Buscus 
rush 1 .'] A genus of monocotyledonous plants 
of the order Liliacese and tribe Asparageee. It is 
characterized by dioecious flowers, with the segments sepa- 
rate, the stamens with their filaments united into an urn- 
like body which bears three sessile anthers, and a round- 
ish or oblong and one-celled ovary with two ovules, ma- 
turing two hemispherical seeds, or only a single globose 
one. There are 3 species, natives of Europe and the whole 
Mediterranean region, extending from Madeira to the Cau- 
casus. They are erect, branching, half-woody plants, bear- 
ing, instead of leaves, alternate or scattered acute ovate 
and leaf-like branches (cladoilia), which are rigi lly co- 
riaceous and lined with numerous parallel or somewhat 
netted veins, and are solitary in the axils of small dry 
scales which represent the true leaves. The small flow- 
ers are clustered upon the upper faces, or by twisting the 
lower faces, of the cladodia at the end of a rib-like adnate 
pedicel, and are followed by globose pulpy berries. S. 
aculeatus is the common butcher's broom, also called 
kiieeholln or Iciteehulner, Jem'- or shepherd's-myrtle, etc., 
an evergreen bush ornamental when studded with its red 
berries. 7?. HupophyUvm and Jt. Hypoglossum are dwarf 
species, also called butcher's br^om, and sometimes double- 
tongue. The rhizome is diuretic. 
ruse 1 (rb'z), v. i. [Also *roose (in dial, deriv. 
rooseling, sloping down), < ME. reosen (pret. 
reas, pi. ruren), < AS. hreosan (pret. hreds, pi. 
hruron, pp. liroren), fall, fall headlong, = Icel. 
lirjosa = Norw. rysja = Sw. rysa, shudder. For 
the form, cf. chuse, a spelling of choose, < AS. 
ce6san,~\ It. To fall. Layamon. 2. To slide 
down a declivity with a rustling noise. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
ruse 2 t (ro'z), v. i. [< ME. rusen, < OP. ruser, rai- 
ser, refuse, recoil, retreat, escape, use tricks for 
escaping, F. ruser = Pr. rahusar (ML. rusare), 
< L. recusare, refuse : see reciise.] To give way ; 
fall back; retreat; use tricks for the purpose 
of escaping. 
As soone as Gawein was come he be-gan to do so well 
that the Saisnes rused and lefte place. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 288. 
At the laste 
This harte rused and staal away 
Fro alle the houndes a prevy way. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 381. 
ruse 2 (roz), n. [< F. ruse, OF. ruse, a trick, < 
ruser, trick: see ruse 2 , .] The use of artifice 
or trickery ; also, a stratagem. 
I might . . . add much concerning the Wiles and Ruses 
which these timid Creatures make use of to save them- 
selves. Ray, Works of Creation, p. 137. 
The effective action of cavalry as cavalry depends on ruse, 
on surprise, on skilful manoeuvring, and on the impetuous 
power and moral effect of the man and horse, glued to one 
another as though they together formed the old ideal of 
the arm, the centaur. Encyc. Brit., XXIV. 358. 
Colonel Deveaux . . . secured the capitulation of the 
Spanish garrison by a boldly designed and well executed 
military ruse. Fortnightly Rev., N. S., XXXIX. 175. 
She has only one string of diamonds left, and she fears 
that Chlrudatta [her husband] will not accept it. ... 
She sends for Maitreya, and induces him to palm it off on 
Chirudatta as a gift which he [MaitreyaJ had himself re- 
ceived in alma. The ruse was successful. Charudatta ac- 
cepts the diamonds, but with great reluctance. 
Wheeler, Hist. India, iii. 293. 
Ruse de guerre, a trick of war; a stratagem. =Syn. 
Maiueuver, Trick, etc. See artifice and stratagem. 
ruse 3 , v. t. A Middle English or dialectal form 
of roose. Cath. Aug. 
ruset-offal (ro'set-of'al), . Kip or calf-curried 
leather. Simmonds. 
rush 1 (rush), u. [E. dial, also risk, resh, trans- 
posed rlx ; < ME. rusche, rische, rlsshe, resclie, 
reshe, resse, < AS. risce, rente, rysc, rise, trans- 
posed rixe = D. rusch = MLG. ruscli, risch, LG. 
rusch, rusk, risch = MHG. rusche, rusch, G. 
rausch, rusch, risch, a rush ; prob. < L. ruscum, 
also rustum, butcherVbroom ; perhaps, with 
formative -cum (see -ic), < rus- = Goth, raus, a 
reed (> OF. ros, dim. rosel, F. roseau = Pr. raus, 
dim. rauzel, rauzeu, a reed), = OHG. ror, MHG. 
ror, G. rolir = D. roer = Icel. royr = Sw. Dan. 
ror (not in AS.), a reed. Cf. bulrush."] 1. Any 
plant belonging to the order Juncacese, especial- 
ly a plant of the genus Juncus; also extended 
to some sedges (Caret), horsetails (Equisetum), 
and a few other plants. The typical rush is Juncus 
effvsus, the common or soft rush, marked by its dense clump 
of slender cylindrical leafless stems, 2 or 3 feet high, from 
matted creeping rootstocks, some of the stems ban en, the 
others producing from one side a close panicle of green- 
ish or brownish flowers. It is fouTid in wet places nearly 
throughout the northern hemisphere and in many parts 
of the southern. Very common in North America is J. 
tennis, a smaller wiry species growing among grass, and 
especially in old roads and cow-paths. (See Juncux, and 
phrases below.) Rushes were formerly used to strew 
floors by way of covering. 
Let wantons light of heart 
Tickle the senseless rushes with their heels. 
Shak., R. and J., i. 4. 36. 
Why, pretty soul, tread softly, and come into this room ; 
here be rushes, you need not fear the creaking of your cork 
shoes. Dek/rer and Webster, Westward Ho, ii. 2. 
From the indelicate and filthy habits of our forefathers, 
carpets would have been a grievous nuisance; whereas 
5277 
rushes, which concealed the impurities with which they 
were charged, were, at convenient times, gathered up and 
thrown into the streets, where they only bred a general 
plague, instead of a particular one. 
Gifford, Note to B. Jonson's Every Man out of his 
[liumour, iii. 3. 
A flat malarian world of reed and rush! 
Tennyson, Lover's Tale, iv. 
2f. A wick. Compare rush-candle. Baret. 
(Halliwell). 3. Figuratively, anything weak, 
worthless, or of trivial value ; the merest trifle ; 
a straw. 
Heo that ben curset in constorie counteth hit not at a 
russche. Piers Plowman (A), iii. 137. 
And if he myght stonde in so good a case, 
Hir to reioyse and haue hir atte his wissh, 
Of all his payne he wold not sett a rissh. 
Oenerydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1680. 
I would not, my good people ! give a rush for your judg- 
ment. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ix. 17. 
4. A small patch of underwood. HtMiicell. 
[Prov. Eng.] Bald rush, a plant of the American cy- 
peraceous genus Psilvcarya. Dutch rush. See scouring- 
rush. Field-rush. See wood-rush. Flowering rush, 
an aquatic plant, Butomus umbellatus, of the AKtmaeea, 
found through temperate Europe and Asia. It has long 
narrow triangular leaves, and a scape from 2 to 4 feet high, 
bearing an umbel of twenty or thirty showy pink flowers, 
each an inch in diameter. An old name is water- gladiole. 
Hare's-tail rush. See hare's-tail. Heath-rush, an 
Old World species, Juncus squarrosus, growing on moors 
and heaths. Homed r us X See Rhynchospora. Spike- 
rush. See Eleocharis. Sweet-rush, (a) Any plant of 
the genus Cyperus. (6) The lemon-grass or ginger-grass, 
Andropogon Scluxnanthus. Toad-rush, a low, tufted, 
pale-colored species, Juncus bufonius, distributed over a 
great part of the world To wed or marry with a rush 
ring, to marry in jest, but sometimes implying an evil 
purpose. 
And Tommy was so [kind] to Katty, 
And wedded her with a rush ring. 
Winchest. Wedding, Pills to Purge Mel., I. 276. (Hares.) 
I'll crown thee with a garland of straw then, 
And I'll marry thee mlh a rush ring. 
Sir W. Davetumt, The Rivals, v. 
(See nut-rush, scouring-rush, and wood-rush.) 
rush 1 ! (rush), r. i. [Early mod. E. also rysxhe; 
< rush 1 , .] To gather rushes. 
I rysshe, I gather russhes ; ... Go no more a rysshynge. 
Palsgrave, L'Eclaircissement de la Langue Fran^aise, 
[p. 692. 
rush 2 (rush), r. [< ME. rushen, ruschen = MLG. 
ruschen, LG. rusken, rush, clatter, rustle, = D. 
niischen, rush, = MHG. ruschen, riuschcn, G. 
raugchen, rush, roar, = OSw. ruska, rush, shake, 
Sw. ruska, shake, tremble, = Icel. ruska, shake 
violently, = Dan. make, shake, pull, twitch: cf. 
AS. hriaeait, make a noise ; appar., with forma- 
tive -k, from a simple verb represented by OSw. 
rusa, rush, shake; perhaps ult. from the root of 
L. rudere, make a noise, etc. ; cf . rumor."] I. iii- 
trans. 1. To move or drive forward with im- 
petuosity, violence, or tumultuous rapidity. 
The ryalle raunke stele to his hertte rynnys, 
And he rusches to the erthe. rewthe es the more ! 
Morte Arthure(E. E. T. S.), 1. 2241. 
Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into 
the battle. Jer. yiii. 6. 
They all rush by, 
And leave you hindmost. 
Shale., T. and C., iii. 3. 15!). 
The combat deepens. On, ye brave, 
Who rush to glory or the grave ! 
Campbell, Hohenlinden. 
2. To move or act with undue eagerness, or 
without due deliberation and preparation ; 
hurry: as, to rush into business or politics. 
that my head were a fountain of tears, to weep for and 
bewail the stupidity, yea, the desperate madness of infi- 
nite sorts of people that rush upon death, and chop into 
hell blindling. Ren. S. Ward, Sermons, p. 57. 
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 625. 
3. In foot-ball, to fill the position of a rusher. 
In rushing, as well as in following or heading off, when 
the ''backs" or "half-backs" come together, the front 
lines get the most shocks. Sci. Amer., N. S., LIX. 304. 
4. To take part in a college rush. See rush 2 , 
n., 5. [U. S.] 
"Hazing," rushing, secret societies, society initiations 
and badges, ... are unknown at Oxford and Cambridge. 
N. A. Rev., CXXVI. 236. 
II. trang. 1. To cause to rush; cause to go 
swiftly or violently ; drive or thrust furiously ; 
hence, to force impetuously or hastily; hurry; 
overturn. 
Of alle his ryche castelles rusche doune the wallez ; 
1 salle noghte lefe in Paresche. by processe of tyme. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1339. 
He pull'd him down upon his knee, 
And rushed off his helm. 
Sir Lancelot du Lake (Child's Ballads, I. 60). 
When the whole force of the wind driveth to one place, 
there being no contrary motion to let or hinder it, many 
hills and buildings have been rushed down by this kind of 
earthquake. .V. Morton, New England's Memorial, p. 292. 
rushed 
You present rather a remarkable spectacle. Inasmuch as 
you are rushing a bill through here without knowing what 
it contains. Congressional Record, XXI. 7788. 
Specifically 2. In foot-ball, to force by main 
strength toward the goal of one's opponents: 
said of the ball. 3. To secure by rushing. 
[Colloq.] 
Peeresses . . . occupied every seat, and even rushed the 
reporters' gallery, three reporters only having been fortu- 
nate enough to take their places before the rush. 
W. Vesant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 187. 
4. To cause to hasten ; especially, to urge to 
undue haste; drive; push. [Colloq.] 
Nearly all [telegraph] operators, good and bad. are vain 
of their abilities to send rapidly, and nearly all are ambi- 
tious to send faster than the operator at the receiving sta- 
tion can write it down, or in other words to rush him. 
Elect. Rev. (Amer.), XV. xiv. 10. 
rush 2 (rush), . [< rush'*, v."] 1. A driving 
forward with eagerness and haste; a motion 
or course of action marked by violent or tu- 
multuous haste: as, a rush of troops ; a, rush of 
winds. 
A train of cars was just ready for a start ; the locomo- 
tive was fretting and fuming, like a steed impatient for a 
headlong rush. Hawthorne, Seven Gables, xvii. 
His panting breath told of the rush he had actually 
made. Mrs. Oliphant, Poor Gentleman, xxviii. 
2. An eager demand; a run. 
There was a slight boom in the mining market, and a 
bit of a rush on American rails. 
Nineteenth Century, XXVI. 854. 
3. In foot-ball, a play by which one of the con- 
testants forces his way with the ball through 
the line of his opponents toward their goal. 4. 
A very successful passing of an examination, 
or a correct recitation. [College slang, U. S.] 
5. A scrimmage between classes or bodies 
of students, such as occurs at some American 
colleges. [U.S.] 6. Extreme urgency of af- 
fairs; urgent pressure ; such a quantity or qual- 
ity of anything as to cause extraordinary effort 
or haste : as, a rush of business. [Colloq.] 
7. A stampede, as of cattle, horses, etc. [Aus- 
tralian.] 
As they discuss the evening meal they discuss also the 
likelihood of a quiet camp or a rush of it. 
A. C. Grant, Bush Life in Queensland, II. 124. 
8. A company; a flock or flight, as of birds. 
The wild-fowler's and sportsman's terms for companies 
of various birds are as under: ... Of Dunbfrds, a 
"flight," or "rush." W. W. Greener, The Gun, p. 533. 
9. In mining or blasting, same as spire. 10. A 
feast or merrymaking. HaUiwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
Cane-rush, a rush between the freshmen and sopho- 
mores of an American college or academy for the posses- 
sion of a cane, carried in defiance of custom by one of the 
freshmen. That class wins which, after a given time, has 
possession of the cane, or has the larger number of men 
with their hands on it.- Rush of blood to (the head, 
etc.), sudden hyperemia of. 
rush-bearing (rush 'bar* ing), w. A country 
wake or feast of dedication, when the parish- 
ioners strew the church with rushes and sweet- 
smelling flowers ; also, the day of the festival, 
and the rushes and flowers themselves. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
In Westmoreland, Lancashire, and districts of York- 
shire, there is still celebrated between hay-making and 
harvest a village fete called the Rush-bearing. 
Quoted in Chambers's Book of Days, I. 606. 
rush-bottomed (rush'bof'omd), a. Having a 
bottom or seat made with rushes: as, a rush- 
bottomed chair. 
rush-broom (rush'brom), n. See Viminaria and 
Spartium. 
rush-bucklert (rush'buk'ler), . A bullying, 
violent fellow ; a swash-buckler. 
Take into this number also their [geutlemen'sl servants : 
I mean all that flock of stout bragging rushbucklers. 
Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by Robinson', U. 4. 
rush-candle (rush'kan'dl), n. A light made by 
stripping a dried rush of all its bark except one 
small strip, which holds the pith together, and 
dipping it repeatedly in tallow. Rush-candles, 
being long and slender, are used with the clip- 
candlestick. Also rushlight. 
And be it moon, or sun, or what you please : 
An if you please to call it a rush-candle, 
Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me. 
Shak., T. of the S., iv. 5. 14. 
Some gentle taper. 
Though a rush-candle from the wicker hole 
Of some clay habitation. Milton, Comus, 1. 338. 
rush-daffodil (rush'daf'o-dil), n. See ctnffodil. 
rushed U'usht), n. [trusli 1 , M., + -e<? 2 .] Strewed 
with or abounding in rushes. 
As slow he winds in museful mood, 
Near the rush'd marge of Chei well's flood. 
T. Warton, Odes, xi. 
