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De - Pt| English Dictionary: cock of the walk | by the DICT Development Group |
| 1 result for cock of the walk | |
| From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
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Cock \Cock\, n. [AS. coc; of unknown origin, perh. in imitation of the cry of the cock. Cf. {Chicken}.] 1. The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls. 2. A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock. Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! --Shak. 3. A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous] Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us. --Addison. 4. The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow. [Obs.] He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. --Shak. 5. A faucet or valve. Note: Jonsons says, [bd]The handly probably had a cock on the top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently to have had that form, whatever was the reason.[b8] Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in forma crit[91] galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb. 6. The style of gnomon of a dial. --Chambers. 7. The indicator of a balance. --Johnson. 8. The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch. --Knight. {Ball cock}. See under {Ball}. {Chaparral cock}. See under {Chaparral}. {Cock and bull story}, {an extravagant}, boastful story; a canard. {Cock of the plains} (Zo[94]l.) See {Sage cock}. {Cock of the rock} (Zo[94]l.), a South American bird ({Rupicola aurantia}) having a beautiful crest. {Cock of the walk}, a chief or master; the hero of the hour; one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or competitors. {Cock of the woods}. See {Capercailzie}. | |
