nibble, neophyte, macramé, fortify

Many artists, notably Rembrandt Van Rijn and Hieronymus Bosch, painted scenes of early surgery and none of those paintings shows patients biting into anything. Whether or not they might have been offered anything to nibble on, there's little doubt that they would have been fortified with strong drink.




This spring a young man’s — and woman’s — fancy should turn to vegetables. Judging by the new batch of garden books, we’re creeping into a back-to-the-land movement, rather like what happened in the 1970s but without the macramé. Yet — we’ll soon be making plant holders. Again. This being America, we’ve also found a way to cultivate that competitive edge. What the wine cellar was to the ’90s, the root cellar will be to this decade. Same concept, come to think of it: Climate control. Rotation. Status. Expense. By the time you read this, of course, serious gardeners will have sown their oats and tomatoes, but determined neophytes can still catch up.


mac·ra·mé (măk'rə-mā')
n.

Coarse lace work made by weaving and knotting cords into a pattern.

[French, from Italian macramè, from Turkish makrama, towel, from Arabic miqrama, embroidered veil, from qarama, to gnaw, nibble.]

neophyte,

━━ n. 新改宗者; 【カトリック】新修道士［僧］; 初心者.



nib·ble (nĭb'əl)
v., -bled, -bling, -bles. v.tr.

1. To bite at gently and repeatedly.
2. To eat with small, quick bites or in small morsels: nibble a cracker.
3. To wear away or diminish bit by bit: "If you start compromising too early . . . they nibble you to death" (People).

v.intr.
To take small or hesitant bites: fish nibbling at the bait.

n.

1. A very small quantity, especially of food; a morsel.
2. The act or an instance of nibbling.

[Middle English nebyllen, akin to Low German nibbelen.]

nibbler nib'bler n.



for·ti·fy (fôr'tə-fī')
v., -fied, -fy·ing, -fies. v.tr.
To make strong, as:

1. To strengthen and secure (a position) with fortifications.
2. To reinforce by adding material.
3. To impart physical strength or endurance to; invigorate.
4. To give emotional, moral, or mental strength to; encourage: Prayer fortified us during our crisis.
5. To strengthen or enrich (food, for example), as by adding vitamins.

v.intr.
To build fortifications.

[Middle English fortifien, from Old French fortifier, from Late Latin fortificāre, from Latin fortis, strong.]

fortifiable for'ti·fi'a·ble adj.
fortifier for'ti·fi'er n.
fortifyingly for'ti·fy'ing·ly adv.