A hurtful or disparaging remark.
One of the many side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane.
A barbiturate.
Armor for a horse.
The sciaenid fish Menticirrhus americanus, found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
A blackish or dun variety of pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen.
The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
Any of various species of freshwater carp-like fish that have barbels and belong to the cyprinid family.
A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.
A plastic fastener, shaped roughly like a capital I (with serifs), used to attach socks etc. to their packaging.
The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors.
To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.
To cut (hair).
To cover a horse in armor.
An ironic statement.
Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
Dramatic irony: a theatrical effect in which the meaning of a situation, or some incongruity in the plot, is understood by the audience, but not by the characters in the play.
Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context.
Of or pertaining to the metal iron.
The food had an irony taste to it.