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Whale vs Butterfly - What's the difference?

whale | butterfly |

As nouns the difference between whale and butterfly

is that whale is any of several species of large sea mammals of the order Cetacea while butterfly is a flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.

As verbs the difference between whale and butterfly

is that whale is to hunt for whales while butterfly is to cut almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.

whale

English

(wikipedia whale) (Cetacea)

Noun

(en noun)
  • Any of several species of large sea mammals of the order Cetacea.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Yesterday’s fuel , passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.
  • (figuratively) Something, or someone, that is very large.
  • * 1920 September, “A Reformed Free Lance” (pseudonym), “Doctoring a Sick Encyclopedia”, in The Writer , Volume XXXII, Number 9, page 131:
    • It was a whale of a job. It took two months, and the fair blush of youth off my cheeks.
  • * 1947 May 19, John Chamberlain, “Will Clayton and his Problem”, in , page 120:
    • But when it comes to his business life and business career, is not as other men; he is such a whale of a lot better that it suggests a qualitative as well as a quantitative difference.
  • (gambling) (In a casino) a person who routinely bets at the maximum limit allowable.
  • * 2003 , Jeff Wuorio, How to Buy and Sell (Just About) Everything ,
    • These are often no-limit games as maximum bets cramp a whale ’s style.
  • * 2004 , Norm Clarke, Vegas Confidential: Norm! Sin City's Ace Insider 1,000 Naked Truths, Hot Spots and Cool Stuff ,
    • A handful of the richest whales routinely play for $200,000 a hand. Australian media mogul Kerry Packer not only regularly bets that much, but has plunked down $200,000 bets for the dealer as a form of a tip.
  • * 2008', Deke Castleman, '''''Whale Hunt in the Desert ,
    • The high roller who had the most ferocious reputation for trying to run the business of the casinos where he played, before he died on December 26, 2006, was Kerry Packer. In the casino world, Packer was the Prince of Whales .

    Derived terms

    * blue whale * fin whale * have a whale of a time * humpback whale * killer whale * narwhal * pilot whale * sperm whale * whale catfish * whaler * whale fall * whalefish * whalelore * whale shark * whale watching * whaling

    See also

    (other associated terms) * baleen * cachalot * cete * orca * gam * pod * rorqual

    Verb

  • To hunt for whales.
  • To flog, to beat.

    • Anagrams

    *

    butterfly

    English

    (Butterfly) (wikipedia butterfly)

    Noun

    (butterflies)
  • A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera , distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.
  • * 1897 , Henry James, What Maisie Knew :
    • The day came indeed when her breathless auditors learnt from her in bewilderment that what ailed him was that he was, alas, simply not serious. Maisie wept on Mrs. Wix's bosom after hearing that Sir Claude was a butterfly [...].
  • The butterfly stroke.
  • A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.
    • butterfly tape

    Synonyms

    * (l)

    Derived terms

    * butterflies in one's stomach * butterfly ballot * butterfly banners * butterfly bat * butterfly bomb * butterfly bush (see buddleia or buddleja) * butterfly chair * butterfly clam * butterfly collector (see lepidopterist or lepidopterology) * butterfly cod * butterfly crab * butterfly dam * butterfly damper * butterfly effect * butterfly fish * butterfly flower (see schizanthus) * butterfly hinge * butterfly knife * butterfly knot * butterfly lily * butterfly mussel * butterfly net * butterfly nut (wing nut) * butterfly orchid * butterfly pea * butterfly plant * butterfly ray * butterfly shell * butterfly stroke (swimming) * butterfly table * butterfly tulip * butterfly valve * butterfly weed * butterfly window * float like a butterfly * peacock butterfly * social butterfly

    Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To cut almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.
    • butterflied shrimp
    Butterfly the chicken before you grill it.
  • To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across a gaping wound to close it.

    • See also

    * caterpillar * flutterby * moth * *

    Anagrams

    * (l)

    References

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