Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Measuring two units by four units, especially inches.
- adjective Slang Small in size; boxed in or cramped.
- noun A length of lumber that is 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide, or that is trimmed to slightly smaller dimensions.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective measuring two
inches by four inches - adjective by extension small or cramped
- noun A length of
timber having thiscross section . (Note: often this isdimensional lumber that was this size BEFORE being planed to finished form, which removes a quarter inch from each side.)
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a timber measuring (slightly under) 2 inches by 4 inches in cross section
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Don Nelson, another passenger who was seated one row from the rupture, said the noise "was a blast," and the hole looked to be about the size of a two-by-four.
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"Remedial decrees may be a necessary two-by-four to make major gains, but ultimately it's going to require a scalpel to succeed."
School Spending Under Microscope Lisa Fleisher 2011
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Regarding the stepfather, Sotomayor offered no "nearly so" caveat: "Pinholster's stepfather beat him several times a week, including at least once with a two-by-four board," she wrote.
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Don Nelson, another passenger who was seated one row from the rupture, said the noise "was a blast," and the hole looked to be about the size of a two-by-four.
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Kit slapped his face the way Fancy wanted to, only Fancy wanted to use a two-by-four.
Slice Of Cherry Dia Reeves 2011
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When you end up in some foster home, sleeping in a two-by-four bedroom and going to some inferior public school, think of me.
Family Storms 2011
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This is why, when people say that breast-feeding is “free,” I want to hit them with a two-by-four.
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It's harder to dramatize a long drawn-out recessional than a sudden whack upside the head with a celestial two-by-four.
October 24th, 2009 m_francis 2009
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You can slide a two-by-four in the concrete to create this feature.
Foundation footer: A critical element on which your building's success will rest Tim Carter 2010
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When you end up in some foster home, sleeping in a two-by-four bedroom and going to some inferior public school, think of me.
Family Storms 2011
reesetee commented on the word two-by-four
"This crisis doesn't wear you down over time. It hits you over the head with a two-by-four. On a daily basis." -- NYT Online, "A Day (Gasp) Like Any Other," 10/6/08
October 16, 2008