around the bend
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bend 1
(bĕnd)v. bent (bĕnt), bend·ing, bends
v. tr.
1.
a. To cause to assume a curved or angular shape: bend a piece of iron into a horseshoe.
b. To bring (a bow, for example) into a state of tension by drawing on a string or line.
c. To force to assume a different direction or shape, according to one's own purpose: "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events" (Robert F. Kennedy).
d. To misrepresent; distort: bend the truth.
e. To relax or make an exception to: bend a rule to allow more members into the club.
2. To cause to swerve from a straight line; deflect: Light is bent as it passes through water.
3. To render submissive; subdue: "[His] words so often bewitched crowds and bent them to his will" (W. Bruce Lincoln).
4. To apply (the mind) closely: "The weary naval officer goes to bed at night having bent his brain all day to a scheme of victory" (Jack Beatty).
5. Nautical To fasten: bend a mainsail onto the boom.
v. intr.
1.
a. To deviate from a straight line or position: The lane bends to the right at the bridge.
b. To assume a curved, crooked, or angular form or direction: The saplings bent in the wind.
2. To incline the body; stoop.
3. To make a concession; yield.
4. To apply oneself closely; concentrate: She bent to her task.
n.
Idioms: 1.
a. The act or fact of bending.
b. The state of being bent.
2. Something bent: a bend in the road.
3. Nautical
a. A knot that joins a rope to a rope or another object.
b. bends The thick planks in a ship's side; wales.
4. bends (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Decompression sickness. Used with the.
around the bend Slang
Mentally deranged; crazy.
bend (one's) elbow Slang
To drink alcoholic beverages.
bend out of shape Slang
To annoy or anger.
bend (or lean) over backward
To make an effort greater than is required.
bend (someone's) ear Slang
To talk to at length, usually excessively.
[Middle English benden, from Old English bendan; see bhendh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
bend 2
(bĕnd)n. Heraldry
A band passing from the upper dexter corner of an escutcheon to the lower sinister corner.
[Middle English, from Old English bend, band, and from Old French bende, bande, band (of Germanic origin; see bhendh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]
Bend
(bĕnd) A city of central Oregon on the Deschutes River in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Range.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Adj. | 1. |  around the bend - informal or slang terms for mentally irregular; "it used to drive my husband balmy"bats, batty, bonkers, buggy, crackers, daft, dotty, haywire, kookie, kooky, loco, balmy, nuts, round the bend, wacky, whacky, nutty, barmy, loopy, fruity, cracked insane - afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement; "was declared insane"; "insane laughter" |
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