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| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
before 1000; Middle English, Old English biter; cognate with German bitter, Old Norse bitr, Gothic baitrs; akin to bite
Related forms
1. acrid, biting, distasteful. 3. distressing, poignant, painful. 4. biting, nipping. 5. fierce, cruel, ruthless, relentless. 7. acrimonious, caustic, sardonic, scornful.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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bitters
any of numerous aromatized and often alcoholic liquids containing bitter substances (chiefly alkaloids, glycosides, or complexes), used as tonics, liqueurs, appetizers, digestives, flavourings, and ingredients to add tang or smoothness to alcoholic drinks. Bitters are prepared according to secret recipes by several manufacturers using bitter herbs, leaves, fruits, seeds, or roots and sometimes alcohol or sugar. The taste is imparted by substances such as orange peel, gentian root, rhubarb root, hop flowers, quassia-wood chips, cascarilla, cinchona bark, and quinine. Aroma is provided by juniper, cinnamon, caraway, anise, nutmeg, camomile, cloves, and other flavouring agents. Bitters are usually named according to the ingredient giving the predominant flavour, such as orange bitters and peach bitters. The alcoholic strength varies but is generally about 40 percent by volume
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