18 September 2017

fillip

[fil-uh p]

verb (used with object)

1. to strike with the nail of a finger snapped from the end of the thumb.
2. to tap or strike smartly.
3. to drive by or as by a fillip:
Anticipation filliped his passion.
verb (used without object)
4. to make a fillip with the fingers.
noun
5. an act or instance of filliping; a smart tap or stroke.
6. anything that tends to rouse, excite, or revive; a stimulus:
Praise is an excellent fillip for waning ambition.

Origin of fillip

late Middle English

1425-1475; late Middle English philippe to make a signal or sound with thumb and right forefinger; expressive word of uncertain orig; cf. flip1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for fillip

Historical Examples

And doubtless some break in the monotony gives a fillip of pleasure.
Hiero
Xenophon

It was just a fillip to my enjoyment, as I looked on and off my page alternately.
Daisy
Elizabeth Wetherell

He has given a fillip to existence, loath as I am to acknowledge it.
The Prairie Mother
Arthur Stringer

Corrupting a Legislature is not something a man may do with a fillip of his finger and thumb.
Frenzied Finance
Thomas W. Lawson

She knew that it wanted but this fillip to carry her through.
The Merry-Go-Round
Carl Van Vechten

Eat, drink, play; all other human joys are not worth a fillip.’
The Works of Lord Byron
Lord Byron

And the baron with a fillip of the finger made this toy whirl round.
Original Short Stories, Volume 10 (of 13)
Guy de Maupassant

The common parent was given a fillip of a contemptuous thumb and finger.
A Man of Two Countries
Alice Harriman

Vaucorbeil watched him, then, with a fillip, knocked off his cap.
Bouvard and Pcuchet
Gustave Flaubert

A fillip to the wheel of her fate was given as she and Ellis went up the hill.
The Barrier
Allen French

Anagram

if pill
fill pi

Today’s quote

I have this one little saying, when things get too heavy just call me helium, the lightest known gas to man.

– Jimi Hendrix

On this day

18 September 1873 – ‘The panic of 1873’ – a severe economic crisis in Europe and the United States caused by a drop in demand for silver following Germany’s decision to abandon the silver standard after the Franco-Prussian Wars. ‘The Panic’ lasted until 1879. It was known as the ‘Great Depression’, until the financial crisis of the 1930s.

18 September 1965 – ‘Get Smart’ premieres on U.S. television.

18 September 1970 – death of Jimi Hendrix. American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was 27. Born 27 November 1942