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Spin vs Spiv - What's the difference?

spin | spiv |

As nouns the difference between spin and spiv

is that spin is circular motion while spiv is a smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods.

As a verb spin

is to rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.

As an adjective spin

is describing a spin bowler, or his style of bowling.

spin

English

Verb

  • (ergative) To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.
    • I spun myself around a few times.
    Spin the ball on the floor.
    The Earth spins with a period of one day.
    She spun around and gave him a big smile.
  • * Longfellow
    • Round about him spun the landscape, / Sky and forest reeled together.
  • To make yarn by twisting and winding fibers together.
    • They spin the cotton into thread.
  • * Prior
    • They neither know to spin , nor care to toil.
  • To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2006, date=February 9, title=The Politics of Science, work=The Washington Post citation
    • , passage=In every administration there will be spokesmen and public affairs officers who try to spin' the news to make the president look good. But this administration is trying to ' spin scientific data and muzzle scientists toward that end.}}
  • (cricket, of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways when it bounces on the pitch.
  • (cricket, of a ball) To move sideways when bouncing.
  • (cooking) To form into thin strips or ribbons, as with sugar
  • To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, etc.) from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens on coming into contact with the air; said of the spider, the silkworm, etc.
  • To shape, as malleable sheet metal, into a hollow form, by bending or buckling it by pressing against it with a smooth hand tool or roller while the metal revolves, as in a lathe.
  • To move swiftly.
    • to spin along the road in a carriage, on a bicycle, etc.
  • To stream or issue in a thread or a small current or jet.
    • Blood spins from a vein.
    (Shakespeare)
  • To twist (hay) into ropes for convenient carriage on an expedition.
  • (computing, programming, intransitive) To wait in a loop until some condition becomes true.

    • Synonyms

    * (give something a favorable appearance) whitewash, sugarcoat, put lipstick on, gild, blandish, dress up

    Hypernyms

    * revolve * rotate * turn

    Derived terms

    * respin * spin one's wheels * spin out * spinster

    See also

    * turn around

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Circular motion.
    • The car went into a spin .
    The skaters demonstrated their spins .
    ''He put some spin on the cue ball.
    One of the planet's moons has a slower spin than the others.
  • (physics) A quantum angular momentum associated with subatomic particles, which also creates a magnetic moment.
  • A favourable comment or interpretation intended to bias opinion on an otherwise unpleasant situation.
  • (sports) Rotation of the ball as it flies through the air; sideways movement of the ball as it bounces.
  • A condition of flight where a stalled aircraft is simultaneously pitching, yawing and rolling in a spinning motion.
  • A brief trip by vehicle.
  • A bundle of spun material; a mass of strands and filaments.
  • * 1913 , DH Lawrence,
    • She left him alone, and went to get Annie a spin of toffee.

    Derived terms

    * backspin * Biellmann spin * camel spin * layback spin * media spin * parallel spin * sidespin * sit spin * spin doctor * take for a spin * topspin * upright spin

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (cricket) Describing a spin bowler, or his style of bowling.

    • Anagrams

    * * * * English ergative verbs English irregular verbs ----

    spiv

    English

    (wikipedia spiv)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (British, dated) A smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods.
  • (British, dated) A flashy con artist, often homeless, who lives by his wits.
  • (British, dated) In Scotland Yard usage, a low and common thief.
  • (British, dated) A slacker; one who shirks responsibility.

    • Synonyms

    * (l) * (l) * (l)

    Derived terms

    * (l), (l)

    Quotations

    * "I make no apology for attacking spivs and gamblers who did more harm to the British economy than [transport union leader] Bob Crow could achieve in his wildest Trotskyite fantasies, while paying themselves outrageous bonuses underwritten by the taxpayer." -- on the banking system." Cable in attack on bonuses for City 'spivs'", Gavin Stamp, BBC News, 2010-09-22

    External links

    * "spiv" at World Wide Words Michael Quinion, 2001

    References