swell front

American  

noun

Furniture.

1. a horizontally convex front, as of a chest of drawers.

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Etymology

Origin of swell front

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swell front

How many times hadn't she heard Maizie Dean solemnly affirm that "a swell front does more to put you in right than anything else, with them lowlifers"?

From Joan Thursday by Vance, Louis Joseph

The form of the cow-saddle has changed but little, although today one sees a shorter seat and smaller horn, a "swell front" or roll, and a stirrup of open "ox-bow" pattern.

From The Passing of the Frontier; a chronicle of the old West by Hough, Emerson

It is of graceful design with free-flowing curves and an elliptical swell front where the balustrade has a solid three-panel insert.

From The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia by Cousins, Frank

There is more of a view"—she goes to the window—"of the houses across the Place; and I always think the swell front gives a pretty shape to a room.

From The Register by Howells, William Dean

It was situated on Beacon Street, not far from the Common,—a handsome brick house with a swell front, such as they used to build in Boston.

From Risen from the Ranks Harry Walton's Success by Alger, Horatio