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daisy chain

noun
  1. a string of daisies linked together to form a chain.
  2. such a chain used as a garland or carried on festive days by a group of women college students.
  3. a series of interconnected or related things or events: a daisy chain of legislative delays and stalemates.
  4. Slang. a group sexual activity in which the participants serve as active and passive partners to different people simultaneously.
  5. Commerce. a series of transactions designed to create the appearance of active trading, as in a particular stock, in order to manipulate the price.
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Origin of daisy chain

First recorded in 1835–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for daisy chain

Historical Examples

  • Sarah Miggs had made a daisy-chain and sent it to her, and it was twice as long as the bed.

    The New Gulliver and Other Stories

    Barry Pain

  • I just shook my head 'n' walked to my pew, 'n' there, if it was n't looped shut with a daisy-chain!

  • I just shook my head an' walked to my pew, an' there, if it wasn't looped shut with a daisy-chain!

  • Father Brown threw away a daisy-chain he was making, and rose with a wistful look.

British Dictionary definitions for daisy chain

daisy chain

noun
  1. a garland made, esp by children, by threading daisies together
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with daisy chain

daisy chain

1

A series of connected events, activities, or experiences. For example, The daisy chain of lectures on art history encompassed the last 200 years. This metaphorical term alludes to a string of the flowers linked together. [Mid-1800s]

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2

A line or circle of three or more persons engaged in simultaneous sexual activity. For example, A high-class call girl, she drew the line at daisy chains. [Vulgar slang; 1920s]

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3

A series of securities transactions intended to give the impression of active trading so as to drive up the price. For example, The SEC is on the alert for unscrupulous brokers who are engaging in daisy chains. [1980s]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.