prune

prune
   Applied both in Britain and the USA to a person who is easily taken in, someone who is foolish. In air force slang, specifically, the word was applied to a bad pilot, a ‘Pilot Officer Prune’. ‘You poor prune’ is therefore not an uncommon expression in the Biggles stories of Captain W.E.Johns, which feature the aviator James Bigglesworth, DSO, DFC, MC. The stories began to appear in the 1930s. In The Business of Loving, by Godfrey Smith, ‘you moonstruck old prune’ is uttered in a friendly way.

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

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  • prune — prune …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • prune — [ pryn ] n. f. et adj. inv. • 1265; lat. pruna, de prunum 1 ♦ Fruit du prunier, de forme ronde ou allongée, à peau fine, de couleur variable, à chair juteuse, sucrée, agréable au goût. ⇒ mirabelle, quetsche, reine claude. La prune est une drupe à …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • prune — PRUNE. s. f. Sorte de fruit à noyau dont il y en a de diverses sortes. Grosse prune. bonne prune. prune qui quitte le noyau. prune imperiale. prune de damas. prune de perdrigon. prune diaprée. prune de sainte Catherine. prune de damas violet.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Prune — Prune, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pruned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Pruning}.] [OE. proine, probably fr. F. provigner to lay down vine stocks for propagation; hence, probably, the meaning, to cut away superfluous shoots. See {Provine}.] 1. To lop or cut off… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prune — Prune, n. [F. prune, from L. prunum a plum. See {Plum}.] A plum; esp., a dried plum, used in cookery; as, French or Turkish prunes; California prunes. [1913 Webster] {German prune} (Bot.), a large dark purple plum, of oval shape, often one sided …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prune — Prune, v. i. To dress; to prink; used humorously or in contempt. Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prune — UK US /pruːn/ verb [T] ► to reduce the number or amount of something: »The plan for the next financial year is to prune 25% off the budget …   Financial and business terms

  • Prune — Rare, le nom est surtout porté dans la Sarthe. Difficile de savoir s il évoque un marchand de prunes, un lieu où pousse le prunier, ou encore s il s agit d un sobriquet (celui qui est petit et rondouillard comme une prune). On rencontre la forme… …   Noms de famille

  • prune — Ⅰ. prune [1] ► NOUN 1) a plum preserved by drying and having a black, wrinkled appearance. 2) informal a disagreeable person. ORIGIN Greek prounon plum . Ⅱ. prune [2] ► …   English terms dictionary

  • Prune — Prune, Farbstoff, s. Gallocyanin …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • prune — index decrease, diminish, minimize, retrench Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

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