Found 1 items, similar to To pull a finch.
English → English (gcide)
Definition: To pull a finch
Pull
\Pull\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Pulled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Pulling.] [AS. pullian; cf. LG. pulen, and Gael. peall,
piol, spiol.]
1. To draw, or attempt to draw, toward one; to draw forcibly.
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Ne'er pull your hat upon your brows. --Shak.
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He put forth his hand . . . and pulled her in.
--Gen. viii.
9.
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2. To draw apart; to tear; to rend.
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He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in
pieces; he hath made me desolate. --Lam. iii.
11.
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3. To gather with the hand, or by drawing toward one; to
pluck; as, to pull fruit; to pull flax; to pull a finch.
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4. To move or operate by the motion of drawing towards one;
as, to pull a bell; to pull an oar.
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5. (Horse Racing) To hold back, and so prevent from winning;
as, the favorite was pulled.
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6. (Print.) To take or make, as a proof or impression; --
hand presses being worked by pulling a lever.
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7. (Cricket) To strike the ball in a particular manner. See
Pull, n., 8.
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Never pull a straight fast ball to leg. --R. H.
Lyttelton.
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To pull and haul, to draw hither and thither.
“ Both are
equally pulled and hauled to do that which they are unable
to do. ” --South.
To pull down, to demolish; to destroy; to degrade; as, to
pull down a house.
“ In political affairs, as well as
mechanical, it is easier to pull down than build up.”
--Howell.
“ To raise the wretched, and pull down the
proud.” --Roscommon.
To pull a finch. See under
Finch.
To pull off, take or draw off.
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Finch
\Finch\ (f[i^]nch), n.; pl.
Finches (f[i^]nch"[e^]z).
[AS. finc; akin to D. vink, OHG. fincho, G. fink; cf. W. pinc
a finch; also E. spink.] (Zo["o]l.)
A small singing bird of many genera and species, belonging to
the family
Fringillid[ae].
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Note: The word is often used in composition, as in chaffinch,
goldfinch, grassfinch, pinefinch, etc.
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Bramble finch. See
Brambling.
Canary finch, the canary bird.
Copper finch. See
Chaffinch.
Diamond finch. See under
Diamond.
Finch falcon (Zo["o]l.), one of several very small East
Indian falcons of the genus
Hierax.
To pull a finch, to swindle an ignorant or unsuspecting
person. [Obs.]
“Privily a finch eke could he pull.”
--Chaucer.
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