hickey

See also: Hickey

English
A hickey (sense 1) on the neck.
sense 7

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhɪk.i/
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪki

Noun

hickey (plural hickeys)

  1. (originally US, slang) A bruise-like mark made during petting by pressing the mouth to the skin on one’s partner’s body and sucking. [from 1934]
    Synonyms: love bite, knot
    • 2003, “Stand Up”, in Chicken-n-Beer, performed by Ludacris ft. Shawnna:
      But Louis Vuitton bras all over your breasts / Got me wanting to put hickeys all over your chest
    • 2005, William Cane, The Art of Kissing, 2nd edition, St. Martin's Griffin, →ISBN, page 128:
      When it comes to hickeys, the best I can tell you is that a lot of girls cover them with makeup or a turtleneck shirt. But let me close with a final thought. Never be ashamed of your hickeys. Show them off proudly as badges of love.
  2. A similar mark made by the pressure of a musical instrument such as a violin or viola against the neck.
  3. (informal, slang) An object whose name is unknown or cannot be recalled. [from 1909]
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:thingy
  4. (printing) A printing defect caused by foreign matter on the printing surface resulting in a ring where the ink is missing, appearing as a spot of ink surrounded by a halo, or as an unprinted spot within a solid printed area.
  5. (printing, informal) A serif or other ornamentation on type.
    • 2008, American Printer, volume 125, page 63:
      Years ago, there were internal company standards for dark center (ink color) hickeys and for white voids in solids/type.
    • 2018, Paul W. Ross, Revival: The Handbook of Software for Engineers and Scientists:
      It is generally believed, by those who study such things, that serif typefaces are easier to read when reading a lot of words. The hickeys (serifs) on each letter tend to push our eye toward the next letter.
  6. Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury. [from 1915]
  7. A tool for making smooth, semicircular bends in conduit and pipe.
    Synonym: conduit bender
  8. (US, slang, business, finance) An unintended negative outcome or loss in regards to a deal or action.
    take a hickey
    Farmer Jones took a hickey on his soybean crop when the flood washed the seeds away.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading
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