To be on the carpet
(gcide) | Carpet \Car"pet\ (k[aum]r"p[e^]t), n. [OF. carpite rug, soft of
cloth, F. carpette coarse packing cloth, rug (cf. It. carpita
rug, blanket), LL. carpeta, carpita, woolly cloths, fr. L.
carpere to pluck, to card (wool); cf. Gr. karpo`s fruit, E.
Harvest.]
1. A heavy woven or felted fabric, usually of wool, but also
of cotton, hemp, straw, etc.; esp. a floor covering made
in breadths to be sewed together and nailed to the floor,
as distinguished from a rug or mat; originally, also, a
wrought cover for tables.
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Tables and beds covered with copes instead of
carpets and coverlets. --T. Fuller.
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2. A smooth soft covering resembling or suggesting a carpet.
"The grassy carpet of this plain." --Shak.
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Carpet beetle or Carpet bug (Zool.), a small beetle
(Anthrenus scrophulari[ae]), which, in the larval state,
does great damage to carpets and other woolen goods; --
also called buffalo bug.
Carpet knight.
(a) A knight who enjoys ease and security, or luxury, and
has not known the hardships of the field; a hero of
the drawing room; an effeminate person. --Shak.
(b) One made a knight, for some other than military
distinction or service.
Carpet moth (Zool.), the larva of an insect which feeds on
carpets and other woolen goods. There are several kinds.
Some are the larv[ae] of species of Tinea (as {Tinea
tapetzella}); others of beetles, esp. Anthrenus.
Carpet snake (Zool.), an Australian snake. See {Diamond
snake}, under Diamond.
Carpet sweeper, an apparatus or device for sweeping
carpets.
To be on the carpet, to be under consideration; to be the
subject of deliberation; to be in sight; -- an expression
derived from the use of carpets as table cover.
Brussels carpet. See under Brussels.
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