Dictionary

boneless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

(US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English bonles, banles, from Old English bānlēas (“boneless”), from Proto-Germanic *bainalausaz, equivalent to bone + -less. Cognate with Scots baneless (“boneless”), Dutch beenloos (“boneless; legless”), German beinlos (“legless”), Swedish benlös (“boneless”), Icelandic beinlaus (“boneless”).

Meanings

Without bones, especially as pertaining to meat or poultry prepared for eating.
- The packers were always originating such schemes—they had what they called "boneless hams," which were all the odds and ends of pork stuffed into casings. 1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, chapter XIV, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906, →OCLC:
- Near-synonyms: boned, deboned
- They argued over the menu. The fish was described as being 'Made From Flaky Tender Boneless Filets and the chicken as 'Delicious French Fried to a Golden Brown, Served Disjointed.' 1954, Ian Fleming, “Allumeuse”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 107:
- boneless chicken
- boneless wings
- boneless, skinless chicken
(US, humorous) Without pizza crust; without pizza bones.
(UK, figuratively) Lacking strength, courage, or resolve.
- In his final years he [John Ogdon] gave an interview to an American journalist who noticed that "his handshake is a boneless fadeaway["]. 2014 May 11, Ivan Hewett, “Piano Man: a Life of John Ogdon by Charles Beauclerk, review: A new biography of the great British pianist whose own genius destroyed him [print version: A colossus off-key, 10 May 2014, p. R27]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review):
- I remember, when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum's circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibit … which I most desired to see was the one described as "The Boneless Wonder." My parents judged that the spectacle would be too revolting and demoralizing for my youthful eyes, and I have waited fifty years to see the boneless wonder sitting on the Treasury Bench. 1931, Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 13 May
- I'm scared, I'm just boneless with fright. 1916, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 18, in Uneasy Money:
- Had the Green consortium made a straight bid, boneless fund managers would easily have outvoted private investors. 2006 November 11, Graham Searjeant, “Loyalty pays off for M&S shareholders”, in The Times, London:
(informal) Of a couch, cushionlike due to lacking a hard internal frame.

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
most boneless	Degree=Sup		lexicographic
more boneless	Degree=Cmp		lexicographic

Translations (31)

fr désossé (without bones) · nb beinløs (without bones) · ro dezosat (without bones) · tr kemiksiz (without bones) · fi luuton (without bones) · nb beinlaus (without bones) · ota كمیكسز (without bones) · nn beinlaus (without bones) · la exos (without bones) · bg обезкостен (without bones) · la exossis (without bones) · pt desossado (without bones) · es deshuesado (without bones) · ca desossat (without bones) · ro dezosat (without bones) · tl hukhok (without bones) · nb benløs (without bones) · it disossato (without bones) · cy diasgwrn (without bones) · yue 無骨 /无骨 (without bones) · ga díchnámhaithe (without bones) · ga gan chnámha (without bones) · is beinlaus (without bones) · pl bezkostny (without bones) · mk обескостен (without bones) · cy heb esgyrn (without bones) · mi iwikore (without bones) · de schier (without bones) · fi ruodoton (without bones) · grc ἀνόστεος (without bones) · sv benfri (without bones)

boneless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

Forms

Antonyms

Coordinates

Deriveds

Synonyms

Translations (31)