feather-weight love

Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In racing, the lightest weight allowed by the rules to be carried by a horse in a handicap.
  • noun In sporting, a boxer, etc., whose weight falls within the lowest of the divisions prescribed by the rules —heavy-weight, middle-weight, light-weight, and feather-weight; hence, a very light weight, or a person of very light weight.
  • noun A frivolous or flippant person; one of slight ability, influence, or importance.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Having aced this test three times already, the small, outboard-wheeled feather-weight did it in three runs.

    Automotive X Prize: Aptera completes the handling test, West Philly triumphs 2010

  • Reading as an onlooker is such a treat and Elizabeth Baines positions the fulcrum of each story with absolute precision and then, with the most feather-weight whispers, proceeds to tip the balance of power first one way then the next.

    Balancing on the Edge of the World 2008

  • Reading as an onlooker is such a treat and Elizabeth Baines positions the fulcrum of each story with absolute precision and then, with the most feather-weight whispers, proceeds to tip the balance of power first one way then the next.

    Balancing on the Edge of the World 2008

  • Having aced this test three times already, the small, outboard-wheeled feather-weight did it in three runs.

    Automotive X Prize: Aptera completes the handling test, West Philly triumphs 2010

  • Reading as an onlooker is such a treat and Elizabeth Baines positions the fulcrum of each story with absolute precision and then, with the most feather-weight whispers, proceeds to tip the balance of power first one way then the next.

    47 entries from February 2008 2008

  • My head hit the windshield, the force of the impact made my 140 pound body feather-weight and in slow motion I slid, witness to a sickening cracking sound, underneath the steel frame of the bus.

    blog: The pudding that changed my life 2009

  • When I first picked up the 1. 3-oz set of padded earpieces, connected with a feather-weight wire, I was excited about the idea of getting stellar quality without looking like Princess Leia at the gym (not that there's anything wrong with that).

    Worth It? Pink Gadgets for Women 2009

  • McLame is not feather-weight, so I'm looking for a close Obama win tonight.

    Here's How Tonight's Big Obama-McCain Showdown Will Unfold 2009

  • My head hit the windshield, the force of the impact made my 140 pound body feather-weight and in slow motion I slid, witness to a sickening cracking sound, underneath the steel frame of the bus.

    blog: February 2009 2009

  • In these testing times the Yanks will go for someone who knows real pain, rather than a supercilious feather-weight who looks as though he would faint at a paper cut, particularly if the blood marked his Armani suit.

    Smoking Guns and the Morality of Parliamentary Privilege 2008

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