Found 1 items, similar to To nail an assertion.
English → English (gcide) Definition: To nail an assertion Nail \Nail\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nailed (n[=a]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Nailing.] [AS. n[ae]glian. See Nail, n.] 1. To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by means of nails; as, to nail boards to the beams. [1913 Webster] He is now dead, and nailed in his chest. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails. [1913 Webster] The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 3. To fasten, as with a nail; to bind or hold, as to a bargain or to acquiescence in an argument or assertion; hence, to catch; to trap. [1913 Webster] When they came to talk of places in town, you saw at once how I nailed them. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster] 4. To spike, as a cannon. [Obs.] --Crabb. [1913 Webster] To nail an assertion or To nail a lie, etc., to detect and expose it, so as to put a stop to its currency; -- an expression probably derived from the former practice of shopkeepers, who were accustomed to nail bad or counterfeit pieces of money to the counter. [1913 Webster]