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Stiff vs Brace - What's the difference?

stiff | brace |

As nouns the difference between stiff and brace

is that stiff is an average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff''''' or ''lucky '''stiff while brace is (obsolete) armor for the arm; vambrace.

As verbs the difference between stiff and brace

is that stiff is to fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily while brace is (intransitive) to prepare for something bad, as an impact or blow.

As an adjective stiff

is of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.

stiff

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.
  • *
  • *:“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff , retroussé moustache.
  • (lb) Of policies and rules and their application and enforcement, inflexible.
  • Of a person, formal in behavior, unrelaxed.
  • (lb) Harsh, severe.
  • :
  • Of muscles, or parts of the body, painful, as a result of excessive, or unaccustomed exercise.
  • :
  • Potent.
  • :
  • Dead, deceased.
  • Of a penis, erect.
  • Derived terms

    * stiffy

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff''''' or ''lucky '''stiff .
  • A Working Stiff' s Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember was published in 2003.
  • A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
  • She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
  • (slang) A cadaver, a dead person.
  • (US) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
  • Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.
  • See also

    * bindlestiff * See also ,

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
  • Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.
  • * 1946 , William Foote Whyte, Industry and Society , page 129
  • We asked one girl to explain how she felt when she was "stiffed ." She said, You think of all the work you've done and how you've tried to please [them…].
  • * 1992 , Stephen Birmingham, Shades of Fortune , page 451
  • You see, poor Nonie really was stiffed' by Adolph in his will. He really ' stiffed her , Rose, and I really wanted to right that wrong.
  • * 2007 , Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before , page 154
  • Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip.

    Anagrams

    *

    brace

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) Armor for the arm; vambrace.
  • (obsolete) A measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms.
  • A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
  • That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
  • A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
  • A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
  • * Derham
  • The little bones of the ear drum do in straining and relaxing it as the braces of the war drum do in that.
  • The state of being braced or tight; tension.
  • * Holder
  • the laxness of the tympanum, when it has lost its brace or tension
  • Harness; warlike preparation.
  • * Shakespeare
  • for that it stands not in such warlike brace
  • (typography) A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in ; in music, used to connect staves.
  • A pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally and then other things, but rarely human persons. (The plural in this sense is unchanged.) In British use (as plural ), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.
  • * 1610 , , act 5 scene 1
  • But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded,
    I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you,
    And justify you traitors
  • * Addison
  • He is said to have shot fifty brace of pheasants.
  • * Fuller
  • A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church.
  • A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.
  • (nautical) A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
  • (UK, Cornwall, mining) The mouth of a shaft.
  • (mostly, in the plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
  • (mostly, in the plural) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
  • (soccer) Two goals scored by one player in a game.
  • Verb

    (brac)
  • (intransitive) To prepare for something bad, as an impact or blow.
  • All hands, brace for impact!
    Brace yourself!
  • *
  • The boy has no idea about everything that's been going on. You need to brace him for what's about to happen.
  • To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.
  • He braced himself against the crowd.
  • * Fairfax
  • A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced .
  • (nautical) To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind
  • to brace the yards
  • To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
  • To confront with questions, demands or requests.
  • To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.
  • to brace a beam in a building
  • To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.
  • to brace the nerves
  • * Campbell
  • And welcome war to brace her drums.
  • To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
  • * John Locke
  • The women of China, by bracing and binding them from their infancy, have very little feet.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
  • some who spurs had first braced on

    Anagrams

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