Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The calcareous internal shell of a cuttlefish, used as a dietary supplement for cage birds or as a mold for metal casting.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The internal plate of Sepia officinalis, consisting of a friable calcareous substance, formerly much used in medicine as an absorbent, but now chiefly for polishing wood, paint, varnish, etc., and for pounce and tooth-powder.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
cuttlefish bone
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Jist fur yu, ai will du the ‘happee parrut danse’ yu rite-id fur me: *bob hed, pek cuttlebone, kik birdie fut in ayre, shaik tailfedders, jazz talons*
We wuz jus makin shur - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2009
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And fill the fabled cuttlebone, to better buoy myself, and dunk all foes in ink, and flee alone.
APED: "marine aspirations" hradzka 2009
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July 25th, 2007 at 8: 26 pm they are beautiful, i sat on one when it was on show at droog design in amsterdam. very stable, very handy. and very expensive. also, due to the thing being built up in layers during the production process the finished product looks a bit like cuttlebone; very organic.
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Fawkes the phoenix was gnawing a bit of cuttlebone.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Rowling, J. K. 2007
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Fawkes the phoenix was gnawing a bit of cuttlebone.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Rowling, J. K. 2007
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I bought Bijou 3 new toys, a cuttlebone and a treat stick today.
thewhat Diary Entry thewhat 2007
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And then she felt a tightening against her breast, then pain, and looked down and saw there a skull, one wrinkled eye staring up at her out of its gaping socket, and a long, pointed thing like a cuttlebone thrusting out of its round, toothless orifice into her skin.
Lilith’s Dream: A Tale of the Vampire Life Whitley Strieber 2002
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And then she felt a tightening against her breast, then pain, and looked down and saw there a skull, one wrinkled eye staring up at her out of its gaping socket, and a long, pointed thing like a cuttlebone thrusting out of its round, toothless orifice into her skin.
Lilith’s Dream: A Tale of the Vampire Life Whitley Strieber 2002
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“Your package of mixed birdseed and your cuttlebone.”
Hearts STEF ANN HOLM 2001
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Jake attached the cuttlebone, tied a bell to the perch, and closed the cage door.
Hearts STEF ANN HOLM 2001
mollusque commented on the word cuttlebone
The internal shell of a cuttlefish.
December 4, 2007
ruzuzu commented on the word cuttlebone
"The internal plate of Sepia officinalis, consisting of a friable calcareous substance, formerly much used in medicine as an absorbent, but now chiefly for polishing wood, paint, varnish, etc., and for pounce and tooth-powder. A cuttlebone is often hung in the cage of canaries, its slightly saline taste being relished by the birds and acting as a gentle stimulus to their appetite, and its substance affording lime for the shells of their eggs."
--from the Century Dictionary
December 24, 2010