guy

views updated May 29 2018

guy1 / gī/ • n. 1. inf. a man: he's a nice guy. ∎  (guys) people of either sex: you guys want some coffee?2. Brit. a figure representing Guy Fawkes, burned on a bonfire on Guy Fawkes' Night, and often displayed by children begging for money for fireworks.• v. [tr.] make fun of; ridicule: he didn't realize I was guying the whole idea.guy2 • n. a rope or line fixed to the ground to secure a tent or other structure.• v. [tr.] secure with a line or lines: it was set on concrete footings and guyed with steel cable.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

guy

views updated May 14 2018

guy a figure representing Guy Fawkes, burnt on a bonfire on Guy Fawkes' Night, and often displayed by children begging for money for fireworks.

The original guys were figures paraded about in the streets on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot.
Guy Fawkes Night another name for Bonfire Night.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

GUY

views updated May 23 2018

GUY international vehicle registration for Guyana

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH

guy

views updated May 14 2018

guy1 (naut.) rope, chain, etc., used to steady a thing. First in guy-rope (girap XIV. gyerope XV), prob. of LG. orig.; cf. Du. gei brail.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

guy

views updated Jun 08 2018

guy2 effigy of Guy Fawkes; grotesque person, ‘fright’; (U.S.) man. XIX.
Hence guy vb. (U.S.) ridicule. XIX.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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