Antonyms for chestnut

Grammar : Adj, noun

Spell : ches-nuht, -nuh t

Phonetic Transcription : ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt, -nət

Definition of chestnut

Origin : 1560s, from chesten nut (1510s), with superfluous nut (n.) + Middle English chasteine, from Old French chastain (12c., Modern French châtaigne), from Latin castanea "chestnut, chestnut tree," from Greek kastaneia, which the Greeks thought meant either "nut from Castanea" in Pontus, or "nut from Castana" in Thessaly, but probably both places are named for the trees, not the other way around, and the word is borrowed from a language of Asia Minor (cf. Armenian kask "chestnut," kaskeni "chestnut tree"). In reference to the dark reddish-brown color, 1650s. Applied to the horse-chestnut by 1832.
Slang sense of "venerable joke or story" is from 1885, explained 1888 by Joseph Jefferson (see "Lippincott's Monthly Magazine," January 1888) as probably abstracted from the 1816 melodrama "The Broken Sword" by William Dimond where an oft-repeated story involving a chestnut tree figures in an exchange between the characters "Captain Zavior" and "Pablo":
Zav. Let me see--ay! it is exactly six years since that peace being restored to Spain, and my ship paid off, my kind brother offered me a snug hammock in the dwelling of my forefathers. I mounted a mule at Barcelona and trotted away for my native mountains. At the dawn of the fourth day's journey, I entered the wood of Collares, when, suddenly, from the thick boughs of a cork-tree--Pab. [Jumping up.] A chesnut, Captain, a chesnut!Zav. Bah, you booby! I say, a cork!Pab. And I swear, a chesnut. Captain, this is the twenty-seventh time 1 have heard you relate this story, and you invariably said, a chesnut, till now.
Jefferson traced the connection through William Warren, "the veteran comedian of Boston" who often played Pablo in the melodrama.

As in bronze : adj coppery-brown color
As in brown : adj dark, burnished color
As in joke : noun fun, quip
As in auburn : noun reddish-brown color
As in platitude : noun dull, overused saying
As in red : noun color of blood; shade resembling such a color
As in banality : noun common saying
As in tale : noun made-up story
As in ha-ha : noun joke
As in cliché : noun overused, hackneyed phrase
As in commonplace : noun clichéd saying or idea
As in anecdote : noun interesting or amusing story

Example sentences :

He heard the hum and clang of an electric car off through a chestnut grove.
Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson

But Andrew, with the chestnut running like a red flash beneath him, had vanished.
Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand

I'll trade this chestnut—and he's a fine traveler—with a good price to boot.
Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand

Reginald, having finished his chestnut, squeaked for another.
Extract from : « K » by Mary Roberts Rinehart

With my tomahawk I cut a mark in that chestnut yonder and buried my weapon at the foot of it.
Extract from : « The Trail Book » by Mary Austin

Soon the Chestnut's head showed past his elbow, and they were both lapped on the Black.
Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser

Didn't beat—what the hell—didn't the Chestnut get the verdict?
Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser

An' if it wasn't fer Miss Allis it's a pity you couldn't a-sold him the Chestnut.
Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser

If you win on the Chestnut, like as not they'll just give you the winnin' mount.
Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser

"I'm afraid the Chestnut's a bad actor," Dixon said to Allis, after the race.
Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser

Synonyms for chestnut

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019