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WIG
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: wigged , wigging
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Hairpiece covering the head and made of real or synthetic hair
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("wig" is a kind of...):
false hair; hairpiece; postiche (a covering or bunch of human or artificial hair used for disguise or adornment)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wig"):
grizzle (a grey wig)
horsehair wig (a wig made of horsehair)
periwig; peruke (a wig for men that was fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries)
Sense 2
Meaning:
British slang for a scolding
Synonyms:
wig; wigging
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("wig" is a kind of...):
chiding; objurgation; scolding; tongue-lashing (rebuking a person harshly)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb wig
Context examples:
‘I perceive that all is as it should be. But we have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler’s wax which would disgust you with human nature.’
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
But I'll go as far with you as I dare go, and a step beyond, for I'll have my wig sorted by the captain or I'm mistaken!
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
And I am afraid there's a skeleton—in a wig—on the ledge of the desk.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Laurie enjoyed that immensely, and when she told about the prim old gentleman who came once to woo Aunt March, and in the middle of a fine speech, how Poll had tweaked his wig off to his great dismay, the boy lay back and laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks, and a maid popped her head in to see what was the matter.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
It's the name of a buccaneer of my acquaintance; and I call you by it for the sake of shortness, and what I have to say to you is this; one glass of rum won't kill you, but if you take one you'll take another and another, and I stake my wig if you don't break off short, you'll die—do you understand that? —die, and go to your own place, like the man in the Bible.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
It was the day of the week on which Mr. Sharp went out to get his wig curled; so Mr. Mell, who always did the drudgery, whatever it was, kept school by himself.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
As for the first, though we were about half a mile away, we could hear them roaring and singing late into the night; and as for the second, the doctor staked his wig that, camped where they were in the marsh and unprovided with remedies, the half of them would be on their backs before a week.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
If I am reserved to wear a wig, I am at least prepared, externally, in allusion to his baldness, for that distinction.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
I found them all three seated round the table, a bottle of Spanish wine and some raisins before them, and the doctor smoking away, with his wig on his lap, and that, I knew, was a sign that he was agitated.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
His hair was very smooth and wavy; but I was informed by the very first boy who came back that it was a wig (a second-hand one HE said), and that Mr. Sharp went out every Saturday afternoon to get it curled.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
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