from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Nail \Nail\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Nailed} (n[=a]ld); p. pr. &
vb. n. {Nailing}.] [AS. naeglian. See {Nail}, n.]
1. To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by
means of nails; as, to nail boards to the beams.
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He is now dead, and nailed in his chest. --Chaucer.
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2. To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails.
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The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold.
--Dryden.
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3. To fasten, as with a nail; to bind or hold, as to a
bargain or to acquiescence in an argument or assertion;
hence, to catch; to trap.
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When they came to talk of places in town, you saw at
once how I nailed them. --Goldsmith.
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4. To spike, as a cannon. [Obs.] --Crabb.
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{To nail an assertion} or {To nail a lie}, etc., to detect
and expose it, so as to put a stop to its currency; -- an
expression probably derived from the former practice of
shopkeepers, who were accustomed to nail bad or
counterfeit pieces of money to the counter.
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