English

Proper noun

Spike

1. A male nickname.
   • 1995, Donna E. Norton, Through the eyes of a child: an introduction to children's literature (page 418)

     This book contains mostly humorous animal poems by poets such as Spike Milligan, Theodore Roethke, and Rudyard Kipling.

Anagrams

• kepis, kipes, pikes

German

Noun

Spike m

1. spike (nail or something similar to it)

English

Noun

spike ‎(plural spikes)

1. A sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron set with points upward/outward.
2. Anything resembling such a nail in shape.
   • Addison

     He wears on his head the corona radiata […] ; the spikes that shoot out represent the rays of the sun.

3. An ear of corn or grain.
4. (botany) A kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis.
5. (in plural spikes; informal) Running shoes with spikes in the soles.
6. A sharp peak in a graph.
7. The long, narrow part of a high-heeled shoe that elevates the heel.
8. A long nail for storing papers and, by extension, the metaphorical place where rejected newspaper articles are sent.
   • 1974, Books and Bookmen

     It was all true, it appeared. He sat down and wrote it, the editor read it and said: ' We don't use stories like this in this newspaper.' So the story ended up on the spike, reinforcing the principle that wife-swapping, unlike justice, must not be seen to be done.

   • 2005, David Bouchier, Writer at Work: Reflections on the Art and Business of Writing, iUniverse (ISBN 9781462065332)

     Later I was entrusted with writing the letters to the editor, because nobody else ever wrote to our paper. The editor, Eric Lewis, had a slash and burn style of editing that left its mark on me forever. Most of my stories ended up on the spike.

   • 2013, Margalit Fox, Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code and the Uncovering of a Lost Civilisation, Profile Books (ISBN 9781847659705)

     Assuming that word of the death reached the Times's newsroom at all, it would have taken little more than one bleary-eyed night editor who had heard neither of Ventris nor of linear B for the obituary to have been consigned to the spike.

9. (volleyball) An attack from, usually, above the height of the net performed with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.
10. (zoology) An adolescent male deer.
11. A surge in power.
12. (slang) The casual ward of a workhouse.
    • 1933: George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, p. 139.

      "Dere's tay spikes, and cocoa spikes, and skilly spikes."

13. Spike lavender.

    oil of spike

Synonyms

• (botany: kind of inflorescence): catkin, raceme, cluster, corymb, umbel

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

spike ‎(third-person singular simple present spikes, present participle spiking, simple past and past participle spiked)

1. To covertly put alcohol or another intoxicating substance into a drink.

   She spiked my lemonade with vodka!

2. To add a small amount of one substance to another.

   The water sample to be tested has been spiked with arsenic, antimony, mercury, and lead in quantities commonly found in industrial effluents.

3. (volleyball) To attack from, usually, above the height of the net with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.
4. (military) To render (a gun) unusable by driving a metal spike into its touch hole.
   • 1834, Frederick Marryat, Peter Simple:

     He jumped down, wrenched the hammer from the armourer’s hand, and seizing a nail from the bag, in a few moments he had spiked the gun.

   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 235-6:

     Small skirmishes also took place, and the Afghans managed to seize a pair of mule-guns and force the British to spike and abandon two other precious guns.

5. (journalism) To decide not to publish or make public.
   • October 14, 2002, Jonathan Sale, The Guardian, Edward VIII news blackout.

     Instead, the "Beaver" declared he would spike the story about Wallis Simpson and make sure his fellow media moguls sat on it too.

6. To prevent or frustrate.
   • 1981, Chris Greyvenstein, The Fighters (page 145)

     Nicolaas, or Nick, as the family called him, wanted to turn professional but an ear injury, sustained during the war, spiked his plans.

7. To increase sharply.

   Traffic accidents spiked in December when there was ice on the roads.

8. To fasten with spikes, or long, large nails.

   to spike down planks

9. To set or furnish with spikes.
10. To fix on a spike.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Young to this entry?)

11. (football slang) To slam the football to the ground, usually in celebration of scoring a touchdown, or to stop expiring time on the game clock after snapping the ball as to save time for the losing team to attempt to score the tying or winning points.

Derived terms

• spike someone's guns

Synonyms

• (volleyball): attack, hit

Translations

Anagrams

• kepis
• kipes
• pikes