wrecker 
age of any kind, or a person who eonimits dep- 
redation upon such wreckage. Specifically — (a) 
One who lures a ship to destruction on a i^iigerous coast 
by false lights or signals, or otherwise, for the purpose of 
plunder, or one who makes a business of watching for and 
plundering wrecked vessels. Such wreckers formerly 
abounded in many parts of the world, sometimes in- 
cluding whole communities in favorable localities. 
Those mad days of the Buccaneers and their nominally 
more respectable descendants, the Wreckers, are gone. 
Aiiier. Jour. Psychol., II. 522. 
(6) One who causes the wreck or ruin of anything; one 
who lays snares or uses artful or dishonest means to cause 
physical, financial, or moral wreckage : as, a tvnixi'terecker 
(on a railroad); a h&nk-icrecker ; the wrecker of another's 
character. 
2. A person employed in recovering wrecked 
or disabled vessels, or cargo and other property 
from such vessels, on account of the owners, 
underwriters, or other persons legitimately con- 
cerned; also, a vessel employed in this ser- 
vice. 
wreck-fish (rek'fish), «. The stone-bass, cer- 
nier, cherna, or cherne, Polyprion ceniium. See 
Vohjurion^ and cut under stone-bass. 
wreck-free (rek'fre), a. Exempted from the 
forfeiture of shipwrecked goods and vessels. 
This privilege was granted to the Cinque Ports 
by a charter of Edward I. 
wreckful (rek'ful), «. [< wrecks + -ful. Qt. 
wrackful.'\ Causing wreck; producing or in- 
volving destruction or ruin. [Archaic and po- 
etical.] 
The southern wind with brackish breath 
Dispersed them (the ships] all amongst the xtreckfui rocks. 
Marloxce and Sashe, lYagedy of Dido, i. 2. 
O, how shall summer's honey breath hold out 
Against the xrreck/xd siege of battering days? 
Shak., Sonnet*, Ixv. 
A summer mere with sudden trreck/ul gusts 
From a side-gorge. Tennyson, Harold, iii. 1. 
wrecking-car (rek'inp:-kiir), 71. A car provided 
with means and appliances for clearing wreck- 
age or other obstructions from a railroa^l-track. 
Sometimes it is a long platform-car fitted with 
a small derrick and a house at one end. [U. S.] 
wrecking-instnunent (rek'ing-i n " stro-men t ) , 
ti. Same us pockit-relay. 
wrecking-pump (rek'ing-pump), u. A s])eeial 
steam-iiunip of great capacity, used in freeing 
sunken or damaged vessels from water. 
wreck-master (rek'mas*ter). n. 1. A person 
appointed by law to take charge of goods, etc., 
cast ashore from a wreck. See under wreck, 
n, — 2. A person appointed by owners or sal- 
vors to take charge of a wrecked ship or cargo. 
wreck-wood (rek'wud), w. Wood or timber 
from wrecked vessels. 
There stood upon it. In these days;, a single rude house 
of nnceinented stones^ approached by a pier of wreckwood. 
H. L. Stevenson, Memoirs of an Islet. 
Wredin's test. Absence of a certain gelatinous 
matter from the middle ear of the fetus, taken 
a.s evidence that a child has breathed and 
therefore had been bom alive. 
wren (ren), «. [Also dial, tcran ; < ME. tvnnne, 
wratine, a wren, < AS, icrenna. wrfenuOy a wren.] 
A ver^ small migratory and insectivorous sing- 
ing-bird of Great Britain and other European 
countries, with a slender bill and extremely 
short tail, and of dark reddish-brown coloration 
varied with black, inhabiting shrubbery, and 
belonging to the family Troglodytidse ; hence, 
any member of this family, andj with a quali- 
fying terra, one of various otlier small birds of 
different families, as certain warblers, kinglets, 
etc. See the phrases below. Wren originally 
specified the bird technically known as Sylda troglody- 
teSj Troylodytfs parculus, T. mdgaris, T. europieus. An- 
ortkura troglodytes^ A. cojnmunis, etc., the only member 
of it« genus and family found jn Kurope. It is only 
about four Inches long, very active and sprightly, with 
a pleasing song at times, and a characteristic habit of 
carrying the short tail c<x;kuil up. This little bird fig- 
ures extensively in English folklore, and has a host of 
local, provinrfal, or familiar names with icreti expressed 
or implleil, as bobby, cutty, kitty, jenny, mlly. ncutty. 
tiddy, tidley, titty, also our LofJy of [leaven's hen, etc. 
This wren is a northerly tyi>e, and one of several spe- 
cies of the restricted genus Troglodytes (or Axwrthurn), 
as T. /umigatus of Japan, T. alattcenxvi of AlaRkii. and the 
well-known winter wren of N'orth America. T. hinnalia, 
which is so near the English wren as to l)e by some natu- 
ralists regarded as only a variety. (See cut under Tro- 
glodytfn.) In the I'nlted States the commonest wren, and 
the one which plays there the part taken by the English 
wren in Europe, is the house-wren, T. a^-don or T. dff- 
meMicus, whicn abounds in most parts of North Anterica, 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, runs into several geo- 
graphical races, and is represented in Mexico and warmer 
parts of America by several other varieties or congeneric 
species. The common house-wren in settled districts at- 
taches Itself closely to man, and ne^ts by preference in 
mxiksand crannies of outhouses, thonuh it Is more retired 
and woo<ldovlng in <jther regions. It trills a hearty and 
voluble song, and hiys numerous (from (l to ]0) piiikish- 
439 
6989 
white eggs very heavily spotted with brown, in the large 
mass of rubbish which it carries into its hole for a nest. 
This wren is migratory, and in many parts of the Ignited 
States its presence is complementary to that of the winter 
wren. Certain wrens of North America, of the genus Cis- 
tothonts (and its section Telm-atodytes), inhabit marshes 
and low wet shrubbery, and are known as marsh-wrens. 
(See the generic names, marsh-wren, and tule-icren.) Va- 
rious others, chiefly of southern regions of the Tnited 
States, and thence southward, as the great Carolina and 
Bewick's, are of the genus Thryothorias (which see, with 
cut). Others are the rock-wrens, caAon-wrens, and cac- 
tus-wrens, of the genera Salpinetes, Gatherpes, and Cam- 
pylorhynchus. (See the compound and technical names, 
with cuts.) All these belong to essentially Neotropical 
types, which have but few outlying forms in the United 
States, though richly represented by very nnmeious spe- 
cies of various genera in the warmer parts of America (as 
those above named. TkryophHus, llropsila, Henicorhina, 
Cyphorhinus, and Mierocercuhis). The wrens above noted 
are all properly so called (Troylodytidae) : with the ex- 
ceptions named, they are all American. The qualified ap- 
plication of tcren to various small birds of both hemi- 
spheres, including some of other families than Troglo- 
dytidx, is given in the phrases following. 
The poor xcren, 
The most diminutive of birds, will tight, 
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. 
Shak., Macbeth, iv. 2. 9. 
Alaskan wren. See def. above.— Bay wren, Cinni- 
certhia uniru/a, of the t'nited States of Colombia.— 
Bewick's wren, see Thryothorus. —Bla.ck. wren, the 
hedge-sparrow. Accentor modularis: a misnomer. See 
cut under Accentttr. [Ireland.] — Blue wren. Same as 
superb wnrHer (which see, under ^fY/rW^-r).— Cabot's 
wren, Thrynthonis aibinucha, of YucaUin.— Cashmere 
wren, Troylodytex lu-'jlectus, confined to the hills of the 
saiU country.— Chestnut wren, Thryophilus caMamm, 
of Panama. — David's wren, Spebeomis troylndytaides. 
of the mountains uf western Szechuen.— Fan-tailed 
wrens, the Campylorhynchime. See cut uniler Cam- 
pylorhyiichm. — Taxoe Wren, a ilark vaiiety of the com- 
mon wren found in the Faroes and Iceland. — Flre- 
Crested wren, the fire-crested kinglet, iiegulus igni- 
capillus, closely resembling the goldcrest.— Floridlan 
wren, a variety of the great Carolina wren found as a 
local race in Horida.— Golden-creSted WTCn, the gold- 
crest (see cut under goldrrent): also, the American gohl- 
en-crested kinglet, Jieg^dus itatrajxt. — Golden-crowned 
wren, the golden-crested wren of Kurope, Iiegulus crista- 
ttts. See cut under goldrrest. — Qolden wren, gold 
wren, (a) The willow-warbler, Phyllnscopux trochUus. {b) 
The goldcrest ctr kinglet, Regidns cristatus. See cut un- 
der goldcrest. (Eng. in both senses.] — Great Carolina 
wren. See Thnjothorxis (with cut). — Green wren, the 
yellow wren, or willow-warbler, Phyllnscopus trochilus ; 
also, P. sibilatrix. See cut under wood-wren. [Eng.) — 
Hill-wrens, various small wren like or timeliine birds of 
the hill-country in India, as of the genera Pnotpyga, Te- 
sta, etc. See hill tit, under ^■r-( with cuts); also cuts under 
Pjwpyga, 7V«a,and (i7-6a6W(T. — H0U8e- wrens, certain 
American members of the genus Troglodytes; specifically, 
T. a<-don and its conspecies. Seedef. atxive. — Japanese 
wren. Troglodytes /umigatwt, closely related to the Eng- 
lish wren, winter wren, and Alaskan wren.— Long-billed 
wren, Thryophilus longiroxtrix, of Brazil.— Long-tailed 
wren, VroHchla longicaudata, of the Khasiaand .\Iaiiij)nr 
Hills : commotdy placed in the genus Pnoi'jiyga.^ Muffle 
wren, the wtllow-warbler, Phylloscirpus tntchtlux. |I"ng. ] 
— Musician wren, Cyphnrkimis mimcus, of (iui.iiiii.- 
Nep&l wren. Troglodytes nijHilensiH, of the Himalayan re- 
gion from Cashmere to Nepal and Sikliini. Pacific wren, 
that variety of the winter wren which is found along the 
Pacific coast of the Cnited States. — Pale Wl*en, Troglo- 
dytet pallidum, the common wren of central Asia. - Paxk- 
man's wren, a western variety of the house-wren named 
Troglodytes parhinaniih\X\\il\\hi}i\ in la:i9, after Dr. (ieorge 
Parkman (179I-1849).— Ruby-crowned wren, the Amer- 
ican ruby-crowned kinglet, w-guht>i ralendula. [V. S.j — 
Satrap-crowned wren, the American golden-crested 
kinglet, liegulusi satrapa.— Sedge-wren. Same as sedge- 
irarblrr. (L<K-al, Hritish.|— Spotted wren. Troglodytes 
fonnoMU)', n rare Indian species found in the nelghi)or- 
hood of Darjeeling.--- Texan wren, a variety of the great 
Carolina wren fouiul in Texas arid southward.— Vinous- 
brown wren, the Japanese wren.— Wcdge-bUled wren, 
Sphmocichla humei, of Sikhini. — White-bellied wren. 
(a) A western variety of Bewick's wren. (';) CrojisHa h'u- 
cogastra, of Oaxaca and Tamanlipas in Mexico, originally 
described by .1. Gould in 183<) as Tro<jlod<ites levciigaMra, 
a name 8iibse<iuently nnsnsed to denote tlie white-bellied 
wren (n). — White-breasted wren, /leitteorfnna jtmsthe- 
leuca, of Central America. — Whlte wren, the willow- 
warbler, Phylluscopux trochilus. (Eng. )^ Winter wren. 
See def., and cut under Trogli,dytes,-~Ye\\OW wren, the 
willow-warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus, ixui} the wood-war- 
bler, /*. sibilatrix. See cut under wood- ir ren. [Eng.] (See 
also cactuit-rcrpn. caiionxcren, marsh-wren, r''ed-wrcn, tide- 
wren, inllow-wrcn. wooti-wren.) 
wren-babbler (rcn'bab'ler), n. A babbler of 
small size or otherwise resembling a wren : in- 
discriminately applied to various sueh timeli- 
ine l>ir(Is. See Ateippe, 2, babbler, 2, hilf tit 
Oinder tit^), hill-irrens (under wroi), tit-babbler, 
and TiiiirUa, with various cuts. 
wrench (reueh). H. [Also dial, wrinvh ; < 
MK. trrench, trrenrhr, also imassibilated irrotk, 
ivrenke, irri)d\ < AS. irrrnr, wrcuce, guile, fr.aud. 
deceit (the orig. ])bysical .sense Iteing ju-eservefl 
ill mod. E., but not reeonled in ME. and AS.). 
= MHO. r<nir. quick movement, motion, G. 
rank, trick, artifice, intrigue, O. dial, also crook- 
edness ; from the root of trrinff; <*f. mod. E. 
icront/, a. ainl u., in the metapliorical senses, 
ult. from the root of ■trrint/.'] If. A crooked or 
tortuous action; a fraudulent device; a trick: 
a deceit ; a stratagem. 
wrenning 
His wyly wrenches thou ne mayst nat flee. 
Chaucer, Canon's Yeonutn's Tale, I. 70. 
For it ledes a man with iiretdces and wyles. 
And at the last it hym begyles. 
Hampole, Pricke of Conscience, 1. 1360, quoted in Reli- 
[gious Pieces (E. E. T. S.), p. 105. 
2. A violent twist or turn given to something ; 
a pulling awry : a sudden twisting out of shape, 
place, or relation : used of both material and 
immaterial things : as. to sprain one's foot by a 
wrench; the change was a great wrench to his 
feelings. 
If one straine make them not confess, let them be 
stretched but one wrench higher, and they cannot be si- 
lent. Bp. Hall, The Ark and Dagon. 
There are certain animals to whom tenacity of position 
is a law of life — they can never flourish again after a sin- 
gle wrench. George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, iii. 1. 
I might chance give his meaning a icrench. 
He talking his patois and I English-French. 
Lowell, Black Preacher. 
3. A sharp turn; specifically, in coursing, the 
turning of a hare at less than a right an- 
gle. Encyc. Brit., VI. 515. — 4. In mathematical 
physics, a force, or variation of force, tending 
to give a body a twist about an imaginary or 
real screw. — 5. A tool consisting essentially 
of a bar of metal having jaws at one end 
Wrenches. 
(t, machinists' wrench ; /■, wajjon-wrench ; A', socket-wrench for 
bit-stock; *", socket-wrench with cross-handle, also called key- 
wrciich ; <", l)ed-wrench ; rf, pipe-wrench ; c, machine-wrench ;/, coni- 
hitiation wrench, comprising a hammer and a pipe-wrench ; ^, flat 
pocket screw-wrench ; A, alligator-wrench ; i, tcrew-wrench. 
adapted to catch upon the liead of a bolt or a 
nut, or to hold a metal pipe or rod, so as to turn 
it. Some wrenches have a variety of jaws to suit differ- 
ent sizes and shapes of nuts and bolts, and others, as the 
monkey-wrench, have an adjustable inner jaw. 
6t. Means of compulsion. [Rare.] 
He . . . resolved to make his profit of this businesse 
... of Naples as a wrench and nieane for peace. 
Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII., p. 90. 
wrench (rench), V. [< ME. wrenchen^ wrench, 
twist, turn. < AS. wrencan, deceive, = MIIG. (t. 
rcnkcn, G. {rer}rcnken, dislocate, twist, sprain; 
from the noun.] I, tran.'i. 1. To twist or turn 
about witli eiTort or violence; give a sudden 
twist to ; hence, to distort ; pervert; turn awry. 
Now there can not be in a maker a fowler fault then . . . 
to wrench his words to lielpe his rime. 
Pidtenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 07. 
I am well acfiuainted with your manner of wrenching 
the true cause the false way. Shak., 2Hen. IV,, ii. 1. 120. 
2. To injure or pain by a twisting action ; pro- 
duce a distorting effect in ortipou; distort: 
sprain: as, to wrench one's ankle. 
Through the space 
Of twelve ensuing days his frame was wrenched. 
Till nature reateil from lier work in death. 
Wordsworth. 
3. To pull or draw with torsion ; extract by 
twisting or tortuous action ; hence, to wrest 
forcibly or violently. 
Wrench his sword from hini. Shak., Othello, v. i. 288. 
To wrench it [a flxed opinion] out of their niinda is 
hardly less difficult than pulling up an oak. 
Ilawthurtw, Seven (JaMes, xvi. 
II, intrttns. To have or undergo a wrenching 
motion; turn twistingly. [Kare.] 
Let not Ihy venturous Steps approach too nigh 
Where, gaping wide, low steepy Cellars lie ; 
Shotild thy Shoe wrench aside, down, down you fall, 
And overturn the scolding Huckster's Stall. 
Gay, Trivia, iii. Vlli. 
wrench-hammer (reTich'ham''er), n. A ham- 
mer (itted with a movable Jaw so tliat it can 
also serve as a spanner. 
wrench-handle (rench'han"dl\ It. A double- 
armed wi'ench for use vvitii dies in cutting 
tlireads and similar work. A'. Ff. h'nif/ht. 
wrenning (vt'u'inj^). n. [< wren + -inf/.'] The 
act or sp<nt of stonin;^ a wren to death on Ht. 
