bent

bent
adj
1a.
criminal, crooked, dishonest. This usage has been widespread in Britain at least since the beginning of the 20th cen-tury. It is still used by the police to refer to anyone who is not straight, and by crimi-nals and others to refer to corrupt police officers (often by the cliche phrase 'a bent copper' - 'bent coppers' were dam-aged coins that could not be used in pub-lic lavatories in the 1950s and 1960s). A more colourful embroidery sometimes heard in Britain is 'bent as a butcher's hook'.
► 'Remember, this happened in the 1960s when many detectives were bent.' (Former detective quoted in Inside the Brotherhood, Martin Short, 1989)
1b.
stolen, forged a bent motor
2.
sexually deviant, homosexual. A com-mon term in Britain, mainly in working-class usage, since the 1940s. A London variant popular in the 1960s was 'as bent as a nine bob note' (a non-existent, obvi-ously forged denomination).
3.
American
drunk or under the influ-ence of drugs. This usage is rather archaic, but the longer 'bent out of shape' is still heard among college stu-dents and preppies.
4.
American
angry, furious. This seems to be an armed-forces term in origin. It is also more usual in the form 'bent out of shape'.

Contemporary slang . 2014.

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  • Bent — bezeichnet: Bent (Vorname), die dänische Form des männlichen Vornamens Benedikt Bent (Film), einen britischen Kinofilm aus dem Jahr 1997 Bent (Band), eine englische Band Bent (Siedlung), eine niederländische Siedlung in der Gemeinde Rijnwoude… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bent — Жанр электроника, downtempo, lounge, трип хоп. Годы 1999 по настоящее время …   Википедия

  • bent — bent1 [bent] vt., vi. pt. & pp. of BEND1 adj. 1. made curved or crooked; not straight 2. strongly inclined or determined: with on [bent on going] 3. set in a course; bound [westward bent] 4 …   English World dictionary

  • Bent — Bent, n. [See {Bend}, n. & v.] 1. The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity; as, the bent of a bow. [Obs.] Wilkins. [1913 Webster] 2. A declivity or slope, as of a hill. [R.] Dryden. [1913 Webster] 3.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bent — [bent] adjective informal financially dishonest: • a bent accountant * * * bent UK US /bent/ adjective UK INFORMAL ► dishonest: »a bent lawyer/accountant/policeman …   Financial and business terms

  • Bent — Bent, a. & p. p. 1. Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight; crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever. [1913 Webster] 2. Strongly inclined toward something, so as to be resolved, determined, set, etc.; said of the mind, character,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bent — Bent, n. [AS. beonet; akin to OHG. pinuz, G. binse, rush, bent grass; of unknown origin.] 1. A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass. [1913 Webster] His spear a bent, both stiff and strong. Drayton. [1913 Webster] 2. (Bot.) A grass of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bent\ on — • bent (up)on Very decided, determined, or set. The sailors were bent on having a good time. The policeman saw some boys near the school after dark and thought they were bent on mischief. The bus was late, and the driver was bent upon reaching… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • bent — [bent] adj I 1) a bent object has a curved or twisted shape 2) British informal dishonest II bent the past tense and past participle of bend I …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • bent — [adj1] curved angled, arced, arched, arciform, bowed, contorted, crooked, curvilinear, doubled over, drooping, droopy, hooked, humped, hunched, inclined, limp, looped, round, rounded, sinuous, slouchy, slumped, stooped, twined, twisted, warped,… …   New thesaurus

  • Bent — Bent, imp. & p. p. of {Bend}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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