gimlet

gimlet


gim·let    Audio Help   (gĭm'lĭt)   

n.  
  1. A small hand tool having a spiraled shank, a screw tip, and a cross handle and used for boring holes.

  2. A cocktail made with vodka or gin, sweetened lime juice, and sometimes effervescent water and garnished with a slice of lime.

tr.v.   gim·let·ed, gim·let·ing, gim·lets
To penetrate with or as if with a gimlet.
adj.   Having a penetrating or piercing quality: gimlet eyes.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman guimbelet, perhaps from Middle Dutch wimmelkijn, diminutive of wimmel, auger.]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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