Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A stone or row of stones that constitutes a curb.
- adjective Untrained or unsophisticated; amateurish.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A stone placed against earth or brick- or stonework to prevent it from falling out or spreading.
- noun Specifically, one of the stones set together on edge at the outer side of a sidewalk, forming a curb.
- noun Formerly also spelled kerbstone, kirbstone.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A stone set along a margin as a limit and protection, as along the edge of a sidewalk next the roadway; an edge stone.
- noun See under
Broker .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative spelling of
kerbstone .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a paving stone forming part of a curb
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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For the curbstone was a rocking precipice, and the street below it a grey and shimmering stream, that rolled, and flowed, and rolled, and never rested.
The Divine Fire May Sinclair 1904
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The man on the curbstone is the arbiter of our destinies, and the standard man.
Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals William Graham Sumner 1875
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The roadside features such as curbstone edges, potholes, streetcar tracks etc. frequently rattle the nerves of any bicyclist.
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The roadside features such as curbstone edges, potholes, streetcar tracks etc. frequently rattle the nerves of any bicyclist.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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It was also sung on street corners (it was sometimes called "curbstone" harmony) and at social functions and in parlors.
Orangeville By Leisa Way 2008
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On Broadway they were blowing paper to the curbstone for collection.
Never Too Late For This Bandwagon JASON GAY 2012
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So I avoided their looks, shrinking close to the curbstone and by furtive glances directing my progress.
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My doll was prissing down the street one night more fifty years ago, kicked up her heels too high, fell against the curbstone and fracturing her femur.
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Here in Denmark, most bike lanes have their own curbstone to separate them from the nearest car lane.
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On Marginal Way in Seattle, those curbstone gutters roiled over whitewater kissing the rain clouds' taint.
I Cant Ghazal Dennis Mahagin 2011
bilby commented on the word curbstone
"Ahead of him, in the winter night, loomed a big unlit house. As he drew near he thought how often he had seen it blazing with lights, its steps awninged and carpeted, and carriages waiting in double line to draw up at the curbstone."
- Edith Wharton, 'The Age of Innocence'.
September 20, 2009
sionnach commented on the word curbstone
curbstone consultation, curbstone interview, curbstone research?
I have it in my head that there is some curbstone-related term whose meaning is 'cursory', 'superficial', 'incomplete', if not completely 'madeupical'. The derivation being from paid census-takers who would just fill in forms for the households they were supposed to be interviewing without ever actually performing the interviews - thus, from the 'curb'.
Am I imagining this, or has anyone else heard a similar term in this context? A google search yields a few roughly similar uses of the term 'curbstone consultation' in a medical context.
September 23, 2009
bilby commented on the word curbstone
How about curb-idle stop screw?
September 23, 2009