Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
undercraft en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
From under- + craft.
Meanings
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(obsolete, uncountable, usually) A sly trick, or subterfuge in general.
Meredith's high-toned verbosities often draw strength from a secret affiliation with the "undercraft" of the underclasses, his humor sociolectic as well as lexical.
1990, Garrett Stewart, James O Freedman, Reading Voices: Literature and the Phonotext, page 217:Not that by any analysis , -or that from any table of interest or genealogy , there appears much more ground of alliance betwixt them than betwixt light and darkness , or any two of the most unfriendly opposites in nature ; - only 'tis an undercraft of authors to keep up a good understanding amongst words , as politicians do amongst men.
1759–1767, [Laurence Sterne], The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume (please specify |volume=I to IX), London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […]:Such hordyng up of worldly wealth, such keeping much in store. . .Such falshed undercraft, and such unstedfast wayes, Was never sene within men's hartes, as is found nowadayes.
2010, Graham Greene, Collected Essays:But in the usual routine of its life, When it addresses friend, lover or wife; The soft sweet smooth and modulating strain, Doth ever in expression sweeter gain, Without the undercraft or oily tone, It e'en delights their foes and stands alone.
1874, H W. Jeffree, Life, an epic - Issue 761, page 121:Mrs. Lambert believed this, and Ivon would not permit himself to doubt it; for to a generous and noble character like his, the undercraft and meanness of a small nature is simply incomprehensible.
1872, Ann Sophia Stephens, The Reigning Belle, page 277:
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(archaic, uncountable, usually) Witchcraft or sorcery.
He arrives at Ambrose's home in Tarceny and lets loose the “Heron Man,” Ambrose's uncle, who, for three hundred years, has used “undercraft” to maintain his evil power.
2011, Linda Pavonetti, Bridges to Understanding: Envisioning the World Through Children's Books, page 273:Under-craft, witchcraft, call it what you will, but it is indeed poisonous.
2008, John Dickinson, The Fatal Child:
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(uncountable, usually) An apprentice or journeyman.
These principles are to organize the undercrafts for justice and humanity, for better wages and diminished poverty, the reduction of hours of toil and the abolishment of Sunday slavery in so far as possible.
1925, The Journeyman Barber, volume 21, page 426:
Forms
undercraft en · VERB · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
From under- + craft.
Meanings
-
(obsolete) To outwit; to outmaneuver.
In mock obeisance bow him low And he succumbs your slave: a show Of high respect will undercraft His cunning wit!
1901, Charles Richard Panter, Granuaile: A Queen of the West, page 94:
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To make with insufficient craftsmanship.
"I'd infinitely rather fall into the trap of overcrafting an ad than undercrafting it,” confesses Graham Warsop, “though clearly a healthy balance is preferable. […]"
2012, Jim Aitchison, Cutting Edge Advertising:While she does not explicitly say that Swift's writing is undercrafted, she relies heavily on the word “clichéd,” which implies that Swift's work is lazy or insufficiently polished.
2022, Ryan Hibbett, Lit-Rock: Literary Capital in Popular Music, page 82:Although the unpolished nature of Chan-related figure painting is taken as a matter of course, apparition painting appears to rely largely on deskilling, the purposeful undercrafting that strained to achieve whatever the opposite of professionalism looked like in the monochrome ink medium.
2010, Francesco Pellizzi, Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics, 55/56: Absconding, page 79:Quite recently I had a piece published in a special Latino issue of a respected literary magazine, and though the cast now includes Cuban and Puerto Rican writers as well, the themes are still the same, and much of the writing is disappointingly simplistic or undercrafted.
1999, Marilyn Kallet, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Sleeping with One Eye Open, page 137:
Forms
undercraft en · ADJ · etymology 2
Pronunciation
Etymology
From under- + craft.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) Beneath a craft (water, air, or space vehicle).
All models are recording instruments, instantaneously charting undercraft conditions on a permanent record.
1952 January, Wilfrid O. White, “1952 Equipment”, in MotorBoating, volume 89, number 1, page 139:Eight hard points are provided with landing pads, and these extend below the bottom of the buoyancy tank and protect the undercraft structure from local projections on the ground.
1962, The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine-builder, page 525:The sidespin is intended to compensate for the, umm, gravitational deficiencies, but of course I should have activated the tripswitch to alter the undercraft sensor system .
2008, Tania Hershman, The White Road and Other Stories, page 18:Undercraft spray would be minimized by this system and a uniformly depressed water surface would result.
2013, J.R. Amyot, Hovercraft Technology, Economics and Applications, page 317:
Forms
undercraft en · NOUN · etymology 2
Pronunciation
Etymology
From under- + craft.
Meanings
-
(dated) A submarine.
How many of you know that before the war was over the dreadnaught which cost $8,000,000 was at the mercy of the submarine undercraft ?
1920, The American Photo Engraver - Volume 13, page 397:In Spain, the “Rome-Berlin Axis" had its way, and on the Mediterranean "unknown" undercraft plied their game of piracy.
1940, Nykyfor I︠A︡. Hryhoriïv, Democracy: Its Channels and Tasks, page 22:But effective as mine-fields and cable nettings may be against hostile "undercraft" – as in the case of the channel where not a single troop-ship or supply-ship has yet been lost – they can be said to be only a deterrent, little more.
1916 January, Robert Wilden Neeser, “The Submarine in War”, in Scribner's Magazine, volume 59, number 1, page 43:Before considering the ways of combatting "undercraft," analyze the characteristics of this class of sea-fighters.
1917 March 3, Marion Eppley, “Anti-Submarine Patrol”, in Scientific American, volume 116, number 9, page 222:At the south coast at the end of the island there are great depths in the sea where the undercraft can very easily maneuver.
1959, Communist Threat to the United States Through the Caribbean:
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(historical) An underground crypt.
His Body was first buried in the Undercraft of his own Cathedral-Church, whence, shortly after, it was taken up, put into a goodly Shrine beset with costly Jewels and precious Stones, and plac'd at the East end of the same Church.
1708, Richard Newcourt, Repertorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense, page 552:Here in this dim and scanty undercraft is an epitome of the English art of four centuries, precious and beautiful beyond the power of words to describe.
1905, Ralph Adams Cram, Ruined Abbeys of Great Britain:The Abbey, seat of the Leigh family for 400 years, was founded by the Cistercians in 1154 and the original Gate House is still occupied, while the vaulted undercraft and parts of the original buildings are incorporated in the Elizabethan wing of the House.
1958, Go: Travel, Holiday Magazine, page 66:According to the plans of the second Arthur, an undercraft was to be hewn out beneath the whold of the new building, and this was to be reserved for a sepulchre or mausoleum.
1815, William Dunlap, The Life of Charles Brockden Brown, page 275:
Forms