this 
From the town you last CHine through, calle I Brailsford, 
it is five miles ; and you are not yet above half a mile on 
Hit* side. Cotton, in Walton's Angler, ii. 222. 
(b) Time just past or just at haml ; the last or the next. 
The reference, whether to past or to future, is determined 
by the circumstances ; this evening may mean either the 
evening now approaching, or next to come, or the evening 
now present, or the evening just past: as, it has occurred 
twice this year ; I shall take care not to fail Ihu (next) time. 
I n this connection //</> is sometimes used for these, the sum 
being reckoned up, as it were, in a total. 
The owle ek, which that hette Ascaphilo, 
Hath efter me shright al thin nyghtes two. 
Chaucer, Troilus, v. 320. 
I learn 'd in Worcester, as I rode along, 
He cannot draw his power this fourteen days. 
Shalt, 1 Hen. IV., iv. 1. 126. 
I have not wept this forty years ; but now 
My mother comes afresh into my eyes. 
Dryden, All for Love, i. 1. 
[In Shakspere the phrase this night occurs, meaning last 
night. 
Glow. My troublous dream this night doth make me sad. 
Duch. What dreaiu'd my lord ? tell me, and I'll requite it 
With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream. 
Shale., 2 Hen. VI., i. 2. 2-2.] 
This . . . here. See Ari. This other i , the other. 
And hem liked more the melodye of this harpour than 
eny thinge that this other mynstralles diden. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 021. 
You denied to fight with me this other day. 
Shalt., W. T., v. 2. 140. 
This present. See present^. 
II. pron. This person or thing, (a) It denotes 
Some person or thing actually present or at hand : as, 
is this your coat ? Who ia this > 
This is a spell against them, spick and span new. 
B. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, iii. 1. 
Fie, what an idle quarrel is this ; was this her ring ? 
Deltker and Webster, Northward Ho, i. 1. 
(li) Something that has just preceded or has been men- 
tioned or referred to. 
Alle thes were there wythoute fable, 
Wythoute ham of the rounde table. 
Arthur (ed. I'urnivall), 1. 179. 
When they heard this [the discourse of Peter] they were 
pricked in their hearts. Acts ii. 87. 
Suetonius writes that Claudius found heer no resistance, 
and that all was done without stroke ; but this seems not 
probable. Milton, Hist. Eng., ii. 
I know no evil which touches all mankind so much as 
this of the misbehaviour of servants. 
Sttele, Spectator, No. 88. 
(c) Emphatically, something that is to be immediately 
said or done : as, Let me tell you this: I shall lend you no 
more money. 
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had 
known in what watch the thief would come, he would 
have watched, and would not have suffered his house to 
be broken up. Mat. xxiv. 43. 
(d) Elliptically, this person, place, state, time, position, 
circumstance, or the like : as, I shall leave this [place or 
town] to-morrow ; this [state of affairs] is very sad ; I shall 
abstain from wine from this [time] on ; by this [time] we 
had arrived at the house. 
This [that is, this one] is so gentil and so tendre of herte 
That with his deth he wol his sorwes wreke. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 904. 
I shall, between this and supper, tell you most strange 
things from Rome. Shak., Cor., iv. 3. 43. 
By this the vessel half her course had run. 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., x. 95. 
When opposed to that, this refers to the person or thing 
that is nearer, that to the person or thing that is more 
distant; so, with things that have just been expressed, 
this refers to the thing last mentioned (and therefore 
nearer in time to the speaker), and that to the thing first 
mentioned (as being more remote). 
Two ships from far making amain to us : 
Of Corinth that, of Epidaurus this. 
Shalt., C. of E., i. 1. 94. 
A body of this or that denomination is produced. Boyle. 
Tltese will no taxes give, and those no pence 
Critics would starve the poetj Whigs the prince 
frnjien, Prol. to Southern's Loyal Brother, 1. 10. 
Some place the bliss in action, some in ease, 
Those call it pleasure, and contentment these. 
Pope, Essay on Man, iv. 22. 
This is sometimes opposed to the other. 
Consider the arguments which the author had to write 
(At*, or to design the other, before you arraign him. 
It was sometimes used elliptically for this is. 
This 'a good Fryer, belike. 
Shale., M. for M. (folio 1623), v. 1. 131. 
From this out. See from. To put this and that to- 
gether. Seejrnfi. 
this (THis), adi: [A var. of thus, or an ellip- 
tical use of for this. Cf. that, adr.~] For this 
thus. [Obsolete or colloq.] 
What am I, that thou shouldst contemn me this? 
Shalt., Venus and Adonis, 1. 205. 
None of the portraits mentioned by Walpole are 
dated thin early. 
<T. P. tforris, in Shakespeariana, May, 1881, p. 181. 
thisbe (thiz'be), H. [< NL. tliisbe, the specific- 
name, < Or. Bio/to/, a proper name.] The clear- 
winged moth Jlemaris thixhi: 
6296 
thisness (THis'nes), n. [< thin + -nfm<.~\ The 
state or quality of being this; hsecceity. 
[Rare.] 
thistle (this'l), n. [Formerly also or dial, this- 
sle; < ME. tliistel, tliixtile. thi/stylle (pi. thistles), 
< AS. thistel = D. distel = 'MLG. LG. distel = 
OHG. distiila, dixtil, MHG. G. distcl = Icel. 
thistiU = Sw. tintel = Dan. tidse I, thistle ; cf . 
Goth, deiuo in comp. wigadeino, 'way-thistle.'] 
One of numerous stout composite weeds, armed 
with spines or prickles, bearing globular or 
Upper part of stem 
heads ; a, a flower 
nchene with pappus. 
a, 
Common Thistle (Cnti its lanceolatus}. 
i, upper part of stem with heads ; 2, a leaf; a, achene with pappus. 
thickly cylindrical heads with purple, yellow, 
or white flowers and no rays, and dispersing 
their seed by the aid of a light globe of pappus. 
The name applies in general to the members of the genus 
Cnicus (including the former Cirsium), the common or 
plumed thistle, in which the pappus is plumose or fea- 
thered, of Carduus, the plnmeless 
thistle, in which the pappus is sim- 
ple, and of Onopordon, the cotton- 
thistle, also with qua! ifying words to 
plantsofothergenera. Argentine 
thistle*, an old name of the cotton- 
thistle. See Onopordon. Blessed 
thistle, one of the star-thistles, 
Centaurea (Cnicus) benedicta, once 
reputed to counteract poison. It 
is a low branching annual with 
lobed, weakly prickly leaves and 
light-yellow heads, 1J inches high, 
sparingly naturalized from Europe 
southward in the United States. 
Boar-thistle, a frequent variant of 
bur-thistle. Bull-thistle, a name 
^ in America of Cnicus lanceolatus 
- j& (see common thistle, below): cited 
also from Ireland. Canada this- 
tle, the usual name in the United 
States of Cnicttg aroensis, the corn- 
thistle, or creeping thistle, of Great 
Britain: a native of Europe and 
Asia, thence spread to North Amer- 
ica and other lands. It is less ro- 
bust than many other thistles, be- 
ing only a foot or two high and ra- 
ther slender, and bears very prick- 
ly pinnatifld leaves and numerous small purple-flowered 
heads. It is one of the very worst of weeds on account 
of its deep-laid, extensively creeping, and sprouting root- 
stock. Carllne thistle. See Carlina. Common this- 
tle, in general, a plant of the genus Cnicus; specifically, 
C. lanceolatus, the spear-, bur-, or bull-thistle. It is a stout 
branching plant from 2 to 4 feet high, with very prickly 
decurrent leaves and handsome purple heads a trouble- 
some weed, but without perennial creeping rootstock. 
Corn-thistle. See Canada thistle. Cotton thistle. See 
cotton-thistle, Oiwpordon, and Scotch thistle (below). Creep- 
ing thistle. See Canada thistle. Cursed thistle the 
creeping or Canada thistle. - Distaff- thistle, a thistle- 
like pl&nt,Carthamuslanatus,ot Europe and Asia : an erect, 
rigid, cobwebby species with large pale-yellow heads. 
Dwarf thistle. Same as stemless thistle-. Fish-bone or 
herring-bone thistle, Cnicus (Chamsepeuce) Casabonse, 
found on islands off the south coast of France. The name 
doubtless ailudes to the spines, borne in threes on the 
margin of the leaves. Friar's thistle. Same as friar 's- 
crovm. Fuller's-thistle, the teazel. -Globe thistle 
(a) See globe-thistle, (b) The artichoke. Golden thistle, 
a name for yellow-flowered species of the composite ge- 
nus Scolymus, one of which is the Spanish oyster-plant 
See oyster-plant. Hare- or hare's-thistle. Same as 
hare s-lettuce. Herring-bone thistle. See Mi-bone this- 
tle, above. Holy thistle. Same as blessed thistle. 
Get you some of this distilled Carduus Benedictus, and 
lay it to your heart. ... I meant, plain holy-thistle. 
Shak., Much Ado, iii. 4. 80. 
Horse thistle, (a) The common thistle (see horse-this- 
tle). (6t) The wild lettuce, Lactuca Scarivla, var. mrosa 
Hundred-headed thistle, or hundred thistle, an 
umbelliferous plant, Kryngium campestre, so called from 
the numerous flower-heads. Jersey thistle one of the 
star-thistles, Centaurea aspera (C. /xnnrrft). Lady's or 
Our Lady's thistle, (a) See millt-thittle and Silybum. 
I Same as blessed thistle. Mexican thistle, Cnicus 
larnuavunt) cmuptmuu, a tall plant with rigid spiny 
leaves, the heads 3 inches long, with yellow florets and 
scarlet involiu-ral scales.-Order of the Thistle (in 
full The Most Ancient ami Most KuUe Onler i,f the Thistle) 
thistle-down 
a very old Scottish order which has often been i cnewed 
and remodeled, and is still in existence. The devices of 
the order are St. Andrew's cross, or saltier, and a thistle- 
flower with leaves; these enter into the different badges, 
the collar, star, etc. The motto is "Nemo me irnpnnu 
lacessit." The ribbon is green. Pasture-thistle, a low 
stout species, Cnicus pumilm, with from one to three very 
large purple, or rarely white, sweet-scented heads: found 
in the Atlantic United States. Saffron-thistle, the saf- 
flower. St. Barnaby's thistle, the yellow star-thistle, 
Centaurea solstitialis : so named as blooming about St. 
Uarnaby's day. Scotch thistle, a kind of thistle regaid- 
ed as the national emblem of Scotland, but the precise 
species to which the name properly belongs is not settled. 
Most authorities consider it to be the cotton-thistle, Ono- 
pordon A caul hium, though this is not native in Scotland ; 
others, the milk-thistle, Silybum (Carduus) Marianum; 
while some, with greater probability, refer it to the com- 
mon Cnicus lanceolatus. The thistle intended when the 
emblem came into use is uncertain, owing to the fact that 
the figures on old coins and in paintings were not meant 
to be botanically exact. See cuts above and under Onopor- 
don. Spear-thistle, the common thistle, Cnicus lanceo- 
latus: so called from its lance-shaped leaves. Stemless 
thistle, a European thistle, Cnicus acaulis, having a tuft 
of prickly spreading leaves and a few largish purple heads, 
scarcely rising above the ground. Also dvarf thistle, and 
locally pod-thistle. Swamp- thistle, a tall species, Cni- 
cus muticus, with single or few deep-purple heads on the 
branches : found in damp soil in the eastern United States. 
Swine-thistle. Same as smc-thistle. Syrian this- 
tle, Cnicus (Notabasui) Syriacus, of the Mediterranean re- 
gion. It is a plant from 1 to 4 feet high, with milky-veined 
leaves, the heads, one to three, on short axillary branches, 
each head embraced by a rigid pinnatifld spiny-pointed 
bract. Tall thistle, a common species of the United 
States east of the W ississippi, Cnicus altissimus, a branch- 
ing plant sometimes 10 feet high, the leaves covered with 
close white wool beneath, the flowers light-purple. Vir- 
gin Mary's thistle. Same as milk-thistle. Way-thistle 
the Canada thistle. Welted thistle, an Old World spe- 
cies, Carduus acanthoides, resembling the musk-thistle. 
Wolves'- or wolf 8-thlstlet, Carlina acaulis. Wool- 
ly-headed thistle. Same as friar's-cromi. Yellow 
thistle, Cnicus horridulus, of the Atlantic United States, 
a stout plant from 1 to 3 feet high, with very spiny leaves 
and pale-yellow or purple heads. (See also bm-tlMle, 
hedgehog-thistle, melancholy-thistle, melon-thistle, milk-this- 
tle, musk-thistle, pine-thistle, pod-thistle, sow-thistle, star- 
thistle, torch-thiitle.) 
thistle-bird(this'l-berd),a. TheAmericau gold- 
finch, Clirysomitrix or Spimis tristis, or another 
thistle-finch (which see). 
Among the occasional visitors to the yard were two 
American goldfinches, or thistle-birds. 
The Atlantic, LXVI. 200. 
thistle-butterfly (this'l-but'er-fli), . The 
painted-lady, Vanessa or Pyrameis cardui, a 
cosmopolitan butterfly whose larva feeds on 
the thistle. See cut under painted-lady. 
thistle-COCk (this'1-kok), . The common corn- 
bunting, Embertza miliaria. See cut under bunt- 
ing. [Prov. Eng.] 
thistle-cropper (this'l-krop'er), )/. The do- 
mestic ass ; a donkey. 
thistle-crown (this'l -krpun), n. [So named 
from the thistle on the coin.] An English gold 
coin of the reign of James I., current 1604-11, 
weighing about 30 grains, and worth 4.s-. or 4s. 
4frf. (about $1 or $1.10). 
thistle-digger (this'l-dig'er), w. A form of 
spade with a narrow, forked blade, with which 
the root of a 
thistle can be 
cut below the 
crown. A pro- 
jection from the 
back of the blade 
serves as a ful- 
crum, by the aid 
of which the sev- 
ered plant can be 
ried up. 
istle-dollar 
(this'l-dol"ar), 
n. A Scottish 
silver coin, 
also called the 
double merit, is- 
sued in 1578 by 
James VI. It 
weighed 342.6 
grains troy, 
and was worth 
23*. Sd. Scotch 
(nearly 2*. 
English) at the 
time of issue. 
thistle-down 
(this'l-doun), 
. The pappus 
of the thistle, 
by which the 
achenia are 
borne by the 
wind to great 
distances. See 
cuts under 
,,,; ... Thistle-dollar. British Museum. 
tmStle. (SizeoftheoriKiM.U.' 
