to miss stays

Miss \Miss\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Missed} (m[i^]st); p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Missing}.] [AS. missan; akin to D. & G. missen, OHG.
   missan, Icel. missa, Sw. mista, Dan. miste. [root]100. See
   {Mis-}, pref.]
   1. To fail of hitting, reaching, getting, finding, seeing,
      hearing, etc.; as, to miss the mark one shoots at; to miss
      the train by being late; to miss opportunites of getting
      knowledge; to miss the point or meaning of something said.
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            When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will
            acknowledge he judged not right.      --Locke.
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   2. To omit; to fail to have or to do; to get without; to
      dispense with; -- now seldom applied to persons.
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            She would never miss, one day,
            A walk so fine, a sight so gay.       --Prior.
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            We cannot miss him; he does make our fire,
            Fetch in our wood.                    --Shak.
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   3. To discover the absence or omission of; to feel the want
      of; to mourn the loss of; to want; as, to miss an absent
      loved one. --Shak.
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            Neither missed we anything . . . Nothing was missed
            of all that pertained unto him.       --1 Sam. xxv.
                                                  15, 21.
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            What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss.
                                                  --Milton.
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   {To miss stays}. (Naut.) See under {Stay}.
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Stay \Stay\ (st[=a]), n. [AS. staeg, akin to D., G., Icel., Sw.,
   & Dan. stag; cf. OF. estai, F. ['e]tai, of Teutonic origin.]
   (Naut.)
   A large, strong rope, employed to support a mast, by being
   extended from the head of one mast down to some other, or to
   some part of the vessel. Those which lead forward are called
   fore-and-aft stays; those which lead to the vessel's side are
   called backstays. See Illust. of {Ship}.
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   {In stays}, or {Hove in stays} (Naut.), in the act or
      situation of staying, or going about from one tack to
      another. --R. H. Dana, Jr.

   {Stay holes} (Naut.), openings in the edge of a staysail
      through which the hanks pass which join it to the stay.

   {Stay tackle} (Naut.), a tackle attached to a stay and used
      for hoisting or lowering heavy articles over the side.

   {To miss stays} (Naut.), to fail in the attempt to go about.
      --Totten.

   {Triatic stay} (Naut.), a rope secured at the ends to the
      heads of the foremast and mainmast with thimbles spliced
      to its bight into which the stay tackles hook.
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