swell front
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of swell front
First recorded in 1855–60
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.
I ain't got money; nobody's left ME a cart load of dollars and a swell front house.
From Cap'n Dan's Daughter by Lincoln, Joseph Crosby
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
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
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
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.