Synonyms

curve ball

[kurv] Origin

curve

[kurv] noun, verb, curved, curv·ing, adjective
noun
1.
a continuously bending line, without angles.
2.
the act or extent of curving.
3.
any curved outline, form, thing, or part.
4.
a curved section of a road, path, hallway, etc.
5.
Railroads. a curved section of track: in the U.S. the curve is often expressed as the central angle, measured in degrees, of a curved section of track subtended by a chord 100 feet (30 meters) long (degree of curve).
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6.
Also called curve ball. Baseball.
a.
a pitch delivered with a spin that causes the ball to veer from a normal straight path, away from the side from which it was thrown.
b.
the course of such a pitched ball.
7.
a graphic representation of the variations effected in something by the influence of changing conditions; graph.
8.
Mathematics. a collection of points whose coordinates are continuous functions of a single independent variable.
9.
a misleading or deceptive trick; cheat; deception.
10.
Education. a grading system based on the scale of performance of a group, so that those performing better, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject, receive high grades: The new English professor marks on a curve. Compare absolute (def. 10).
11.
a curved guide used in drafting.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
12.
to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.
13.
to grade on a curve.
14.
Baseball. to pitch a curve to.

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Curve ball is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
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.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
verb (used without object)
15.
to bend in a curve; take the course of a curve.
adjective
17.
ahead of/behind the curve, at the forefront of (or lagging behind) recent developments, trends, etc.
18.
throw (someone) a curve,
a.
to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.
b.
to mislead or deceive.

Origin:
1565–75; (< Middle French ) < Latin curvus crooked, bent, curved

curv·ed·ly [kur-vid-lee] , adverb
curv·ed·ness, noun
curve·less, adjective
un·curved, adjective
un·curv·ing, adjective
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un·der·curve, noun
un·der·curve, verb (used without object), un·der·curved, un·der·curv·ing.
well-curved, adjective
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To curve ball
Collins
World English Dictionary
curve ball
 
n
1.  baseball a ball pitched in a curving path so as to make it more difficult to hit
2.  informal something deceptive: his wholesome image was a curve ball thrown to deceive the public

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

curve
1590s, from L. curvus "crooked, curved, bent," from curvus, from curvare "to bend," from PIE base *(s)ker- "to turn, bend" (see ring). The noun is attested from 1690s, "curved line;" with ref. to the female figure (usually pl.), from 1862; as a type of baseball pitch, from
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1879. Related: Curvy (1902).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

curve (kûrv)
n.

  1. A line or surface that deviates from straightness in a smooth, continuous fashion.

  2. Something characterized by such a line or surface, especially a rounded line or contour of the human body.

  3. A curved line representing variations in data on a graph.

v. curved, curv·ing, curves
To move in or take the shape of a curve.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
curve   (kûrv)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A line or surface that bends in a smooth, continuous way without sharp angles.

  2. The graph of a function on a coordinate plane. In this technical sense, straight lines, circles, and waves are all curves.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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