Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A gauzy film in port and some other wines, indicative of age; hence, sometimes, the wine itself. Also written
bee's-wing .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The second crust formed in port and some other wines after long keeping. It consists of pure, shining scales of tartar, supposed to resemble the wing of a bee.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a filmy, translucent crust found in
port and other oldwines which have been bottled-aged for a long time
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"beeswing" sherry, he was aware of all Alan Hawke's intentions.
A Fascinating Traitor An Anglo-Indian Story Richard Savage 1874
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We find in drunkards that the blood vessels get into the same state as the wine bottles from the deposit of earthy matter which has no business to be deposited, and forms the 'beeswing' or crust in the blood vessels of the drunkard, in his eye and in all of the tissues of the body. "
The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation Carry Amelia Nation 1878
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All the best to you, and one more small voice beeswing, the lurking reader thinking of you.
pole dancing 2005
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"The last glass filled would be most likely to contain beeswing."
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In that way all the beeswing would be in the last glass, would it not?
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The three glasses were grouped together, all of them tinged with wine, and one of them containing some dregs of beeswing.
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One is that after the second glass was filled the bottle was violently agitated, and so the third glass received the beeswing.
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One is that after the second glass was filled the bottle was violently agitated, and so the third glass received the beeswing.
Victorian Short Stories of Troubled Marriages Rudyard Kipling 1900
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Exactly, but there was beeswing only in one glass.
Victorian Short Stories of Troubled Marriages Rudyard Kipling 1900
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'The last glass filled would be most likely to contain beeswing.'
Victorian Short Stories of Troubled Marriages Rudyard Kipling 1900
chained_bear commented on the word beeswing
"... two wine goblets sat on the bench, stained red with beeswing, abandoned remnants of the night's festivities."
—Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross (NY: Bantam Dell, 2001), 735
January 26, 2010
reesetee commented on the word beeswing
Interesting! I never realized this was used to describe a "film" that develops on certain types of wine.
January 27, 2010
hernesheir commented on the word beeswing
See also The Bee's Wing, a traditional Northumbrian-style hornpipe melody.
February 13, 2010