Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The swell or crest of surface ocean water created by the tides.
- n. An unusual, often destructive rise of water along the seashore, as from a storm or a combination of wind and high tide.
- n. A tsunami.
- n. An overwhelming manifestation; a flood: a tidal wave of illicit drugs; an emotional tidal wave.
Wiktionary
- n. A large and sudden rise and fall in the tide.
- n. A large, sudden, and disastrous wave of water caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean; a tsunami. (See Usage notes below.)
- n. A sudden and powerful surge.
- n. A crest of ocean water; a wave.
- n. A crest of ocean water resulting from tidal forces.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. A vast, swift wave caused by an earthquake or some extraordinary combination of natural causes. It rises far above high-water mark and is often very destructive upon low-lying coasts.
- n. an unusually high wave from the sea, sometimes reaching far inland and causing great destruction, and usually caused by some event, such as an earthquake, far from the shore. In Japan, such a wave is called a
tsunami . - n. an unusually large quantity of items or events requiring attention and causing strain on the capacity to handle them.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a wave resulting from the periodic flow of the tides that is caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun
- n. an unusual (and often destructive) rise of water along the seashore caused by a storm or a combination of wind and high tide
- n. an overwhelming manifestation of some emotion or phenomenon
Examples
“Despite the tidal wave of trouble Sharron had coming, Ax couldn't help envying her a little.”
“Dortmunder went to bed early and lay awake awhile, thinking about water: dirty dark water all around his own personal head, or billions of gallons of water crashing in a tidal wave into Dudson Falls and Dudson Center and East Dudson.”
Drowned Hopes
“Poseidon also, in his anger at the Kretans, who were charged with appeasing the Minotaur, sent a tidal wave across the Great Green, destroying the olive orchards and the wine harvests of Kretos, laying salt upon the earth to prevent any new growth.”
Lord of the Silver Bow
“The oath resembled a wavelet far out to sea; a few took it at once, and having taken it, persuaded others to do so, until it became a tidal wave of swearing.”
“The lake was hold-your-breath still, but I swore I could still hear Dad's howl of delight as he cannonballed off the dock, his knees pressed tightly against his chest, his smile just south of sane, the upcoming splash a virtual tidal wave in the eyes of his only son.”
Tell No One
“The tidal wave created by Krakatoa destroyed 40,000 people, and the air wave from the concussion pulsated three times round the world.”
“I race inside and tear my pants down as a tidal wave of water rushes out of me in loud, gushing gasps and wallops that sound like a car crash.”
“The more Dunross thought about this new ploy the more excited he became, certain now that this information and proof positive in the right Peking hands would cause a tidal wave in Soviet-Chinese relations.”
Noble House
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tidal wave’.
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Waves and Waveforms
wave, brainwave, soliton, traveling wave, tidal wave, transverse wave, capillary wave, cats' paws, alpha wave, light wave, microwave, acoustic wave and 293 more...
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Costa Vida
The Costal Life
surf, carve, tubular, rip curl, curl, froth, floater, tweak, wafting, off the wall, pocket, rad and 39 more...
leaden
(Edit: It appears deinonychus beat me to the punch.) Feb 4, 2012
Prolagus I wouldn't dare.
|. | .| Apr 4, 2008
reesetee Of course, bilby! Didn't you know that we were planning to take over the universe? ;-)
And Prolagus, are you trying to drag us back into the Great Nipple Debate? Apr 4, 2008
Prolagus Male's hairy nipples
Are like tidal waves of cheese... Apr 4, 2008
bilby And my Google search shows at number 1:
"Wordie
a tidal wave of cheese?" more... about 5 hours ago, on bugs, chained_bear said:. "*liking the idea of oroboros wielding pruning shears on Wordie*" more. ...
wordie.org/comments - 41k - Cached - Similar pages"
We're good. Very good. Apr 4, 2008
chained_bear Maybe I hang with anal-retentive idiots, but we were getting all correct about it well before 2004. *wonders about her friends* Apr 3, 2008
yarb Tidal wave of cheese.
n.b. I realise the term is a misnomer (although that doesn't invalidate it for me). I just thought it was interesting that after the big one in '04, everyone suddenly got all correct about it. As if the misnomer became somehow disrespectful. Apr 3, 2008
sionnach oh dear. I'm losing it. Guilty of having inflicted the mammoth cheese ode not once, but twice, on Wordie members.
But, you know, it does have a certain irresistible quality to its sheer awfulness. I've always felt that McIntyre beats out McGonagall in the world's worst poetry sweepstakes. Though it's a close call. Apr 3, 2008
mollusque There's more McIntyre poetry at cheese. Apr 3, 2008
chained_bear Wow. *wipes tear* That's beautiful, sionnach. *is now hungry* Apr 3, 2008
reesetee I'm glad someone else pointed that out, chained_bear. ;-) Apr 3, 2008
sionnach That sure sounds like an invitation to include some fine dairy poetry from James McIntyre, Canada's famed Chaucer of cheese:
Ode on the Mammoth Cheese
(Weight over seven thousand pounds).
We have seen thee, queen of cheese,
Lying quietly at your ease,
Gently fanned by evening breeze,
Thy fair form no flies dare seize.
All gaily dressed soon you'll go
To the great Provincial show,
To be admired by many a beau
In the city of Toronto.
Cows numerous as a swarm of bees,
Or as the leaves upon the trees,
It did require to make thee please.
And stand unrivalled, queen of cheese.
May you not receive a scar as
We have heard that Mr. Harris
Intends to to send you off as far as
The great world's show at Paris.
Of the youth beware of these,
For some of them might rudely squeeze
And bite your cheek, then songs or glees
We could not sing, oh! queen of cheese.
We'rt thou suspended from balloon,
You'd cast a shade even at noon,
Folks would think it was the moon
About to fall and crush them soon. Apr 3, 2008
chained_bear ... a tidal wave of cheese? Apr 3, 2008
jennarenn Well, tsunamis have nothing to do with tides. The term was a misnomer from the start. Apr 3, 2008
yarb Has anyone else noticed that since Dec 26, 2004, tsunami has almost wholely usurped tidal wave, the latter now existing only in the metaphorical sense - a tidal wave of immigrants, a tidal wave of information, a tidal wave of money, praise, cheese? Apr 2, 2008