beak

beak
n
1.
the nose. Beak has been used in this obvious sense since at least the begin-ning of the 19th century, although other terms, such as hooter, bugle, conk, etc. are more popular. In Irish speech the word is also used for the mouth or face.
2.
a person in authority, especially a judge or schoolmaster. This old usage is now obsolete in American English, but is retained in Britain in public-school slang and in the expression 'up before the beak' (appearing before a magistrate or someone else sitting in judgment). Attempts have been made to derive this meaning of beak from a Celtic term for judgment, but the more obvious deriva-tion is from the intrusive beak (the nose and/or mouth) of authority. Tatler maga-zine reported in August 1989 that beak was still the standard Etonian slang for a schoolmaster.
► 'Finally the beak turn his beetling brow to them and his xpression [sic] become suddenly soft, his stern eye mild.' (Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle, Back in the Jug Agane, 1959)
3.
cocaine
4.
fellatio
Senses 3 and 4 have both been in use since 2000.

Contemporary slang . 2014.

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Synonyms:
, , / , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • beak — beak; beak·horn; beak·ing; beak·iron; de·beak; gros·beak; beak·er; …   English syllables

  • Beak — (b[=e]k), n. [OE. bek, F. bec, fr. Celtic; cf. Gael. & Ir. bac, bacc, hook, W. bach.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) (a) The bill or nib of a bird, consisting of a horny sheath, covering the jaws. The form varies much according to the food and habits of the bird …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • beak — (n.) mid 13c., bird s bill, from O.Fr. bec beak, figuratively mouth, also tip or point of a nose, a lance, a ship, a shoe, from L. beccus (Cf. It. becco, Sp. pico), said by Suetonius ( De vita Caesarum 18) to be of Gaulish origin, perhaps from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Beak|er — «BEE kuhr», noun. 1. a large cup or drinking glass with a wide mouth: »a full beaker of wine. SYNONYM(S): goblet. 2. a thin glass or metal cup used especially in laboratories. A beaker has a flat bottom, no handle, and often a small lip for… …   Useful english dictionary

  • beak|er — «BEE kuhr», noun. 1. a large cup or drinking glass with a wide mouth: »a full beaker of wine. SYNONYM(S): goblet. 2. a thin glass or metal cup used especially in laboratories. A beaker has a flat bottom, no handle, and often a small lip for… …   Useful english dictionary

  • beak — [bi:k] n [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: bec, from Latin beccus] 1.) the hard pointed mouth of a bird = ↑bill 2.) a large pointed nose used humorously 3.) BrE old fashioned a judge or a male teacher …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • beak — [ bik ] noun count * 1. ) the hard curved or pointed part of a bird s mouth 2. ) VERY INFORMAL a long pointed nose …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • beak — *bill, neb, nib …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • beak — [n] nose of animal bill, mandible, muzzle, neb, nib, nozzle, pecker, proboscis, projection, prow, snout; concept 392 …   New thesaurus

  • beak — ► NOUN 1) a bird s horny projecting jaws; a bill. 2) a projection at the prow of an ancient warship, used in attacking enemy ships. 3) Brit. informal a magistrate or schoolmaster. DERIVATIVES beaked adjective beaky adjective. ORIGIN Latin beccus …   English terms dictionary

  • beak — [bēk] n. [ME bek < OFr bec < L beccus < Gaul] 1. a bird s bill, esp. the large, sharp, horny bill of a bird of prey 2. a beaklike part or thing, as the protruding mouthpart of various insects, fishes, etc., or the spout of a pitcher 3.… …   English World dictionary

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