jib

Everyday

1. A triangle-shaped sail at the front of a sailing boat. tree →
2. The long arm of a crane that sticks out and holds the hook. tree →
3. To jib (at something) means to refuse to do it or be unwilling, like a horse that stops and will not go on. tree →

In the lessons

Used in sailing, boats and the river and sea stories; the Water Rat and the Sea Rat talk of boats and sails. In building sites the jib of a crane swings over the street. The verb is a bit old-fashioned and appears in older books: «he jibbed at paying». Phrase: «the cut of his jib» (old, how someone looks or seems, from the shape of a ship's sail).

Examples

• The sailor raised the jib, and the boat turned into the wind. tree →
• The jib flapped in the breeze. tree →
• The crane's jib swung slowly over the building site. tree →
• The horse jibbed at the gate and would not go through. tree →
• He jibbed at paying so much for a ticket. tree →
• Grandad said he liked the cut of her jib. tree →

Note

Do not confuse with «gibe» or «jibe» (to mock, or in sailing to swing the sail across). Past: jibbed, with double b. «Cut of your jib» is an idiom, not about cutting.