winkle : Idioms & Phrases


rip van winkle

  • noun a person oblivious to social changes
  • noun a person who sleeps a lot
  • noun the title character in a story by Washington Irving about a man who sleeps for 20 years and doesn't recognize the world when he wakens
WordNet

Sting winkle

  • (Zoöl.), a spinose marine univalve shell of the genus Murex, as the European species (Murex erinaceus). See Illust. of Murex.
  • a European spinose marine shell (Murex erinaceus). See Illust. of Murex.
Webster 1913

winkle out

  • verb force from a place or position
    • The committee winkled out the unqualified candidates
  • verb remove or displace from a position
    winkle.
WordNet

winkle-hawk

Win"kle-hawk` noun
Etymology
D. winkel-haak a carpenter's square.
Definitions
  1. A rectangular rent made in cloth; -- called also winkle-hole. Local, U. S. Bartlett.
Webster 1913