1.
2.
[syn: fix, hole, jam, mess, muddle, pickle, kettle of fish]
VERB (1)
1. preserve in a pickling liquid;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pickle \Pic"kle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pickled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Pickling.]
1. To preserve or season in pickle; to treat with some kind
of pickle; as, to pickle herrings or cucumbers.
[1913 Webster]
2. To give an antique appearance to; -- said of copies or
imitations of paintings by the old masters.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pickle \Pic"kle\, n. [Obs.]
See Picle.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pickle \Pic"kle\, n. [Cf. D. pekel. Probably a dim. fr. Pick,
v. t., alluding to the cleaning of the fish.]
1.
(a) A solution of salt and water, in which fish, meat,
etc., may be preserved or corned; brine.
(b) Vinegar, plain or spiced, used for preserving
vegetables, fish, eggs, oysters, etc.
[1913 Webster]
2. Any article of food which has been preserved in brine or
in vinegar.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Founding) A bath of dilute sulphuric or nitric acid,
etc., to remove burnt sand, scale rust, etc., from the
surface of castings, or other articles of metal, or to
brighten them or improve their color.
[1913 Webster]
4. A troublesome child; as, a little pickle. [Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]
To be in a pickle, to be in disagreeable position; to be in
a condition of embarrassment, difficulty, or disorder.
"How cam'st thou in this pickle?" --Shak.
To put a rod in pickle, to prepare a particular reproof,
punishment, or penalty for future application.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Picle \Pi"cle\ ((p[i^]k"'l), n. [Prob. fr. pightel or pingle.]
A small piece of land inclosed with a hedge; a close. [Obs.]
[Written also pickle.]
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
pickle
n 1: vegetables (especially cucumbers) preserved in brine or
vinegar
2: informal terms for a difficult situation; "he got into a
terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage" [syn:
fix, hole, jam, mess, muddle, pickle, kettle of
fish]
v 1: preserve in a pickling liquid
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
147 Moby Thesaurus words for "pickle":
acid, acidulant, anhydrate, baffle, bafflement, bearings,
bewilderment, bind, blast-freeze, booze up, boozify, bother, box,
bread-and-butter pickle, brine, case, chokecherry, circumstance,
clutch, complication, condition, confoundment, confusion, corn,
corner, crab apple, crock, crunch, cure, dehydrate, desiccate,
dilemma, dill pickle, discomposure, disconcert, disconcertedness,
disconcertion, disconcertment, disturbance, dry, dry-cure,
dry-salt, embalm, embarrassing position, embarrassment, enigma,
estate, evaporate, fine how-do-you-do, fix, footing, freeze,
freeze-dry, fuddle, fume, green apple, hell to pay, hobble, hole,
hot water, how-do-you-do, imbroglio, irradiate, jam, jerk, kipper,
lemon, lime, location, lot, marinade, marinate, mess, mix,
modality, mode, morass, mummify, mystery, nonplus, overtake,
parlous straits, pass, perplexity, perturbation, pinch, place,
plaster, plight, pollute, position, posture, pother, predicament,
preservatize, pretty pass, pretty pickle, pretty predicament,
problem, puzzle, puzzlement, quagmire, quandary, quick-freeze,
quicksand, rank, refrigerate, riddle, salt, scrape, season,
situation, slough, smoke, smoke-cure, sour, sour balls, sour cream,
sour grapes, sour pickle, sourdough, souse, spot, squeeze,
standing, state, station, status, stew, sticky wicket, stone,
strait, straits, stuff, swack, swamp, tight spot, tight squeeze,
tightrope, tipsify, tricky spot, unassuredness, unholy mess, upset,
verjuice, vinegar, yogurt