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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

marbles en · NOUN

Meanings

  1. (form-of, plural) plural of marble
    form of marble
    • Marbles were among the treasures found buried in the ruins of Pompeii.
  2. (plural, plural-only) Any of several children's games played with small balls (made of marble or more commonly glass).
    • Egyptian boys played marbles before the days of Moses.
  3. (figuratively, plural, plural-only, qualifier:usually in a limited number of expressions) Sanity.
    • Granny's still got all her marbles.
    • Grandpa's lost his marbles, but at least he still recognizes us.
    • —Her daddy's crazy. […] Think she's looking for something? —Treasure, I expect. That or maybe her daddy's marbles. 2012, J. T. Petty, Bloody Chester, First Second, →ISBN, page 63:
    • There are times when you are certain that the person speaking to you has completely misplaced his marbles. As I leaned away in reaction I felt confident […] Ed had lost his. 2005, Sue Henry, The Serpents Trail, page 86:
    • “A nice imbroglio you've landed me in. Thanks to you ...” “Yes, sir.” “Don't say ‘Yes, sir.’ Thanks to you I have been widely publicized as off my rocker.” “Not widely, sir. Merely to your immediate circle now resident at Brinkley Court.” “You have held me up at the bar of world opinion as a man who has not got all his marbles.” “It was not easy to think of an alternative scheme, sir.” 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XXI, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
    • His lack of marbles is becoming ever more apparent.
  4. (plural, plural-only) Bits of rolled-up rubber shed by the tires of race cars that accumulate at the edges of the track, especially at the corners.
    • Some corners are littered with marbles, off the racing line. 2014, Amen Zwa, Going Nowhere Fast In Assetto Corsa (2015-05-01), →ISBN, page 395:

Deriveds

mouthful of marbles · lose one's marbles

Relateds

money and marbles

Synonyms

lucidness · marbles · buttons · lucidity · saneness · buttons · mind · sanity

Translations (9)

it marmi (game) · ar كُرَيَّات (game) · nb klinkekuler (game) · pa ਬੰਟੇ (game) · fr billes (game) · cs kuličky (game) · nl knikkers (game) · cmn 弹珠 (game) · mi hītimi (game)

marbles en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person) third-person singular simple present indicative of marble
    form of marble