quick
5
9.9
- noun
- /kwɪk/
- Specialized
- How many times a week?" I stared at my hands in my lap; I couldn't stop my fingernails from digging against my thumbnails where the quicks were already scabby. I shook my head.
- cut to the quick
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Watch on YouTubeThe line is deep and raw, a cut to the quick of the planet.
- The line is deep and raw, a cut to the quick of the planet.
- He's supposed to be injected into a rabbit, but, but I will cut to the quick.
Examples
-
Cut it right down to the quick
-
But to the quick of the ulcer, what wouldst thou undertake to show yourself your father's son in deed more than in word?
-
The line is deep and raw, a cut to the quick of the planet.
-
... touching the quick of the mystery of darkness that was his body.
Academic text (1996) -
The bid to get rich quick has lured some to the illicit trade across the oceans.
Academic text (1996) -
"At least I never wore hot pants on stage," was Dorrie's retort, which she knew cut to the quick of Vivian Mangosing's feminist core.
Fiction book (1998) -
His capacity to listen keenly, to synthesize rapidly, and to cut to the quick of an argument not only constituted a rare talent but revealed the degree to which he devoted himself to the larger goals of the discipline.
Academic text (1991) -
As she mused, the pitiful vision of her mother's life laid its spell on the very quick of her being—that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness.
Academic text (2016) -
The doctor warned that the injury was close to the quick of her fingernail, which made it very painful.
-
He accidentally cut his finger to the quick while slicing vegetables, causing him to yelp in surprise.
Idioms
Compounds
5
4.6
A dishonest plan that promises to make you rich quickly with little work
- UK
2
5.1
A marching pace faster than walking and slower than running at about 120 steps per minute
- Specialized
1
3.8
A machine or process that makes food very cold quickly to keep its taste and vitamins
- Specialized
1
3.4
A fast basketball shot near the basket taken quickly after a player gets the ball
- Specialized
1
4.2
Money and things that can become cash quickly, like short-term investments or amounts customers owe
1
4.4
A very quick answer to a question given without thinking, often one after another
Surface Forms
Etymology
Quick comes from an Old English word cwic meaning 'alive'. The phrase 'the quick' names the 'living' part under the nail, so it is the sensitive, living flesh that hurts if cut.