To hang on the words
(gcide) | Hang \Hang\, v. i.
1. To be suspended or fastened to some elevated point without
support from below; to dangle; to float; to rest; to
remain; to stay.
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2. To be fastened in such a manner as to allow of free motion
on the point or points of suspension.
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3. To die or be put to death by suspension from the neck.
[R.] "Sir Balaam hangs." --Pope.
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4. To hold for support; to depend; to cling; -- usually with
on or upon; as, this question hangs on a single point.
"Two infants hanging on her neck." --Peacham.
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5. To be, or be like, a suspended weight.
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Life hangs upon me, and becomes a burden. --Addison.
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6. To hover; to impend; to appear threateningly; -- usually
with over; as, evils hang over the country.
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7. To lean or incline; to incline downward.
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To decide which way hung the victory. --Milton.
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His neck obliquely o'er his shoulder hung. --Pope.
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8. To slope down; as, hanging grounds.
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9. To be undetermined or uncertain; to be in suspense; to
linger; to be delayed.
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A noble stroke he lifted high,
Which hung not, but so swift with tempest fell
On the proud crest of Satan. --Milton.
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10. (Cricket, Tennis, etc.) Of a ball: To rebound
unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on
the ball or imperfections of ground.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
11. (Baseball) to fail to curve, break, or drop as intended;
-- said of pitches, such as curve balls or sliders.
[PJC]
12. (Computers) to cease to operate normally and remain
suspended in some state without performing useful work;
-- said of computer programs, computers, or individual
processes within a program; as, when using Windows 3.1,
my system would hang and need rebooting several times a
day.
Note: this situation could be caused by bugs within an
operating system or within a program, or
incompatibility between programs or between programs
and the hardware.
[PJC]
To hang around, to loiter idly about.
To hang back, to hesitate; to falter; to be reluctant. "If
any one among you hangs back." --Jowett (Thucyd.).
To hang by the eyelids.
(a) To hang by a very slight hold or tenure.
(b) To be in an unfinished condition; to be left
incomplete.
To hang in doubt, to be in suspense.
To hang on (with the emphasis on the preposition), to keep
hold; to hold fast; to stick; to be persistent, as a
disease.
To hang on the lips To hang on the words, etc., to be
charmed by eloquence.
To hang out.
(a) To be hung out so as to be displayed; to project.
(b) To be unyielding; as, the juryman hangs out against
an agreement; to hold out. [Colloq.]
(c) to loiter or lounge around a particular place; as,
teenageers tend to hang out at the mall these days.
To hang over.
(a) To project at the top.
(b) To impend over.
To hang to, to cling.
To hang together.
(a) To remain united; to stand by one another. "We are
all of a piece; we hang together." --Dryden.
(b) To be self-consistent; as, the story does not hang
together. [Colloq.]
To hang upon.
(a) To regard with passionate affection.
(b) (Mil.) To hover around; as, to hang upon the flanks
of a retreating enemy.
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