Clever response, it could mean anything...
neat2 Pronunciation Key (nt)
n. Archaic pl. neat
A cow or other domestic bovine animal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Middle English net, from Old English nat.]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
neat1 Pronunciation Key (nt)
adj. neat·er, neat·est
Orderly and clean; tidy.
Orderly and precise in procedure; systematic.
Marked by ingenuity and skill; adroit: a neat turn of phrase.
Not diluted or mixed with other substances: neat whiskey.
Left after all deductions; net: neat profit.
Slang. Wonderful; terrific: That was a neat party.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Anglo-Norman neit, clear, pure, variant of Old French net, from Latin nitidus, elegant, gleaming, from nitre, to shine.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
neatly adv.
neatness n.
Synonyms: neat, 1tidy, trim, shipshape, spick-and-span
These adjectives mean clean and in good order. Neat is the most general: a neat room; neat hair. Tidy emphasizes precise arrangement and order: “When she saw me come in tidy and well dressed, she even smiled” (Charlotte Brontë). Trim stresses especially smart appearance: “A trim little sailboat was dancing out at her moorings” (Herman Melville). Shipshape evokes meticulous order: “We'll try to make this barn a little more shipshape” (Rudyard Kipling). Spick-and-span suggests the immaculate freshness of something new: “young men in spick-and-span uniforms” (Edith Wharton).
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
neat
\Neat\, n. sing. & pl. [AS. ne['a]t; akin to OHG. n?z, Icel. naut, Sw. n["o]t, Dan. n["o]d, and to AS. ne['o]tan to make use of, G. geniessen, Goth. niutan to have a share in, have joy of, Lith. nauda use, profit.] (Zo["o]l.) Cattle of the genus Bos, as distinguished from horses, sheep, and goats; an animal of the genus Bos; as, a neat's tongue; a neat's foot. --Chaucer.
Wherein the herds[men] were keeping of their neat. --Spenser.
The steer, the heifer, and the calf Are all called neat. --Shak.
A neat and a sheep of his own. --Tusser.
Neat's-foot, an oil obtained by boiling the feet of neat cattle. It is used to render leather soft and pliable.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
neat
\Neat\, a. [See neat, n.] Of or pertaining to the genus Bos, or to cattle of that genus; as, neat cattle.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
neat
\Neat\, a. [Compar. Neater; superl. Neatest.] [OE. nett, F. nett, fr. L. nitidus, fr. nitere to shine. Cf. Nitid, Net, a., Natty.] 1. Free from that which soils, defiles, or disorders; clean; cleanly; tidy.
If you were to see her, you would wonder what poor body it was that was so surprisingly neat and clean. --Law.
2. Free from what is unbecoming, inappropriate, or tawdry; simple and becoming; pleasing with simplicity; tasteful; chaste; as, a neat style; a neat dress.
3. Free from admixture or adulteration; good of its kind; as, neat brandy. ``Our old wine neat.'' --Chapman.
4. Excellent in character, skill, or performance, etc.; nice; finished; adroit; as, a neat design; a neat thief.
5. With all deductions or allowances made; net.
Note: [In this sense usually written net. See Net, a., 3.]
neat line (Civil Engin.), a line to which work is to be built or formed.
Neat work, work built or formed to neat lines.
Syn: Nice; pure; cleanly; tidy; trim; spruce.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
neat
adj 1: clean or orderly; "her neat dress"; "a neat room" 2: showing care in execution; "neat homework"; "neat handwriting" 3: free from what is tawdry or unbecoming; "a neat style"; "a neat set of rules"; "she hated to have her neat plans upset" [syn: refined, tasteful] 4: free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed; "he landed a clean left on his opponent's cheek"; "a clean throw"; "the neat exactness of the surgeon's knife" [syn: clean] 5: (informal) very good; "a bully pulpit"; "a cool sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing" [syn: bang-up, bully, cool, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, nifty, not bad(p), peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing] 6: without water; "took his whiskey neat" [syn: straight, full-strength]
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University |
