nastines.html - adj.
Bot. (of the movement of plant parts) not determined by an external stimulus. [Gk nastos squeezed together f. nasso to press]

nastines.html - {adj.} Unkind in a polite way; disagreeable while pretending to be gracious. * /The bus driver has a nasty-nice way of showing his dislike./

nastines.html - noun
(Lifestyle and Leisure ) (People and Society) Colloquially, a horror film, especially one on video; a video film depicting scenes of violence, cruelty, or killing (known more fully as a video nasty). Etymology: A specialized use of nasty, which had existed as a noun meaning 'a nasty person or thing' since the thirties. History and Usage: The problem of nasties (the word is often used in the plural to describe the genre as a whole) was discussed a good deal in the newspapers in the early and mid eighties--at the beginning of the video rental boom in the UK--when large numbers of these films first became widely available and proved worryingly popular. In particular, there was public concern over the potential influence of the more violent nasties on the behaviour of those who watched them. Three videos, part of the current crop of 'nasties' available in thousands of High Street rental shops, have been sent to the DPP. Sunday Times 6 June 1982, p.
3 With its tougher law on videocassettes, West Germany hopes to keep its youth away from the nasties. Christian Science Monitor 3 May 1985, p.
30 See also slasher and snuff

nastines.html - adj.
Bot. (of the movement of plant parts) not determined by an external stimulus. [Gk nastos squeezed together f. nasso to press]

nastines.html - n.
1 (in general use) a trailing plant, Tropaeolum majus, with rounded edible leaves and bright orange, yellow, or red flowers.
2 any cruciferous plant of the genus Nasturtium, including watercress. [L]

nastines.html - adj.
(nastier, nastiest)
1 a highly unpleasant (a nasty experience). b annoying; objectionable (the car has a nasty habit of breaking down).
2 difficult to negotiate; dangerous, serious (a nasty fence; a nasty question; a nasty illness).
3 (of a person or animal) ill-natured, ill-tempered, spiteful; violent, offensive (nasty to his mother; turns nasty when he's drunk).
4 (of the weather) foul, wet, stormy.
5 a disgustingly dirty, filthy. b unpalatable; disagreeable (nasty smell). c (of a wound) septic.
6 a obscene. b delighting in obscenity.

a nasty bit (or piece) of work colloq. an unpleasant or contemptible person. a nasty one 1 a rebuff; a snub.
2 an awkward question.
3 a disabling blow etc.

nastily adv. nastiness n. [ME: orig. unkn.]