rubadub 
No drum-head, in the longest day's march, was ever 
more incessantly beaten and smitten than public senti- 
ment in the North has been, every month, and day, and 
hour, by the din, and roll, and rub-a-dub of Abolition 
writers and Abolition lecturers. 
D. Webster, Speech, Senate, July 17, 1850. 
rubarbt, An obsolete spelling of rhubarb. 
rubasse (ro-bas'), . [< F. rubace, rubasse, also 
dim. rubacelle, colored quartz, < L. rubeus, red, 
reddish : see ruby, red 1 .] A lapidaries' name 
for a beautiful variety of rock-crystal, limpid 
or slightly amethystine, speckled in the inte- 
rior with minute spangles of specular iron, 
which reflect a bright red color. The best rubasse 
conies from Brazil. An artificial kind is made by heating 
rock-crystal red-hot, and then plunging it into a coloring 
liquid. The crystal becomes full of cracks, which the col- 
oring mutter enters. Also called Ancona ruby and Mont 
Blanc ruby. 
rubato (rij-ba'to), . [< It. rubato, lit. 'stolen' 
(time), pp. of ntbare, steal, rob: see rob 1 ."] In 
iHitxie, in modified or distorted rhythm: espe- 
cially used of the arbitrary lengthening of cer- 
5253 
rubble 
A post of 
~ f _attle to rub them- 
selves against. 
These Kistvaens are numerous, but they have been 
generally deprived of their long covering stones, which 
have been converted to rubbimj-postsfa they are termed in 
the west of England) for the cattle. 
Arch&ologia, XXIL 434. 
ther-covered work. If. //. Knight. Rubber stamp, ai. 
instrument for stamping by hand with ink, having words 
or figures cast in slightly flexible vulcanized rubber. 
Rubber type, a separate type cast in rubber, usually 
= mounted on a metal body for use in stamping. 
- tain notes in a measure and the corresponding rubber-file (rub'er-fil), . A heavy file of 
shortening of others, for the purpose of bring- square, triangular, or half-round section, used 
ing some tone or chord into decided promi- for the coarsest work 
* altering the total duration of rubber-gage (rub'er-gaj), n. A device for mea- 
suring the amount of india-rubber needed to 
make a given article. It is a vessel in which a model 
of the article is submerged in water to ascertain its dis- 
placement, which is measured by an index or read off on 
a scale. 
Ir. niboir, Gael.' rubair, a rubber.] I. n. l.~A rubberide (rub'er-Id), n. [< rubber + -idel.~\ A 
person who rubs, or who practises rubbing of trade-name for an imitation of vulcanized rub- 
any kind as a business, as one employed in rub- ber> The principal ingredient in this imitation 
bing or polishing stone, one who attends and 1S said_to be shellac. 
rubs down horses (as those used for racing) rubbente (rub er-it), . [< rubber + -ite%.] A 
one who practises massage, etc. trade-name for an imitation of vulcanite or vul- 
canized rubber. 
Brazilian or Ceara rubber. See mam-rubber. -Hard rubbing-post (rub'ing-post), n 
rubber, hardened india-rubber of which solid articles an- wnr ,,i * f ,,,_ v , at ,,, f ' ' H1 
made. See ebonite and vulcanite. -Pain rubber. See 
india-rubber. White rubber, a preparation of hard rub- 
ber colored by mixture of a white pigment. See artificial 
ivory, under ivory. 
II. a. Made of caoutchouc or india-rubber; 
having caoutchouc as the principal component. 
The feet and legs as high up as the hips [were] incased 
in rubber boots. . . . Rubber coats completed the outfit. niuDing-Stone (rub ing-ston), n. In building, 
New York Tribune, Feb. 2, 1890. a gritstone for polishing or erasing the tool- 
Rubber cement. See cement. Rubber cloth, (a) A marks on a stone, or on which bricks for gaged 
f al n -ie coated with caoutchouc, (b) Caoutchouc in sheets, work, after they have been rough-shaped by 
Rubber dam, a thin sheet of flexible caoutchouc, used t.lio av arp rnhbpil smnntli 
by dentists to keep a tooth free from saliva while it is be- , ^fwi . , " D P r w ' , 
ing fllled.-Rubber mold, in dcntMnj, a vulcanite mold rubbish (rub ish), ii. [Formerly or dial, also 
in which plates for artificial dentures are shaped. E. H. rubbiage, rubbage; early mod. E. rubyes, also 
Knight. Rubber mop. See mop:!. Rubber mount- 
ing, in saddlery, harness-mounting in which the metal is 
covered wtth vulcanized india-rubber in imitation of lea- 
the measure. 
rubbage (rub'aj), n. 
form of rubbish. 
rubbee (rub'e), n. Same as rabtf. 
rubber (rub'er), n. and a. [< rub + -ci-i. 
An obsolete or dialectal 
Cf. 
tii^vniyp, i uwityv , cenijf UIUU. 121. I UUULd, .IINII 
rubbrynslie, robrisslie (with intrusive r, prob. due 
to confusion with similar forms of rubric) ; 
< ME. "robous, robotrs, robeux (ML. rubbosa), < 
OF. robous, robouse, "robeux, rubbish, pi. of *ro- 
bel (> E. rubble), dim. of robe, robbe, rubbish, 
trash, = Olt. roba, robba, It. roba, rubbish, 
trash, lit. 'spoil' (> robaccia, old goods, trifles, 
trash, rubbish, robiccia, trifles, rubbish): see 
robe, rob 1 , rubble. Not connected with rub.] 
1. Waste, broken, or worn-out material; use- 
less fragments or remains collectively, espe- 
cially of stone ; refuse in general. 
Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rub- 
bish which are burned? Neh. iv. 2. 
rubber-knife (rub'er-mf), H. Same as rubber- 
The strike of the stone-workers . . . began . . . when 
the rubbers and mill men made a demand. 
New York Semi-weekly Tribune, Sept. 23, 1888. saw. 
All the great trotters have had grooms, or rubbers, as rubber-mold (rub'er-mold), n. 
they are technically called. The Atlantic, LXIII. 701. 
A flask or form 
for shaping plastic rubber. 
2. An instrument, substance, or stuff used for rubberpid (rub'er-oid), n. A trade-name for an 
rubbing, or cleaning or polishing by friction, imitation of hard rubber. 
Specifically (a) A towel or piece of cloth for rubbing the rubbers (rub'erz), n. pi. [PI. of rubber.] 1. A 
body after bathing, rubbing down horses, cleaning or pol J; *" *. 3 _---_! 
ishing household articles, etc. 
The retiring bower, &s'rubbei' 4 (a) 
The silver bathing?tub, the cambric 8 66er" Vy> TUbber-SaW (rub'er-sa), H. An incongruous 
Massinger, Guardian, ii. 5. name for a circular rotary knife used for cut- 
ting caoutchouc. In use it is rotated at high speed, 
and is kept constantly wet by a jet or spray of water. Also 
called rubber-knife. 
disease in sheep characterized by heat and itch- 
ing. Also called scab, shab, or ray. 2. Same 
The embroider'd quilt. 
Clean your plate, wipe your knives, and rub the dirty 
tables with the napkins and tablecloths used that day ; 
for ... it will save you wearing out the coarse rubbers. 
Swift, Advice to Servants (Butler), rubber-tree (rub'er-tre), . Same as india-rub- 
(6) A piece of caoutchouc used to erase pencil-marks from ber tree (which see, under india-rubber). 
paper, etc. From this, the first use to which caoutchouc rubber-vine (rub'er-vin) n. Same as 
wool, felt, chamois-skin, or other" substance fastened to a rubbidge (rub'ij), II. An obsolete, 
back, used for erasing chalk from a blackboard or slate, vulgar form of rubbish. 
mounted on a wooden stock is ei , , , 
and astragals. These rubbers h'ave convex or concave 
faces, according to the required contour of the work. A 
stone or wooden block covered with thick felt is used for 
polishing stone and marble. E. H. Knight. (2) An im- 
plement for polishing marble, consisting of amass of rags 
compressed by screws in an iron frame, (e) A tool for 
rubbing or flattening down the seams of a sail in sail-mak- 
ing. (/) The cushion of an electric machine, by friction 
against which the plate becomes charged with one kind of 
electricity and the rubber with the opposite kind. The 
rubber is made of horsehair, and covered with leather 
overlaid with a metallic preparation, sometimes consist- 
ing of the bisulphid of tin, or an amalgam, usually of 
zinc, tin, and mercury. (17) A whetstone, rubstone, or rub- 
bing-stone. (A) A coai 
A device for applying French polish to furniture, etc. It 
consists of a small ball of wadding covered with a linen 
rag. This is saturated with the varnish, and then covered 
with another rag moistened with oil. The varnish oozes 
gradually through the outside rag as the rubber is passed 
over the work with a uniform circular motion, (j) A grind- 
ing or abrading agent, as emery-cloth or glass-paper for 
surfacing plates. (k) The part of a wagon-lock which 
presses against the wheels. 
3. India-rubber; caoutchouc. Se'e def. 2 (b), 
and india-rubber. 4. Something made partly 
or wholly of india-rubber or caoutchouc, (a) 
An overshoe : usually in the plural. [U. S.1 (6) A tire for 
the wheel of a bicycle. 
5. An inequality of the ground in a bowling- 
employed for fillets, beads, n> ol "'"' *'* 1 : An application of friction by 
any means; a frictional movement, as of the 
band over the surface of the body for remedial 
purposes. 
There is, however, the scar of an old injury. . . . This 
is not to be reached by our rubbings, frictions, and elec- 
tricity. Lancet, No. 3495, p. 389. 
He was hardened sufficiently for a Northern winter by 
trunk and spine rubbings twice a day. 
Set. Atner., N. S., LXI. 286. 
2. A copy of an inscribed, engraved, or sculp- 
The reprobate . . . are but the rubbish wherewith the 
vessels of honour are scoured. 
Rev. T. Adams, Works, II. 392. 
The earth is raised up very much about this gate, and 
all over the south end of the island, probably by the rub- 
bish of a town of the middle ages. 
Pococke, Description of the East, I. 118. 
2. Any useless or worthless stuff ; that which 
serves no good purpose, or is fit only to be 
thrown away ; trash ; trumpery ; litter : used 
of both material and immaterial things. 
What trash is Rome, 
What rubbish and what offal, when it serves 
For the base matter to illuminate 
So vile a thing as Csesar ! SAa*., J. C., i. 3. 109. 
Such conceits as these seem somewhat too fine among 
this rubbage, though I do not produce them in sport. 
Sir H. Wotton, Reliquise, p. 12. 
There was enough of splendid rubbish in his life to 
cover up and paralyze a more active and subtile conscience 
than the judge was ever troubled with. 
Hawthorne, Seven Gables, xv. 
That not one life shall be destroy'd, 
Or cast as rubbish to the void, 
When God hath made the pile complete. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, liv. 
rubbish-heap (rub'ish-hep), n. A pile of rub- 
bish ; a mass of worthless )r rejected material. 
The idol of to-day is often destined to find its place in 
the rubbish-heap of the future. 
Nineteenth Century, XXVI. 781. 
He yet found no difficulty in holding that the fragments 
of pottery accumulated in that great rubbish-heap in 
Rome, the Monte Testaccio, were works of nature, not of 
human art. Quarterly Rev. , CXLV. 116. 
rubbishing (rub'ish-ing), a. [< rubbish + -ing?.] 
Rubbishy; trashy; worthless; paltry. 
This is the hend, is it, ... of my taking notice of that 
rubbishing creature, and demeaning myself to patronize 
her? Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, xlii. 
Listen to the ringing this or that sometimes a rub- 
bishing proclamation, etc. 
The Nation, Oct. 24, 1872, p. 257. 
tured surface procured by rubbing superim- rubbish-pulley (rub'ish-pul"i), n. A simple 
bing-stone. (A) A co'arsellle, or thorough "part oMt'"w Posed paper with something, as heel-bailor form of tackle-block used with a rope in hoist- 
for applying French polish to furniture, etc. It pinmbago, that reproduces the outlines and sa- *"-"*"J-i- --* ^-*-' ^ 
- j- - - ing materials from a foundation or excavation ; 
liences on its exposed side. Compare squeeze, n. a gin-block. E. H. liiiig lit. 
The walls at the head of the staircase ... are now oc- rubbishy (rub'ish-i), a. [< rubbish + -y^.\ 
Worthless; trashy; paltry; full of rubbish; 
containing rubbish. 
cupied by a fine series of rubbings of foreign brasses and 
incised slabs. Athen&um, No. 3244, p. 902. 
The drawing is a copy of a rubbing, and is therefore 
correct. Ainer. Antiq., IX. 366. 
rubbing-batten (rub'ing-bat"n), n. Same as 
nibbing-vaurh. See panch. 
rubbing-bed (rub'ing-bed), it. Inmni-ble-n-oi-!,- 
ing, a bench with a stone or marble surface, 
on which a slab of marble is placed to be sub- 
Rome disappoints me much ; . . . 
Rubbwhy seems the word that most exactly would suit it. 
All the foolish destructions, and all the sillier sayings, 
All the incongruous things of past incompatible ages, 
Seem to be treasured up here to make fools of present 
and future. Clouyh, Amours de Voyage, 1. 1. 
On one side is a rubbishy church that has on the balus- 
trade of the steps four plaster figures cut off at the waist 
and planted on posts. 
C. D. Warner, Roundabout Journey, p. 112. 
_ divided by a grub-saw. 
green; a rub; hence, obstruction; difficulty; rubbing-block (rub'ing-blok). n. In marble- 
onpleaaant collision in the business of life. polish inn : (a) A block of sandstone with which rubble (rub'l), n. [Early mod. E. nibble, rub- 
A man who plays at bowls . . . must expect to meet the preliminary operation of smoothing is done bell; < ME. "robcl, < OF. "robel, in pi. *robeux 
Thackeray, Virginians, xxix. by hand, (b) A marble-polisher, marble-rub- 
6. pi. In the game of bowls, a contact or col- ber ' or marble-scourer, 
lisiori of twn hnwla fTfiMiin0]j rf A i;u,i rubbinff-manhinft frub'i 
lisipn of two bowls. Halliwell. 7. A limited rubbing-machine (rub'ing-ma-shen"), n. In 
dim. of robe, robbe, rubbish, trash, = Olt. roba, 
robba, It. roba, trash : see rubbisJi.] 1. Rough 
stones of irregular shapes and sizes, broken 
series of games, usually three, as at whist, in l>en-blcacMng, a machine in'which the cloth from larger masses either naturally or artifi- 
which the contest is decided by the winning of ' s subjected to friction between the corrugated 
the greater number of games ; also, the deci- surfaces of two planks, of which the upper is 
sive game in such a series. moved back and forth over the lower by a 
It is the trade of man, and ev'ry sinner crank-shaft, 
Has play'd his rubbers; every soul's a winner. rubbing-panch (rub mg-panch), n. Naut. See 
Quarlcs, Emblems, 1. 10. panclt. 
cially, as by geological action, in quarrying, 
or in stone-cutting or blasting. Rubble is used 
in masonry both for rough, uncoursed work and for filling 
in between outer courses of squared stone. See rubble- 
work. 
Cary away rubbeU or brokele of olde decayed houses. 
Huloet, 1562. 
