murphy

  

mur·phy

[mur-fee] noun, plural mur·phies, verb, mur·phied, mur·phy·ing. Slang.
noun
1.
an Irish or white potato.
2.
any of various confidence games in which a victim is left with a sealed envelope supposedly containing money, but which contains only newspaper or scrap paper cut to the same size as paper money.
verb (used with object)
3.
to victimize or dupe in such a manner.
Origin:
1805–15; special uses of Murphy, a typical Irish surname

Dictionary.com Unabridged

Mur·phy

[mur-fee]
noun
1.
Frank, 1890–1949, U.S. statesman and jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1940–49.
2.
Isaac, 1861–96, U.S. thoroughbred racehorse jockey.
3.
William Par·ry [par-ee] , 1892–1987, U.S. physician: Nobel prize for medicine 1934.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Murphy
00:10
Murphy is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
murphy (ˈmɜːfɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -phies
a dialect or informal word for potato
 
[C19: from the common Irish surname Murphy]

Murphy (ˈmɜːfɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  Alex. born 1939, British rugby league player and coach
2.  Eddie, full name Edward Regan Murphy. born 1951, US film actor and comedian. His films include 48 Hours (1982), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Coming to America (1988), and Dr Dolittle (1998)
3.  William Parry. 1892--1987, US physician: with G. R. Minot, he discovered the liver treatment for anaemia and they shared, with G. H. Whipple, the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1934

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

Murphy
Gael. Murchadh "sea-warrior." The Celtic "sea" element is also in names Muriel (q.v.), Murdoch (O.Ir. Muireadhach, O.Welsh Mordoc "mariner"), etc. Murphy bed (1925) is named for U.S. inventor William Lawrence Murphy (1876-1959).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

Murphy Mur·phy (mûr'fē), William Parry. 1892-1987.

American physician. He shared a 1934 Nobel Prize for discovering that a diet of liver relieves anemia.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

murphy definition

[ˈmɚfi]
  1. n.
    a potato. : I spent half my tour of duty peeling murphies.
  2. n.
    a breast. (Crude. Usually plural. Usually objectionable.) : She stood about six feet tall and was turned in the light so her murphies stood out in silhouette.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriHome Advisor
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
About PRIVACY POLICY Terms API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Suggest a Word Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT