Dictionary definitions
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neck and crop
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Neck \Neck\ (n[e^]k), n. [OE. necke, AS. hnecca; akin to D. nek
the nape of the neck, G. nacken, OHG. nacch, hnacch, Icel.
hnakki, Sw. nacke, Dan. nakke.]
1. The part of an animal which connects the head and the
trunk, and which, in man and many other animals, is more
slender than the trunk.
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2. Any part of an inanimate object corresponding to or
resembling the neck of an animal; as:
(a) The long slender part of a vessel, as a retort, or of
a fruit, as a gourd.
(b) A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main
body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts.
(c) (Mus.) That part of a violin, guitar, or similar
instrument, which extends from the head to the body,
and on which is the finger board or fret board.
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3. (Mech.) A reduction in size near the end of an object,
formed by a groove around it; as, a neck forming the
journal of a shaft.
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4. (Bot.) the point where the base of the stem of a plant
arises from the root.
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Neck and crop, completely; wholly; altogether; roughly and
at once. [Colloq.]
Neck and neck (Racing), so nearly equal that one cannot be
said to be before the other; very close; even; side by
side.
Neck of a capital. (Arch.) See Gorgerin.
Neck of a cascabel (Gun.), the part joining the knob to the
base of the breech.
Neck of a gun, the small part of the piece between the
chase and the swell of the muzzle.
Neck of a tooth (Anat.), the constriction between the root
and the crown.
Neck or nothing (Fig.), at all risks.
Neck verse.
(a) The verse formerly read to entitle a party to the
benefit of clergy, said to be the first verse of the
fifty-first Psalm, "Miserere mei," etc. --Sir W.
Scott.
(b) Hence, a verse or saying, the utterance of which
decides one's fate; a shibboleth.
These words, "bread and cheese," were their neck
verse or shibboleth to distinguish them; all
pronouncing "broad and cause," being presently
put to death. --Fuller.
Neck yoke.
(a) A bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or
carriage is suspended from the collars of the
harnesses.
(b) A device with projecting arms for carrying things (as
buckets of water or sap) suspended from one's
shoulders.
On the neck of, immediately after; following closely; on
the heel of. "Committing one sin on the neck of another."
--W. Perkins.
Stiff neck, obstinacy in evil or wrong; inflexible
obstinacy; contumacy. "I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff
neck." --Deut. xxxi. 27.
To break the neck of, to destroy the main force of; to
break the back of. "What they presume to borrow from her
sage and virtuous rules . . . breaks the neck of their own
cause." --Milton.
To harden the neck, to grow obstinate; to be more and more
perverse and rebellious. --Neh. ix. 17.
To tread on the neck of, to oppress; to tyrannize over.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Crop \Crop\ (kr[o^]p), n. [OE. crop, croppe, craw, top of a plant, harvest, AS. crop, cropp, craw, top, bunch, ear of corn; akin to D. krop craw, G. kropf, Icel. kroppr hump or bunch on the body, body; but cf. also W. cropa, croppa, crop or craw of a bird, Ir. & Gael. sgroban. Cf. Croup, Crupper, Croup.] 1. The pouchlike enlargement of the gullet of birds, serving as a receptacle for food; the craw. [1913 Webster] 2. The top, end, or highest part of anything, especially of a plant or tree. [Obs.] "Crop and root." --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 3. That which is cropped, cut, or gathered from a single felld, or of a single kind of grain or fruit, or in a single season; especially, the product of what is planted in the earth; fruit; harvest. [1913 Webster] Lab'ring the soil, and reaping plenteous crop, Corn, wine, and oil. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 4. Grain or other product of the field while standing. [1913 Webster] 5. Anything cut off or gathered. [1913 Webster] Guiltless of steel, and from the razor free, It falls a plenteous crop reserved for thee. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 6. Hair cut close or short, or the act or style of so cutting; as, a convict's crop. [1913 Webster] 7. (Arch.) A projecting ornament in carved stone. Specifically, a finial. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 8. (Mining.) (a) Tin ore prepared for smelting. (b) Outcrop of a vein or seam at the surface. --Knight. [1913 Webster] 9. A riding whip with a loop instead of a lash. [1913 Webster] Neck and crop, altogether; roughly and at once. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]

