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murphy

 - 7 dictionary results

mur⋅phy

  [mur-fee] noun, plural -phies, verb, -phied, -phy⋅ing. Slang.
Use murphy in a Sentence
–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

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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To murphy
Mur·phy   (mûr'fē)   
n.   pl. Mur·phies Slang

  1. A Murphy game.

  2. or murphy A potato.


[From Murphy, a common Irish name.]
Murphy, William Parry 1892-1987.  
American physician. He shared a 1934 Nobel Prize for discovering that a diet of liver relieves anemia.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
murphy [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.
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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). Murphy's law first attested 1958, used of various pessimistic aphorisms. If there ever was a real Murphy his identity is lost to history. Said to be military originally, and probably pre-dates the earliest printed example (the 1958 citation calls it "an old military maxim").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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.
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