On the spot
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
on the spot
adv 1: without delay or immediately; "we hired her on the spot";
"thought they were going to shoot us down on the spot"
2: in a difficult situation; "that question really put him on
the spot"
3: at the place in question; there; "they were on the spot when
it happened"; "it had to be decided by the man on the spot"
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Spot \Spot\ (sp[o^]t), n. [Cf. Scot. & D. spat, Dan. spette, Sw.
spott spittle, slaver; from the root of E. spit. See {Spit}
to eject from the mouth, and cf. {Spatter}.]
1. A mark on a substance or body made by foreign matter; a
blot; a place discolored.
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Out, damned spot! Out, I say! --Shak.
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2. A stain on character or reputation; something that soils
purity; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish.
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Yet Chloe, sure, was formed without a spot. --Pope.
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3. A small part of a different color from the main part, or
from the ground upon which it is; as, the spots of a
leopard; the spots on a playing card.
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4. A small extent of space; a place; any particular place.
"Fixed to one spot." --Otway.
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That spot to which I point is Paradise. --Milton.
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"A jolly place," said he, "in times of old!
But something ails it now: the spot is cursed."
--Wordsworth.
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5. (Zool.) A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called
from a spot on its head just above its beak.
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6. (Zool.)
(a) A sciaenoid food fish ({Liostomus xanthurus}) of the
Atlantic coast of the United States. It has a black
spot behind the shoulders and fifteen oblique dark
bars on the sides. Called also {goody}, {Lafayette},
{masooka}, and {old wife}.
(b) The southern redfish, or red horse, which has a spot
on each side at the base of the tail. See {Redfish}.
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7. pl. Commodities, as merchandise and cotton, sold for
immediate delivery. [Broker's Cant]
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{Crescent spot} (Zool.), any butterfly of the family
{Melitaeidae} having crescent-shaped white spots along the
margins of the red or brown wings.
{Spot lens} (Microscopy), a condensing lens in which the
light is confined to an annular pencil by means of a
small, round diaphragm (the spot), and used in dark-field
illumination; -- called also {spotted lens}.
{Spot rump} (Zool.), the Hudsonian godwit ({Limosa
haemastica}).
{Spots on the sun}. (Astron.) See {Sun spot}, ander {Sun}.
{On the spot}, or {Upon the spot}, immediately; before
moving; without changing place; as, he made his decision
on the spot.
It was determined upon the spot. --Swift.
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Syn: Stain; flaw; speck; blot; disgrace; reproach; fault;
blemish; place; site; locality.
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from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
118 Moby Thesaurus words for "on the spot":
PDQ, aboard, among us, apace, as of now, as things are, at once,
at present, at this juncture, at this moment, at this point,
at this time, between two fires, but now, cornered, cursory,
decisively, directly, endangered, even now, expeditious,
expeditiously, festinate, feverish, flying, for the nonce,
for this occasion, forthwith, furious, hasty, here, here and now,
hereabout, hereabouts, hereat, hereinto, hereto, hereunto,
hic et nunc, hither, hitherward, hitherwards, hurried, immediate,
immediately, imperiled, in Dutch, in a bind, in a fix, in a mess,
in a pickle, in a predicament, in a scrape, in a spot, in danger,
in deep water, in desperate case, in extremis, in jeopardy,
in no time, in our time, in these days, in this place,
in this vicinity, in trouble, instant, instantaneously, instanter,
instantly, jeopardized, just here, just now, just then,
last-minute, momentaneously, momentarily, momently, now, nowadays,
on Queer Street, on board, on the dot, on the instant, on the nail,
passing, pretty damned quick, prompt, promptly, pronto, quick,
quickly, right away, right off, slap-bang, slapdash, smartly, snap,
somewhere about, speedily, speedy, straightaway, straightway,
subito, summarily, superficial, swift, swiftly, this day,
this night, threatened, to this place, today, tonight, urgent,
with all speed, with us, without delay, without further delay
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