hoe, Wivenhoe. spur, promontory, ridge, on the spur of the moment

Etymology[edit]

The place-name Wivenhoe is Saxon in origin, deriving from the personal name Wifa's or Wife's spur or promontory (hoe). The place-name is now usually pronounced 'Wivvenho', but the Essex accent would traditionally have rendered it as 'Wivvenhoo'. According to folk etymology, the name derived from "Wyvernhoe",^[4] originating from the mythical beast called a wyvern and the previously mentioned ridge (hoe). The town's football team, Wivenhoe Town FC, is nicknamed 'The Wyverns'.

hoe1

NOUN

• A long-handled gardening tool with a thin metal blade, used mainly for weeding.

VERBhoes, hoeing, hoed

• 1with object Use a hoe to dig (earth) or thin out or dig up (plants).
• 2hoe inAustralian, New Zealand informal no object Eat eagerly.

  1. 2.1hoe into Attack or criticize.
     ‘They're all at hoeing into Natasha, or Meg, depending on personal allegiances.’
     ‘They wanted to hoe into him and he had to be put in a police car for his own protection’

Origin

Middle English from Old French houe, of Germanic origin; related to German Haue, also to hew.

Phrases

on the spur of the moment

• On impulse; without planning in advance.

  ‘I don't generally do things on the spur of the moment’

  as modifier ‘a spur-of-the-moment decision’
put (or set) spurs to

• Use one's spurs to urge on (a horse).

spur

NOUN

• 1A device with a small spike or a spiked wheel that is worn on a rider's heel and used for urging a horse forward.

  1. 1.1A horny spike on the back of the leg of a cock or male game bird, used in fighting.
     ‘Their well-feathered shanks had razor sharp spurs protruding ominously, and the feet were also covered in dense, thick feathers to protect the skin from the brutal cold.’
  2. 1.2A steel point fastened to the leg of a gamecock.
• 2A thing that prompts or encourages someone; an incentive.

  ‘wars act as a spur to practical invention’
• 3A projection from a mountain or mountain range.

  ‘it's an easy walk up the spur that leads to the summit’

  1. 3.1A short branch road or railway line.
  2. 3.2Botany A slender tubular projection from the base of a flower, e.g. a honeysuckle or orchid, typically containing nectar.
  3. 3.3A short fruit-bearing side shoot.
  4. 3.4Medicine A short pointed growth or process on a part of the body.
• 4A small, single-pointed support for ceramic ware in a kiln.