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Birdlime   Listen
noun
Birdlime  n.  An extremely adhesive viscid substance, usually made of the middle bark of the holly, by boiling, fermenting, and cleansing it. When a twig is smeared with this substance it will hold small birds which may light upon it. Hence: Anything which insnares. "Not birdlime or Idean pitch produce A more tenacious mass of clammy juice." Note: Birdlime is also made from mistletoe, elder, etc.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Birdlime" Quotes from Famous Books



... gannets, which abound in that part of the ocean, and there, undisturbed by the presence of man, lay their eggs and rear their young. Rockal has the appearance, when first seen, of a large ship under sail, and is of a dark gray color, being covered in some parts, probably to the depth of many feet, with birdlime, or guano, the accumulation of ages. But as this rock is exposed to the peltings of the pitiless storms, which are frequent in this part of the world, and is subject to the extremes of heat and cold, it is possible that the rich beds of guano with which it is covered are not of the best quality; ...
— Jack in the Forecastle • John Sherburne Sleeper

... the number of hoards discovered, which the unfortunate employes had saved up against the rainy day arrived. The routing-out of this conglomeration was only equalled in trouble by the removal of the birdlime with which the various benches were covered, and which adhered with most pertinacious obstinacy, in spite of every effort to get rid of it. From one of the wicker baskets used for the purpose of receiving the torn-up letters and documents, the following papers were ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 1, August 21, 1841 • Various



Words linked to "Birdlime" :   scatter, lime, adhesive material, spread out, spread, adhesive agent, adhesive



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