stony

Everyday

1. Stony means full of stones or covered with stones. tree →
2. Stony means hard like stone. tree →
3. A stony look, face or silence is cold and shows no kind feeling. tree →

In the lessons

In geography and nature lessons it describes ground, beaches and paths: «a stony beach», «stony soil». In stories a «stony stare» or «stony silence» tells the reader a person is angry, cold or unforgiving. Phrases: «stony ground», «stony silence», «stony-faced», «fall on stony ground» (an idea nobody accepts).

Examples

• We walked along the stony beach in our sandals. tree →
• The farmer could not grow much in the stony field. tree →
• The path up the hill was steep and stony. tree →
• Mum gave me a stony look when I came home late. tree →
• There was a stony silence after the teacher asked who broke the window. tree →
• The headteacher listened stony-faced. tree →
• My idea fell on stony ground; nobody liked it. tree →
• Plants with long roots can live in stony soil. tree →
• While the donkeys galloped along the stony road, the Marionette fancied he heard a very quiet voice whispering to him: tree →

Note

Spelled with -y after «stone» minus «e»: stone → stony (not «stoney», though that spelling is sometimes seen). Comparative stonier, superlative stoniest. «Stony» about a face is not about real stone; it is a figure of speech. «Stone-cold» and «stony broke» (UK, informal: with no money at all) are related phrases.

In Jewish tradition

"Stony heart" means a hard, stubborn heart that cannot feel or obey God.

Interpretation. Tradition reads this as a promise that God will one day give Israel a soft, willing heart. Then people will want to keep his laws.

Examples

• And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; (Prophets EZK.11.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (Prophets EZK.36.26, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Spelled with -y after «stone» minus «e»: stone → stony (not «stoney», though that spelling is sometimes seen). Comparative stonier, superlative stoniest. «Stony» about a face is not about real stone; it is a figure of speech. «Stone-cold» and «stony broke» (UK, informal: with no money at all) are related phrases.