One-Letter Words A Dictionary 9

S S S IN PRINT AND PROVERB 1. (phrase) The Collar of S’s, composed of a series of golden S’s joined together, is a decoration restricted to the Lord Mayor of London. 2. (in literature) S is a 1988 novel by John Updike. 3. (in literature) Virginia Woolf wrote that S “is the serpent in the poet’s Eden.” —quoted in The Alpha- bet Abecedarium by Richard Firmage 4. (in literature) “And it doesn’t really matter, anyway, because we’ll soon fatten him up again. All we’ll have to do is give him a triple dosage of my wonder - ful Supervitamin Chocolate. Supervitamin Chocolate contains huge amounts of vitamin A and vitamin B. It also contains vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin F, vitamin G, vitamin I, vitamin J, vitamin K, vitamin L, vitamin M, vitamin N, vitamin O, vitamin P, vitamin Q, vitamin R, vitamin T, vitamin U, vita - min V, vitamin W, vitamin X, vitamin Y, and, believe it or not, vitamin Z! The only two vitamins it doesn’t have in it are vitamin S, because it makes you sick, and vitamin H, because it makes you grow horns on the top of your head, like a bull. But it does have a very small amount of the rarest and most magical vitamin of them all—vitamin Wonka.” —Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 5. (in literature) As an adjective that everybody knows and goes without saying: “He is, as I see it and in my opinion, Amiable, Benevolent, Courte - ous, Dignified, Enamored, Firm, Gallant, Honor- able, Illustrious, Loyal, Manly, Noble, Openhearted, Pleasing, Quick- witted, Rich, the Ss that everybody knows, and then Truthful, Valiant, X isn’t included because it’s a harsh letter, Y is the same I, and Z S 161 is Zealous in protecting your honor.” —Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote 6. (in literature) “S is a serpent.” —Victor Hugo, quoted in ABZ by Mel Gooding 7. n. A written representation of the letter. She grabbed Richard’s shoulder, pointed to the device on the wall, the snaky S with the stars sur - rounding it. —Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere 8. n. A device, such as a printer’s type, for reproduc- ing the letter. SCIENTIFIC MATTERS 9. n. An energy state of an atom, as in “S State.” The outward atom fills its deep s- state with two electrons and pyramidally bonds to its neighbors with p- orbitals. —Andrew Zangwill, Physics at Surfaces 10. n. (thermodynamics) Entropy, or energy unavail- able for work. 11. n. (chemistry) The symbol for the element sulfur in the periodic table. STUDENT AFFAIRS 12. n. A grade in school rating a student’s work as satisfactory. 13. n. One graded or rated with an S. S 162 14. n. A medieval Roman numeral for 70. 15. n. Something arbitrarily designated S (e.g., a per- son, place, or other thing). CONTRACTIONS ’S 16. Belongs to. whale’s belly. 17. Is. ’S not impossible. —Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere 18. Does. What’s he want this time? 19. Us. Let’s eat. 20. Has. He’s seen them already. 21. God, used as a mild oath. ’s blood 22. As. so’s you can come. MISCELLANEOUS 23. n. Any spoken sound represented by the letter. The sound vibration of the consonant S means “one half of eternity.” —Joseph E. Rael, Tracks of Danc - ing Light: A Native American Approach to Under- standing Your Name She said thee for see not because she had a lisp but because she knew the hissing letter S is the part of a whisper most likely to be overheard. —C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle 24. n. The nineteenth letter of the alphabet. On the prow of the boat is seated a woman lavishly clad and surrounded by sacks of gold . . . ; in place of S 163 her head is the letter S. —Georges Perec, Life: A User’s Manual “Do you see anything else?” Sylvia shook her head in bewilderment. “Only the letter S. All I see is an S. I don’t know what it means.” —Antoinette May, Haunted Houses of California: A Ghostly Guide to Haunted Houses and Wandering Spirits 25. n. The nineteenth in a series. 26. n. The nineteenth section in a piece of music. SHAPES AND SIZES 27. n. Something having the shape of an S. She had this very distinctive shape, seemingly com- prised of interlocking S’s and C’s that made her look like she would fit exactly against him if he were to embrace her. —Jeremy Dyson, Never Trust a Rabbit Mara clapped his hands and the flames vanished. In their place, its swaying head held at almost twice the height of a man, its silver hood fanned, the mechobra drew into its S- shaped strike position. —Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light “Hey, can any of you guys do this?” I asked, twisting my lips to form the letter “S.” —Leslie Cohen, Jew - ish Love Stories for Kids 28. n. S curve: a double curve, as in a road, often dif- ficult for drivers to negotiate. Carol A. Braddock recalls a time when the road’s dangerous S- curve ate up at least one vehicle per week, with fast- moving drivers ending up wrecked in the woods. —Jason B. Grosky, Eagle- Tribune, April 13, 2004 S 164 29. n. S bend: see S trap. 30. n. S trap: a section of plumbing pipe with an S- shape whose purpose is to trap sewer gases. 31. n. S hook: a strip of metal bent into an S- shape. 32. n. S twist: “the twist in yarn induced by a counter- clockwise- spinning spindle, sometimes called a crossband twist.” —Dr. John Burkardt 33. n. S brake: an S- shaped wheel- braking mechanism. 34. n. S wrench: a wrench with an S- shaped twist. 35. n. S bridge: a double- curved bridge used in early- nineteenth- century road construction to cross curving streams with uneven banks. FOREIGN MEANINGS 36. n. (French) Zigzag, as in faire des S, “to go in zigzag fashion.” S 165 T T . small amount of the rarest and most magical vitamin of them all—vitamin Wonka.” —Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 5. (in literature) As an adjective. Pattern Recognition He had a hairy chest, and the hair had a nice, natu- ral pattern to it, across his chest and then a trail down his stomach, a T. —Augusten