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Snail vs Nail - What's the difference?

snail | nail |

As nouns the difference between snail and nail

is that snail is any of very many animals (either hermaphroditic or nonhermaphroditic), of the class Gastropoda, having a coiled shell while nail is the thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.

As verbs the difference between snail and nail

is that snail is to move or travel very slowly while nail is to fix (an object) to another object using a nail.

snail

English

(wikipedia snail) (Helicidae)

Noun

(en noun)
  • Any of very many animals (either hermaphroditic or nonhermaphroditic), of the class Gastropoda , having a coiled shell.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=7 citation , passage=‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared. […]’}}
  • (informal, by extension) A slow person; a sluggard.
  • (engineering) A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a striking clock.
  • (military, historical) A tortoise or testudo; a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers.
  • * Vegetius (in translation)
    • They had also all manner of gynes [engines]
  • The pod of the snail clover.

    • Derived terms

    * snail mail * snail's pace

    See also

    * heliciculture * slug

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To move or travel very slowly

    • Anagrams

    * * *

    nail

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) nail, nayl, (etyl) ).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
  • The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
  • The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
  • A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction.
  • *
    • Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  • A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside .
  • An archaic English unit of length equivalent to 1/20th of an ell or 1/16th of a yard (2.25 inches or 5.715 cm).
    • Derived terms
    * eightpenny nail * fourpenny nail * hangnail * hard as nails * hit the nail on the head * (l) * nail file / nail-file / nailfile * nail polish * (l) * (l) * on the nail * fingernail * rusty nail * sixpenny nail * spit nails * straw nail * tenpenny nail * toenail * twelvepenny nail

    See also

    * claw * talon

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To fix (an object) to another object using a nail.
    • He nailed the placard to the post.
  • To drive a nail.
    • He used the ax head for nailing .
  • To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails.
  • * Dryden
    • The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold.
  • (slang) To catch.
  • * 2005 , (Plato), Sophist . Translation by Lesley Brown. .
    • we'll nail the sophist to it, if we can get him on that charge;
  • (slang) To expose as a sham.
  • (slang) To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully.
    • I really nailed that test.
  • (slang) To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=October 1 , author=Tom Fordyce , title=Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Fly-half Ruaridh Jackson departed early with injury but Chris Paterson nailed a penalty from wide out left to give Scotland an early lead, and Jackson's replacement Dan Parks added three more points with a penalty which skimmed over the crossbar.}}
  • (slang) Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with.
    • There’s a benefit gala at the Boston Pops tonight, and... well, I’m trying to nail the flautist.'' - Brian Griffin in the TV series ''Family Guy
  • To spike, as a cannon.
    • (Crabb)
    Synonyms
    * (to engage in sexual intercourse) bang, fuck, pound, screw, shag (British)

    See also

    * (w) * (w) *

    Anagrams

    * * * * * ----