lace(2) (iou) and screech(1) (iou)

lace(2) (iou)

lace verb. ME.
[Old French lacier (mod. lacer) from Proto-Romance base of LACE noun.]
a. verb trans. Fasten or tighten with, or as with, a lace or string, now usu. with a lace or laces passed alternately through two rows of eyelet-holes or around two rows of hooks, studs, etc. (Foll. by up, also down, on, together.) ME.
W. Wharton I can even lean over to lace my boots.
b. verb intrans. Of a garment etc: be fastened by means of laces. L18.
verb trans. Catch as in a noose or snare; entangle, ensnare. LME-L15.
verb trans. Fasten (a person) into a garment etc. by means of a lace or laces; compress the waist of (a person) by drawing corset laces tight. LME.
T. Hardy He couldn't have moved from bed, So tightly laced in sheet and quilt..He lay. E. Feinstein Women were supposed to lace themselves tightly in silk.
b. verb intrans. Tighten or pull in corset laces; compress one's waist by so doing. L19.
a. verb trans. Thread with a lace, string, etc. LME.
fig.: H. George We..lace the air with telegraph wires.
b. verb trans. Pass (a cord etc.) in and out through holes, a fabric, etc. In Bookbinding, attach (the boards) to a sewn volume by passing the cords used through perforations in them (foll. by in). M17.
c. verb trans. Intertwine. L19.
T. O'Brien Sarah laced her fingers through mine.
d. verb intrans. Pass across a gap or about an object in a manner resembling or suggestive of lacing. L19.
H. G. Wells A flimsy seeming scaffolding that laced about the..Council House.
e. verb trans. Pass (Film or tape) between the guides and Other parts of a projector, tape recorder, etc., so that it runs from one spool to the Other. Usu. foll. by up. M20.
verb trans. Ornament or trim with laces or with lace. L16.
Swift Have I not..laced your backs with gold.
verb trans.
a. Diversify with streaks of colour. Now freq. fig. L16.
H. Carpenter A reputation for lacing his instruction..with tags of Latin verse.
b. Flavour or fortify (a drink) with a dash of spirits, honey, etc.; add an extra ingredient to (a foodstuff), either to enhance or to adulterate it. (Foll. by with.) L17.
R. L. Stevenson A jug of milk, which she had..laced with whiskey. Daily Telegraph She laced his steak and kidney pie with..weedkiller.
verb trans. & intrans. with into. Beat, thrash; Abuse physically or verbally. colloq. L16.
E. Wallace He laced me with a whip. Time Reviewers laced into the play.
verb trans. Cookery. Make a number of incisions in (the breast of a bird). M17-L18.
Comb.: lace-up adjective & noun (a) adjective (of footwear etc.) fastening with a lace or laces; (b) noun a lace-up shoe or boot (usu. in pl.).

screech(1) (iou)

screech noun1. M16.
[Alt. of SCRITCH noun. Cf. SCREECH verb.]
A loud harsh high piercing cry or scream characteristically expressing sudden intense pain, alarm, etc.; a shrill grating cry. M16.
N. Hawthorne We could hear..a railway train..and its discordant screech. R. Park She gave a screech of astonishment.
b. transf. a loud harsh squealing sound. M19.
Any of various birds having a harsh discordant cry, esp. the barn owl, swift, or mistle thrush. Now dial. M17.
Comb.: screech beetle a water beetle, Hygrobia hermanni, with large eyes, which can squeak by rubbing the tip of the abdomen against the wing cases; screech owl (a) the barn owl (from its discordant cry which is supposed to be an evil omen); (b) any of various small American owls of the genus Otus, allied to the Scops owls; esp. O. asio of N. America; (c) fig. a bearer of evil tidings; a person who presages misfortune.
screechy adjective given to screeching; loud, shrill, and discordant: E19.

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