Find more facts and information on our topic page about
left
left
The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
|
2006
|
|
© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information)
Copyright
left1 on, towards, or relating to the side of a human body or of a thing which is to the west when the person or thing is facing north. The original meaning (in Old English) was ‘weak’, the left-hand side being regarded as the weaker side of the body.
Left also means of or relating to a person or group favouring radical, reforming, or socialist views. The usage is first recorded in English in Carlyle's account (in
The French Revolution, 1837), and originated in the French National Assembly of 1789, in which the nobles were seated on the President's right and the commons on his left; this ceremonial grouping soon came to reflect political views.
Left Bank a district of the city of Paris, situated on the left bank of the River Seine, to the south of the river, an area noted for its intellectual and artistic life.
left field in baseball, the part of the outfield to the left of the batter when facing the pitcher; in extended usage, it is a surprising or unconventional position or style (as in
out of left field), or a position of ignorance, error, or confusion.
left-handed marriage a
morganatic marriage (it was customary, in such marriages in Germany, for the bridegroom to give the bride his left hand instead of his right).
See also
the right hand doesn't know what the left hand's doing.
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
|
For Stephanopoulos, It's Officially 'Good Morning'
Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 12/10/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...novel, "Primary Colors," and the movie "The American President." At the outset of Clinton's second term, Stephanopoulos left the White House and joined ABC news, first as an analyst and later as reporter and anchor. He became known for the earnest...
|
|
For December 10, 2009, CBS
Transcript from: CBS Morning News; 12/10/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...dental student Ramy Zamzam and four other Muslim American friends left Washington two weeks ago, telling their families they were taking...premature to conclude they had any terrorist intentions. But Zamzam left behind a video showing American casualties with a message proclaiming...
|
|
SENSENBRENNER URGES IPCC TO EXCLUDE CLIMATEGATE SCIENTISTS
Transcript from: Capitol Hill Press Releases; 12/8/2009; 700+ words
; ...renders it unlikely that any peer reviewed piece of literature,however contrary to the views of any individual author, would be left out.""There is, therefore, no possibility of exclusion of any contrarian views,if they have been published in established...
|
|
'Brothers': Family Ties, Unraveling In Wartime
Transcript from: NPR Fresh Air; 12/4/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...which they switch roles when one comes back damaged from war. It's made by the Irish director Jim Sheridan, who made "My Left Foot" and "In America." The film stars Tobey Maguire as a Marine captain from a military family, Natalie Portman as his...
|
|
EVENING NEWS for December 11, 2009, CBS
Transcript from: CBS Evening News; 12/11/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...avoid detection, the men did not use email. Instead, they left messages in a draft folder all could access with a common password...group, led by Howard University dental student Ramy Zamzam, left Washington`s Dulles Airport in two groups, three flying out...
|
 "The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News Network)")
|
Talking Points Memo and Top Story
Transcript from: The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News Network); 12/11/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...this politicized conference." She was most vilified though in left wing circles for writing that, "we can't say with assurance...little Sarah Palin from Wasilla.(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Left wingers and global warming fanatics, not only attack Palin personally...
|
|
REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF THE SENATE REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF THE SENATE HOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE ON HEALTH CARE
Transcript from: Washington Transcript Service; 12/11/2009; 700+ words
; ...and then Senator Enzi.And we'll hear from everyone else as well. Thanks. GRASSLEY: Let me start where Senator McConnell left off, bendingthe cost curve. Let me broaden that just a little bit to two main pointsthat were goals, going back to January...
|
|
|
Garth Brooks Returns To The Stage
Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 12/11/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...Yeah, I got the golden ticket. (Soundbite of laughter) ROBBINS: Two tickets, actually, for the first show tonight. She left her husband and kids at home in Pittsburgh for a couple of days and met a girlfriend in Vegas. Now, Tammy Guadagnoli is not...
|
|
|
For December 9, 2009, CBS
Transcript from: CBS Morning News; 12/9/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...told to stay off the roads. The storm has its eye on New England next. By the time the fierce system is over, it will have left its wintry mark on as much as two-thirds of the country.Drew Levinson, CBS News, Minneapolis.(End VT) MICHELLE GIELAN...
|
|
|
EVENING NEWS for December 9, 2009, CBS
Transcript from: CBS Evening News; 12/9/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...Thanks very much.As the storm moved through upper Midwest, it left not only snow but frigid temperatures as well. In Minneapolis...seaboard at a pace of almost 60 miles per hour. And what`s left now looks like a question mark on the weather map, stretching...
|
|
SIC 2043 Cereal Breakfast Foods
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of American Industries
...the escaping steam propelled the pellets out of the gun into a receiving bin and, as the steam erupted from the pellets, it left them permeated with thousands of air holes. These air holes caused the pellet to become larger and less dense. For example...
|
|
|
SIC 2371 Fur Goods
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of American Industries
...of challenge by the World Trade Organization. Further Reading "Commodities & Agriculture: Chinese Buyers Fill Fur Gap Left in Fur Market by Russians." Financial Times, 19 October 1999. Emerson, Jim. "Fur Industry; Sidebar." Direct, September...
|
|
|
SIC 2385 Waterproof Outerwear
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of American Industries
...on materials, and employed 57,114 workers. A large percentage of production jobs in the waterproof apparel industry have left the United States in recent years. The industry employed only 1,400 U.S. workers in the late 1990s, a 30 percent drop...
|
|
|
SIC 2411 Logging
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of American Industries
...logging was prevented within a 2,000-acre radius around a known spotted owl nest, the largest trees in that zone had to be left uncut around a 500-acre area, and logging was prohibited within a 70-acre area around a nest. Ever since, the industry...
|
|
|
SIC 3339 Primary Smelting and Refining of Nonferrous Metals, Except Copper and Aluminum
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of American Industries
...of domestic lead production, however, occurred at secondary smelters, which primarily recycled lead acid batteries; this left only 30 percent of production for primary smelters. Cobalt prices plummeted in 1998 due to weak endmarkets and inventory stockpiling...
|
