clever 
Lord John was a large, hearty man, who lived generous- 
ly fandl was clever to the Indians and squaws. 
The Century, XXXI. 232. 
5. Agreeable; pleasant; comfortable ; nice: 
as, "these clever apartments," Cowper, Works, 
V. 290. [Obsolete or provincial.] 
We could not have been in so deeer a place as this is, 
circumstanced as we are, this summer. 
./. Tnllxit, in .Miss farter's Letters, III. 191. 
I wonder if you are going to stay long? All summer? 
Well, that's clever. S. O. Jewett, Deephaven, p. 17. 
= Syn. 1. Admit, Dexterous, Expert, etc. (see ail nit); 
ready, quick, ingenious, neat-handed, knowing, sharp, 
bright 
clever 2 (klev'er), v. '. A variant of clover?. 
cleverality (klev-e-ral'i-ti), n. [< clever*- + 
-uliti/."] Cleverness ; smartness. [A jocular 
term.] 
Sheridan was clever; scamps often are; but Johnson 
had not a spark of cleverality in him. Charlotte Bronte. 
cleverism (klev'er-izm), n. [< clever 1 + -ism.] 
A clever saying. [Bare.] 
Mr. Smith naturally and inevitably saw chiefly the busy, 
pushing talkers of the big towns, full of the last new 
deveris)ns, just sharp enough to repeat the parrot cries of 
European mischief-makers, and to he ingeniously wrong 
on most subjects. Contemporary Rev., LI. 11. 
cleverly (klev'er-li), adv. 1. Dexterously; 
skilfully; ably; effectively. 
These would inveigle rats with th' scent, 
And sometimes catch them with a snap, 
As cleverly as th' ablest trap. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, ii. 1. 
2. Pleasantly ; nicely ; comfortably : as, to be 
cleverly lodged. [Obsolete or provincial.] 3. 
Fairly; actually. [Colloq.] 
We had let our sails go by the run, before it [the hur- 
ricane] cleverly took us. Poe, Tales, I. 169. 
The landlord comes to me as soon as I was cleverly up 
in the morning. Haliburton, Sam Slick in Eng., viiL 
cleverness (klev'er-nes), . [< clever^- 4- -ness.] 
1 . The quality of being clever ; quickness of 
intellect or mechanical dexterity; adroitness ; 
skill; ingenuity; intelligence. 
Cleverness is a sort of genius for instrumentality. It is 
the brain of the hand. In literature, cleverness is more 
frequently accompanied by wit . . . than by humour. 
Coleridge, The friend (ed. Moxon), II. 133. 
Shallow is a fool. But his animal spirits supply, to a 
certain degree, the place of cleverness. 
JIacaulay, Machiavelli 
Circles in whose . . . precise vocabulary cleverness ini 
plies mere aptitude for doing and knowing, apart from char 
acter. George Eliot, Middlemarch, I. 95 
2. Mildness or agreeableness of disposition 
obligingness; good nature. [Colloq., U. S.] 
= Syn. 1. Faculty, Ingenuity, etc. (see genius), aptness, 
readiness, quickness, expertness. 
clevis, clevy (klev'is, klev'i), n. ; pi. clevises 
(-i-sez), clevies (-iz). [Ap- 
par. ult. < cleave^, split; 
cf. Icel. klofi, a forked 
stick, < kljiifa =E. cleave 2 , 
v.] An iron bent in 
form of a stirrup, 
horseshoe, or the letter 
U, with the two ends perforated to receive a 
pin, used to connect a draft-chain or chippie- 
tree to a cart or plow. 
clevis-bolt (klev'is-bolt), . Same as lewis-bolt. 
clevy, n. See clevis. 
clew, . and v. See clue. 
cleweH, " An obsolete form of clue. 
clewe 2 t, See dough' 1 . 
Clianthus (kli-an'thus), n. [NL., more cor- 
rectly "Cleanthus, < Gr. KAeof, fame, glory (cf. 
KAEj, L. Clio), + avOoc,, a 
flower.] A genus of legu- 
minous plants, of two spe- 
cies, found in Australasia 
and New Zealand, and cul- 
tivated as hothouse- and gar- 
den-plants, generally under 
the name of glory-pea. They 
are shrubs, with large handsome 
flowers in racemes. The C. puni- 
ceux is a very elegant plant with 
crimson flowers, attaining a height 
of 8 or 10 feet. It is a native of 
New Zealand, where it is called 
parrot' s-bUl, from the form of the 
keeled petal. 
clich (klich), . 
[Turk, kilij, < Hind. 
kirich, kirch, Beng. 
kirich, Malay kiris, kris, kris (> 
E. creese), a sword or long dag- 
ger: see creese.] Abroad-bladed 
Turkish saber. 
Clich6 (kle-sha'), n. [F., pp. 
of clicker, stereotype, < OF. cli- 
quer, clap (see dicfcl). Cf. G. abklatsclien, ste- 
reotype, < ab, = E. off, + klatschen, clap (cf. E. 
Q- ' 
the 
1044 
clash).] An electrotype or stereotype plate. 
Cliche casting, that kind of casting effected by forcing 
the mold or the matrix suddenly on the melted metal. 
Clichy white. See white. 
click' (klik), r. [Not found in ME.; = D. 
klikken (redupl. klikklakken) = LG. klikkcn (>G. 
klicken and OF. cliquer, click, clack, clap: see 
clicket and cliche'), click, clack, clash, = Dan. 
klikke = Sw. klicka, miss fire : an imitative va- 
riant of clack, expressing a slighter sound.] I. 
intrans. To make a small sharp sound, or a 
succession of weak sharp sounds, as by a gen- 
tle blow; tick. 
The solemn death-watch clicked. 
(jay, Shepherd's Week, Friday, 1. 101. 
If He have called you to ply the instruments of the arti- 
san, let your shop be musical the livelong day with the 
clicking of your tools. IJoardman, Creative Week, p. 207. 
II. trans. To move with a clicking sound. 
When merry milkmaids click the latch. 
Tennyson, The Owl, i. 
She clicked back the holt which held the window-sash. 
Thackeray. 
Sometimes spelled kliek. 
click 1 (klik), n. [= MD. klick = LG. klik (> G. 
klick) = Norw. klikk, klik, a click, = Dan. klik, 
a miss-fire ; from the verb.] 1. A small sharp 
sound : as, the click of a latch ; the click of a 
pistol. 
To the billiard room I hastened ; the click of balls and 
the hum of voices resounded thence. 
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, xxi. 
2. A cluck-like sound, used in the alphabets of 
certain languages, especially the Hottentot and 
neighboring tongues in South Africa. It is made 
by pressing the tip or edge of the tongue against the roof 
of the mouth, and withdrawing it by a sucking action. 
There are different clicks, according as different parts of 
the tongue are used ; and guttural sounds are combined in 
utterance with them. Also called cluck. 
"Suction-stops" are formed . . . by placing the tongue 
or lips in the position for a stop, and then sucking out the 
air between the organs which form the stop ; they are thus 
pressed strongly together by the pressure of the air in the 
mouth, so that when separated a distinct smack is heard. 
These sounds are common in interjectional speech. . . . 
In many of the South African languages these suctions 
are those essential elements of speech known as clicks. 
(This name is somewhat inappropriate ; " cluck " would 
describe the sounds better.) 
//. Siveet, Handbook of Phonetics, p. 55. 
3 . In m ach . , a small bar which moves backward 
and forward, and at every forward stroke en- 
ters the teeth of a ratchet-wheel or rack, which 
it pushes forward, leaving it at rest during the 
backward stroke. Also called clicker. 4. The 
latch of a door. [Local.] 
Click 2 (klik), v. t. [North. E., = cleek, cleach, 
Tar. of clutch: see cleik, clutch!.] To snatch; 
clutch: as, he clicked it out o'my hands. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
" I take 'em to prevent abuses," 
Cants he, and then the Crucifix 
And Chalice from the Altar clicks. 
T. Ward, England's Reformation, p. 397. 
click-beetle (klik'be"tl), . A name given to 
beetles of the family Elateridw, on account of 
the ability possessed by most 
species, when placed on the ""^"x.X"' 
back, of springing into the air "\ ,r\ ^ 
with an audible click. This singu- \/ \j 
lar power depends upon thejoose artic- 
ulation between the prothorax and the 
mesothorax, and on the presence of a 
long prosternal spine, which fits into 
an excavation of the mesothorax. The 
species are very numerous, and in the 
imago state feed on vegetables. Most 
of their larva; have the same feeding 
habit, but it has been proved that a few 
are carnivorous. See Elateridce. 
Clicker (klik'er), n. [Appar. < 
click 1 + -eri.] 1 . Same as click 1 , 
3. 2. A person employed by a shopkeeper to 
stand at the door and solicit custom. [Vulgar, 
Eng.] 3. In shoemaking, one who cuts out 
leather for the uppers and soles of boots and 
shoes. 4. In printing, as formerly and still 
sometimes conducted, the compositor who re- 
ceives the copy of a work and distributes it 
among the other compositors, makes up the 
pages, and sets up head-lines, etc. ; the leader 
of a companionship of typesetters. 
clicket (klik'et), n. [Also formerly cliquet; < 
ME. cliket, clyket, a door-knocker, a key, < OF. 
cliquet, a latch, < cliquer, click, clap: see click 1 , 
v. Cf. MD. klincket, D. klinket, a wicket, wicket- 
door, Dan. klinke, a latch: see clink, n.] 1. 
Anything that makes a rattling noise; espe- 
cially, a contrivance used in knocking or call- 
ing for admission, as a pin with a ratchet, or a 
knocker. Chaucer. 
client 
He smytethe on the Gardyn gate with a Clyket of Syl- 
ver, that he holdethe in his hond. 
Mandecille, Travels, p. 210. 
Specifically 2. An instrument making a clap- 
ping noise, used by beggars to attract attention. 
See clack-dish. 3. pi. Flat rattling bones for 
boys to play with. Coles, 1717. 4. A latch- 
key. B.Jonson. 5. The latch or lock of a door. 
He hath the keye of the cliket thaug the kyng slepe. 
Piers Plowman (A), vi. 94. 
[Obsolete or local in all senses.] 
clickett, i'. t. [ME. cliketen; < clicket, n.] To 
lock with a clicket. 
The dore closed, 
Kayed and cliketed to kepe the with-outen. 
Piers Plowman (B), v. 623. 
click-pulley (klik'piil"i), . In maclt., a sheave 
having teeth in its rim engaged l>y a click or 
ratchet. 
click-wheel (klik'hwel), n. A cog-wheel hav- 
ing the cogs inclined on one face and radial on 
the other, so disposed that they present the in- 
clined faces to a click, pawl, ratchet, or detent, 
in the direction in which the wheel moves, 
while the radial faces on the opposite side en- 
gage the detent and keep the wheel from mov- 
ing backward. Also called ratchet-wheel. 
clicky (klik'i), a. [< click* + -y\] Full of 
clicks or cluck-like sounds. [Bare.] 
All sorts of words in their strange clicky language. 
The Century, XXV. 195. 
Clidastes (kll-das'tez), . [NL., < Gr. as if */Of<- 
iafciv (cf . lAetioiv). lock up, < Gr. nM; (?.?-), 
a key.] A remarkable genus of extinct rep- 
tiles, of the order 1'ytliotiomorpha, from the 
Cretaceous deposits of North America, having 
each ramus ot the lower jaw provided with a 
peculiar articulation behind the middle of its 
length and between the splenial and angular 
bones, whence the name. About a dozen spe- 
cies have been described, varying in length 
from 12 to 40 feet. Also Cleidastes. 
clideM, A variant of clithe. See clitlie, and 
quotation under cltie^. 
cUdo-. [Also written, less prop., cleido-, repr. 
Gr. ufatoo-, combining form of K/OJ , = L. clavis, 
a key, the clavicle: see clavis, clavicle.] A 
prefix of Greek origin, meaning 'key' or (in 
anatomy) 'clavicle.' 
clidomancy (kli'do-man-si), . [< Gr. K.7ieic, 
(K^cid-), a key, + /lavreia, divination. ] Divina- 
tion by means of a key, especially by means of 
a key fastened into a Bible or other book, the 
object being to ascertain who is to be one's 
lover or sweetheart. When the right name is men- 
tioned or the initial letter uttered, the book and key are 
expected to move in the hands of the person who holds 
them. Formerly this method was used to detect those 
guilty of theft. Also cleidomancy. 
clidomastoid (kli-do-mas'toid), a. and n. [< 
NL. clidomastoideus, < Gr. *C?.HJ (x/lf!-), a key, 
the clavicle, + NL. mastoideus: see mastoid.] 
I. a. Pertaining to the clavicle and to the mas- 
toid process of the temporal bone ; connecting 
these parts, as a muscle. 
U. n. A clidomastoid muscle ; the clavicular 
portion of the sternoclidomastoid muscle. 
Also clcidomastoid and clavomastoid. 
clidomastoideus (kll"d6-mas-toi'de-us), n. ; pi. 
clidomastoidei (-i). [NL. : see clidomastoid.] 
The clavicular part of the sternoclidomastoi- 
deus muscle, sometimes distinct from the ster- 
nomastoideus. Also cleidomastoidfus and cla- 
I'omastoideus. 
Clidosterna (kli-do-ster'na), . pi. [NL., < 
Gr. KMtf (ufaii-), a key, the clavicle, + arcpvov, 
sternum.] A group or suborder of Testudinata, 
having a sutural union of the plastron with the 
carapace strengthened by ascending axillary 
and inguinal buttresses. It includes the recent 
Emydidce or Clemmyidce, Testudinidce, and Cinostemidce, 
and extinct Pleurosternidte, Baenidce, and Adocidce. Also 
Cleidosterna. 
clidosternal' (kli-do-ster'nal), a. [< Gr. Mc 
(K/.f(rf-), a key, the clavicle, -r- arepvov, sternum, 
+ -al.] Of or pertaining to the clavicle and 
the sternum, or the collar-bone and breast- 
bone. Also cleidosternal. More frequently 
sternoclavicular. 
clidosternal 2 (kli-do-ster'nal), a. and n. [< 
Clidosterna + -al.] I. a. Relating to or having 
the characters of the Clidosterna. 
II. 11. A tortoise of the group Clidosterna. 
Also cleidosternal. 
cliency (kli'en-si), M. [(client + -cy. Cf. ML. 
clientia, protection.] The state or condition of 
being a client. 
client (kli'ent), n. [< ME. client = D. klient = 
G. client = Dan. Sw. klient, < OF. client, F. 
