(n. sing.) A frame from which is suspended the rope with which criminals are executed by hanging, usually consisting of two upright posts and a crossbeam on the top; also, a like frame for suspending anything.
(n. sing.) A wretch who deserves the gallows.
(n. sing.) The rest for the tympan when raised.
(n. sing.) A pair of suspenders or braces.
Example Sentences:
(1) First was the fact that from the age of 27 to his current age of 61, Valle had sat on death row: a total of 33 years under the shadow of the gallows.
(2) It not only prevents you from stealing things out of frustration, but might even save you from the gallows one day.
(3) Jordison, who was moved to "return to the scene of the crime" with a recent trip to Morecambe, says that while the gallows humour that characterised the first book and its follow-up is unlikely to disappear, the latest volume will probably be rather darker.
(4) The previous week, campaigners carried a mock gallows with a noose labelled for Merkel.
(5) "My friend Billy's at the match and he's said the atmosphere in Belo is the best of all of the cities he's been to and he's loved the build up and the gallows humour.
(6) No amount of choreographed fireworks or musical pageantry can mask that this is little more than a public hanging, and there is no honour in summoning the world to our gallows.
(7) Along the path runs a silhouetted Pip, the last vestiges of sunlight again twinkling off the water as he passes two unoccupied gallows, a sorry bunch of dry flowers in one hand, clouds smeared across the sky like oil paint.
(8) Ministers fearing the worst will be indulging in gallows humour with their private offices; those in a more optimistic frame of mind might be turning their thoughts to a bright tie to be photographed in when they complete their hoped-for happy waltz out of No 10. Who is safe?
(9) After the PKK leader’s capture in 1999, Öcalan was sentenced to life imprisonment on the island of Imrali, in the Sea of Marmara, saved from the gallows only by pressure from the European Union.
(10) In the footage, only distant people, moving vehicles and what appears to be a gallows covered in black cloth are visible.
(11) I sometimes think these people would bring back the rack, the whip and the gallows if "vital for national security".
(12) The video appeared to show the same screened gallows structure seen in still photographs taken during its construction.
(13) The first Mexican wave began after 15 minutes, which is always a sign that there is not much happening on the pitch, and England’s supporters could be heard going through the now-familiar repertoire of gallows-humour chants.
(14) In fact they're not – they are journalists, pollsters, aides and MPs, waiting their turn at makeshift steps which could be leading up to a gallows.
(15) Priebus, who has been noted for his gallows humor, is not known as a “go-with-the-flow” type.
(16) It would be funnier if they showed him decked out in full 70s glam gear throughout, being led to the gallows in a big spangly costume with shoulder pads so huge they get stuck in the hole as he plunges through.
(17) That’s where I’ll be.” It is hard not to salute the head coach’s gallows humour, and his determination to ensure England take their leave with at least a modicum of grace and self-respect.
(18) He sent Björk to the gallows in Dancer in the Dark , arranged a gang-rape for Nicole Kidman's heroine in Dogville , and had Gainsbourg's character take a pair of scissors to her genitals in 2009's Antichrist .
(19) With luck I will be able to stop singing forever, which would make many people happy!” Besides this gallows humour, Morrissey reiterated that he had been dismissed by his label , complaining that Harvest Records boss Steve Barnett “does not like artists to give their opinion”.
(20) Even in such a depressing situation, there is time for a bit of gallows humour.
Wretch
Definition:
(v. t.) A miserable person; one profoundly unhappy.
(v. t.) One sunk in vice or degradation; a base, despicable person; a vile knave; as, a profligate wretch.
Example Sentences:
(1) Servicemen returning from their term of duty would land in San Diego and disappear into the hinterland rather than go home, finding refuge in drugs, alcohol or wretched anonymity.
(2) It was a wretched goal to concede and the unfortunate truth for Mignolet is that moment reminded us why many Liverpool supporters are perplexed he has been awarded a new five-year contract.
(3) We are Uncle Moneybags compared with the wretches who live in Ireland and the United States, where unemployment is higher than it is in Britain.
(4) Admittedly we've had the odd wretched experience – the long wait in casualty or for a bedpan, the horrid puréed dinners, the lost notes – but ultimately we've all been looked after, cured and called back for check-ups and therapies.
(5) Craig Gardner sent a header wide and had a strong claim for a penalty turned down, but West Brom were wretched, and Tony Pulis made two changes at half-time, Chris Brunt coming on for the injured Darren Fletcher, and Salomón Rondón joining the hitherto isolated Victor Anichebe up front after replacing Jonas Olsson.
(6) While Everton mourned Howard Kendall , the architect of two title-winning teams, Van Gaal illustrated the influence an elite manager can have as, from the ruins of a wretched performance in London, he fashioned a more pragmatic, more athletic side.
(7) Kathimerini has the details : Pulled up,,,for using derogatory language, Iliopoulos went further, condemning fellow MPs as "wretched sell-outs" and "goats".
(8) It had been a wretched semi-final until those moments when the players lined up in the centre circle for that last test of nerve and Holland should not just reflect on the inability of Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to beat the Argentina goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, but also the fact their entire team did not manage a single shot on target during the 120 minutes that preceded the shootout.
(9) The wretched miscreants that swamp Quinn, Sarkeesian and others with vile threats every time they post a video, a story or a tweet, have come to symbolise community.
(10) He is best remembered, however, for his four books: Black Skin, White Masks; Toward the African Revolution; A Dying Colonialism; and The Wretched of the Earth.
(11) He could take the most pitiful souls – his CV was populated almost exclusively by snivelling wretches, insufferable prigs, braggarts and outright bullies – and imbue each of them with a wrenching humanity.
(12) Updated at 10.18pm BST 10.15pm BST 58 min: Rather than play the ball to his team-mate Bernard, who was in a better position on the left-hand side of the penalty area, the wretched Fred shoots weakly from distance, straight at Neuer.
(13) What is clear is that 31-year-old Lynn led an "unimaginably wretched" life through illness which led her to attempt suicide, consider ending her days at Dignitas, the Swiss-based assisted suicide clinic, and sign a "living will" after saying she "feared degeneration and indignity far more than I fear death".
(14) Photograph: AAP In her famous 1913 pamphlet, Round about a pound a week , Maud Pember Reeves wrote contemptuously about “the gospel of porridge” – the idea, still common among the wealthy, that the destitute wouldn’t be so wretched if only they invested their money wisely.
(15) It’s a wretched character, and a truly hateful performance.
(16) So after six days of sustained assault by the world's fourth largest military power on one of its most wretched and overcrowded territories, at least 130 Palestinians had been killed, an estimated half of them civilians, along with five Israelis.
(17) Once again, though, wretched defending cost Celtic any chance of saving the match, let alone the tie.
(18) What does the phrase mean, apart from a wretched violation of the English language in a way that makes a good argument for corporal punishment?
(19) It's so full of the river, and the sense of the city, and a huge stretch of London society, and so grand in its vision that perhaps we forget how gloriously funny it is – the Boffins deciding to go in for history, and buying a big book ("His name is Decline-And-Fall-Off-The-Rooshan-Empire") or the captivating Lady Tippins ("You wretch!
(20) Williamson was not the only player sent off on a wretched day for the visitors, who also had Daryl Janmaat dismissed in the last minute for a second bookable offence.