CHEESE

n. 1 a a food made from the pressed curds of milk. b a complete cake of this with rind. 2 a conserve having the consistency of soft cheese (lemon cheese). 3 a round flat object, e.g. the heavy flat wooden disc used in skittles. øcheese-cutter 1 a knife with a broad curved blade. 2 a device for cutting cheese by pulling a wire through it. cheese-fly (pl. -flies) a small black fly, Piophila casei, breeding in cheese. cheese-head the squat cylindrical head of a screw etc. cheese-mite any mite of the genus Tyroglyphus feeding on cheese. cheese-paring adj. stingy. --n. stinginess. cheese plant = Swiss cheese plant. cheese-skipper = cheese-fly. cheese straw a thin cheese-flavoured strip of pastry. hard cheese sl. bad luck. [OE cese etc. ult. f. L caseus]