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
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 Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
The men are very partial to "burnsides" and wear their hair pretty long, combed wet and stroked down so as to look smooth and glossy.
From The Youthful Wanderer An Account of a Tour through England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany by George H. Heffner
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
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 David Graham Phillips
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.
