| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| free fall | |
| —n | |
| 1. | free descent of a body in which the gravitational force is the only force acting on it |
| 2. | the part of a parachute descent before the parachute opens |
free fall
A rapid, uncontrolled decline, as in The markets threatened to go into free fall and we came close to outright panic. This term transfers the aeronautical meaning of a free fall, that is, "a fall through the air without any impedance, such as a parachute," to other kinds of precipitous drop. [Second half of 1900s]