grill

victor steinbok aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM
Wed Apr 13 16:53:34 UTC 2011


A couple more items I forgot to mention in re: grill.

First, grille/grill n. 1.b. (automotive grill(e)) has spread well
beyond automotive use but also does not fit 1.a., e.g.,
air-conditioning grill, metal mesh that covers subway air vents, etc.

Note on-line Compact Oxford:

> a grating or screen of metal bars or wires, placed in front of something as protection or to allow ventilation or discreet observation.

AHD4 (Yahoo) is similar:

> A grating of metal, wood, or another material used as a screen, divider, barrier, or decorative element, as in a window or on the front end of an automotive vehicle.

Second, following up on the kitchen/restaurant meaning of "grill",
names of restaurants that include "grill" are quite common: Manhattan
Grill, East-West Grill, Asian Grill, Pacific Grill, etc. These are all
really proper names and don't necessarily indicate separate usage. But
it does exist--basically, a restaurant that serves grilled or broiled
food (usually meat). No OED entry, but shows up in other dictionaries.

AHD4 and Compact Oxford list "grillroom" as one definition.
MWOL has "a usually informal restaurant or dining room"

Finally, Wiktionary adds one more item to the above (as does MWOL):

> (colloquial) A type of jewelry worn on the front teeth; by extension, the front teeth regarded collectively.

This, of course, is also not in OED. Nor is the euphemistic use for a
grinning, toothy mouth, in general.

VS-)

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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