Ghana, which was then called the Gold
Coast, was the first black African state to become independ-
ent from British rule. —Ghanai-an /gɑː'neɪən/ n, adj
ghast-ly /'gɑːstli || 'gæstli/ adj 1 infml extremely bad or
unpleasant; terrible: We had a ghastly holiday; it rained all
the time. | a ghastly mistake 2 causing very great fear or
dislike: a ghastly crime 3 [F] (of a person) very pale and
ill-looking: You look ghastly; what's wrong with you?
—liness n [U]
ghat, ghaut /gɒːt/ n IndE & PakE 1 a narrow way between
mountains; PASS 2 [usually pl.] a mountain 3 a set of steps, as
from a house or temple, leading down to a river or lake 4 a
place where dead bodies are ceremonially (CEREMONY) burnt
ghee, ghi /giː/ n [U] IndE & PakE melted butter made from cow's
or BUFFALO's milk, used in Indian cooking
gher-kin /'gɜːkɪn || 'gɜːr-/ n a small green vegetable (a type of
CUCUMBER) which is usually eaten after being kept in VINEGAR
Gherkin, the a very tall
office building in London,
designed by the British
ARCHITECT Sir Norman Fos-
ter, and completed in 2004.
Some people think it looks
like a GHERKIN because of its
shape. The official name of
the building is the Swiss
Reinsurance Tower. It is also
known more informally as
the Swiss Re Building.
the Gherkin
ghet-to /'getəʊ/ n pl. -tos or
-toes 1 a part of a city in
which a group of people live
who are poor and/or are not
accepted as full citizens →
compare SLUM 2 a part of a
city where people mostly of one race, class or group live: a
gay/Hispanic ghetto
ghetto blaster also boom box AmE→ n slang, often derog a
large TAPE RECORDER that can be carried around, and is often
played very loudly in public places
ghosts
ghost¹ /gəʊst/ n 1 (the spirit of) a dead person who appears
again: Do you believe in ghosts? | He looked so terrified I
thought he'd seen a ghost. 2 also ghost-writ-er /'gəʊstˌraɪtər/
someone who writes a book, article etc, for someone else,
who then often pretends it is their own work 3 a second,
fainter image, especially on a television picture 4 give up
the ghost infml to die: (fig.) My old car's finally given up the
ghost. 5 the ghost of a infml the slightest: You haven't got the
ghost of a chance of getting the job. 6 the ghost of Christ-
mas past quote a character in Charles Dickens's A Christmas
Carol who comes to show Scrooge scenes from his past. The
phrase is sometimes changed and used in other writing now:
the ghost of companies past
CULTURAL NOTE In the US and the UK, people often think
about a ghost as a shapeless white figure with empty black
eyes, which makes a 'woo-ooo' sound. Children often cut
eye holes in a white sheet to dress as this type of ghost. In
the UK, ghosts are sometimes also thought of as people
dressed in Elizabethan clothes, who have had their heads
cut off and are carrying them in their arms. Another type of
ghost is one that looks like a normal person except that
you can see through it. A POLTERGEIST is a ghost that
throws things around, makes furniture move, and causes a
lot of damage. People also imagine that some ghosts
cannot actually be seen, but that it feels very cold when the
ghost is near you. Ghosts are also thought to be able to
move through walls and other objects.
ghost² also ghost-write v [T] /'gəʊst-raɪt/ to write (some-
thing) as a GHOST: A journalist ghosted the general's memoirs.
Ghost-bust-ers /'gəʊstˌbʌstəlz-ərz/ (1984) a humorous
US film about four men whose job is to force GHOSTS (=the
spirits of dead people) to leave buildings which they have
come back to visit
ghost-ly /'gəʊstli/ adj like a ghost, especially in having a
faint or uncertain colour and shape: I saw a ghostly light
ahead of me in the darkness. —liness n [U]
'ghost town n an empty town, especially one that was once
busy because people came to find gold or other precious
substances, and left when there was no more to be found
ghoul /guːl/ n 1 a spirit which, in the stories told in some
Eastern countries, takes bodies from graves to eat them 2 a
person who delights in (thoughts of) dead bodies and other
unpleasant things —-ish adj: Some people take a ghoulish
delight in visiting the scenes of road accidents. —-ishness n
[U]
GHQ /ˌdʒiː eɪtʃ 'kjuː/ abbrev. for General Headquarters; the
place from which a large especially military operation is
controlled
ghyll /gɪl/ n NW EngE for GORGE
GI /ˌdʒiː 'aɪ/ n pl. GIs a soldier in the US army, especially an
ordinary soldier who is not an officer → see also GI BILL, GI
JOE
CULTURAL NOTE Many GIs came to the UK during World
War II, and were seen as attractive and exciting by British
women because they could provide things such as certain
types of food and clothes that were not easily available in
the UK at that time. Some British women, known as GI
BRIDES, married American soldiers and went to live in the
US.