wryneck

American  

[rahy-nek] / ˈraɪˌnɛk /

noun

1. Informal.

   1. torticollis.

   2. a person having torticollis.

2. any of several small Old World climbing birds of the subfamily Jynginae, of the woodpecker family, noted for the peculiar habit of twisting the head and neck.

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wryneck British  

/ ˈraɪˌnɛk /

noun

1. either of two cryptically coloured Old World woodpeckers, Jynx torquilla or J. ruficollis, which do not drum on trees

2. another name for torticollis

3. informal a person who has a twisted neck

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Etymology

Origin of wryneck

First recorded in 1575–85; wry + neck

Example Sentences

A particularly unsettling development has the sister cities of St. Pete and Tampa at each other's wryneck throats.

From Time Magazine Archive

Snake′-bird, a darter: the wryneck; Snake′-eel, a long Mediterranean eel, its tail without a tail-fin.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

When far off they uttered cries which reminded me of that of the wryneck, and which I at first thought came from a little auk.

From Farthest North Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship 'Fram' 1893-1896 by Nansen, Fridtjof

Says the author quoted above: "When the sitting bird is interfered with, she defends her treasures with great courage, hissing like a wryneck, and vigorously striking at her aggressor with her sharp bill."

From Our Bird Comrades by Keyser, Leander S. (Leander Sylvester)

The wryneck was thought to build the nest, and hatch and feed the young of the cuckoo.

From Welsh Folk-Lore a Collection of the Folk-Tales and Legends of North Wales by Owen, Elias