(~s)
1.
A ~ device is a mechanical device with a handle or key that you turn several times before you use it in order to make it work.
...an old-fashioned ~ gramophone.
ADJ: ADJ n
2.
A ~ is a joke or trick in which someone deliberately tells you something untrue in order to annoy you. (BRIT INFORMAL)
At first I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a ~ by one of my mates.
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu a N