thing

thing
   any taboo object to which you refer allusively
   Such as a ghost, for which:
    'Summut' or 'Things' is preferred. (Spectator, February 1902, quoted in EDD)
   or the penis, in uses both ancient and modern:
    So that's a maid now... shall not be a maid
   long, unless things be cut shorter.
   (Shakespeare, King Lear)
    Measured my 'thing'. It was eleven centimeters. (Townsend, 1982)
   The penis may also be called a thingy or thingamajig:
    You stand there with your thingamajig in my toothmug... (Sharpe, 1979 — he had scratched it on a rosebush)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • thing — W1S1 [θıŋ] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(idea/action/feeling/fact)¦ 2¦(object)¦ 3¦(situation)¦ 4¦(nothing)¦ 5¦(person/animal)¦ 6¦(make a comment)¦ 7 the thing is 8 the last thing somebody wants/expects/needs etc 9 last thing …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • thing — [ θıŋ ] noun count *** ▸ 1 object/item ▸ 2 action/activity ▸ 3 situation/event ▸ 4 fact/condition ▸ 5 aspect of life ▸ 6 idea/information ▸ 7 something not specific ▸ 8 someone/something young you like ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) an object or ITEM. This… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Thing — (th[i^]ng), n. [AS. [thorn]ing a thing, cause, assembly, judicial assembly; akin to [thorn]ingan to negotiate, [thorn]ingian to reconcile, conciliate, D. ding a thing, OS. thing thing, assembly, judicial assembly, G. ding a thing, formerly also,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Thing — may refer to:In philosophy: * An object (philosophy), being, or entity * Thing in itself (or noumenon ), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel KantIn history: * Thing (assembly), also transliterated as ting or þing , a …   Wikipedia

  • thing — 1 matter, concern, business, *affair 2 Thing, object, article are comprehensive terms applicable to whatever is apprehended as having actual, distinct, and demonstrable existence. They vary, however, in their range of application. Thing is the… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • thing — thing1 [thiŋ] n. [ME < OE, council, court, controversy, akin to Ger ding, ON thing (orig. sense, “public assembly,” hence, “subject of discussion, matter, thing”) < IE * tenk , to stretch, period of time < base * ten , to stretch >… …   English World dictionary

  • thing — (n.) O.E. þing meeting, assembly, later entity, being, matter (subject of deliberation in an assembly), also act, deed, event, material object, body, being, from P.Gmc. *thengan appointed time (Cf. O.Fris. thing assembly, council, suit, matter,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • thing — [n1] something felt, seen, perceived affair, anything, apparatus, article, being, body, business, circumstance, commodity, concept, concern, configuration, contrivance, corporeality, creature, device, element, entity, everything, existence,… …   New thesaurus

  • Thing — Thing, Ting Ting, n. [Dan. thing, ting, Norw. ting, or Sw. ting.] In Scandinavian countries, a legislative or judicial assembly; used, esp. in composition, in titles of such bodies. See {Legislature}, Norway. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Thing — Sn Volks und Gerichtsversammlung der Germanen erw. obs. (18. Jh.) Stammwort. Die Volksversammlung hieß ahd. ding, as. thing, das in normaler Entwicklung mit Bedeutungsveränderung nhd. Ding ergeben hat. Vermutlich wegen dieser… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • thing — ► NOUN 1) an inanimate material object. 2) an unspecified object. 3) (things) personal belongings or clothing. 4) an action, activity, concept, or thought. 5) (things) unspecified circumstances or matters: how are things? 6) …   English terms dictionary

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