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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

bellows to mend en · X

Meanings

  1. (UK, obsolete, slang) out of breath
    • This constitutes the process of respiration or breathing, and on its due performance will chiefly depend the health and usefulness of the animal. A horse calling “bellows-to-mend” is fit for little. 1859, James Crawford Ledlie Carson, The Form of the Horse, page 25:
    • A pause now took place, and some mutual feinting and dodging, it being 'bellows to mend' on each side. 1897, R. G. Allanson-Winn, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, Boxing, page 72: