burnsides
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of burnsides
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; named after General A.E. Burnside
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is generally believed by people who speak flippantly of 'side-burns,' 'sideboards,' etc., that burnsides were so named because they cluttered up both sides of their proprietor's countenance.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had long burnsides and a long tail coat all de time.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume XVI, Texas Narratives, Part 4 by United States. Work Projects Administration
The old bedesman delighted “to daunder down the burnsides and green shaws.”
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook, Vol. 3 by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham
Then Melville himself came in, brushing back his white tufted burnsides and licking his lips and blinking his eyes—looking for all the world like a cat at its toilet.
From The Deluge by Phillips, David Graham
His shoulders were massive and square, his chin and mouth were square, his burnsides were square cut, and he had a square head and wore a square-topped derby.
From By Advice of Counsel by Train, Arthur Cheney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
