Blind a.
 1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect or by deprivation; without sight.
 He that is strucken blind can not forget
 The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.   --Shak.
 2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge; as, authors are blind to their own defects.
 But hard be hardened, blind be blinded more,
 That they may stumble on, and deeper fall.   --Milton.
 3. Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate.
    This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation.   --Jay.
 4. Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to a person who is blind; not well marked or easily discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed; as, a blind path; a blind ditch.
 5. Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced.
    The blind mazes of this tangled wood.   --Milton.
 6. Having no openings for light or passage; as, a blind wall; open only at one end; as, a blind alley; a blind gut.
 7. Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible; as, a blind passage in a book; illegible; as, blind writing.
 8. Hort. Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as, blind buds; blind flowers.
 Blind alley, an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac.
 Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. --Knight.
 Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night.
 Blind cat Zool., a species of catfish (Gronias nigrolabris), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania.
 Blind coal, coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal. --Simmonds.
 Blind door, Blind window, an imitation of a door or window, without an opening for passage or light. See Blank door or Blank window, under Blank, a.
 Blind level Mining, a level or drainage gallery which has a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted siphon. --Knight.
 Blind nettle Bot., dead nettle. See Dead nettle, under Dead.
 Blind shell Gunnery, a shell containing no charge, or one that does not explode.
 Blind side, the side which is most easily assailed; a weak or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or disposed to see danger. --Swift.
 Blind snake Zool., a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of the family Typhlopidæ, with rudimentary eyes.
 Blind spot Anat., the point in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to light.
 Blind tooling, in bookbinding and leather work, the indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; -- called also blank tooling, and blind blocking.
 Blind wall, a wall without an opening; a blank wall.


 cat n.
 1. Zool. Any animal belonging to the natural family Felidae, and in particular to the various species of the genera Felis, Panthera, and Lynx.  The domestic cat is Felis domestica.  The European wild cat (Felis catus) is much larger than the domestic cat.  In the United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to the bay lynx (Lynx rufus).  The larger felines, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, and cougar, are often referred to as cats, and sometimes as big cats.  See Wild cat, and Tiger cat.
 Note: ☞ The domestic cat includes many varieties named from their place of origin or from some peculiarity; as, the Angora cat; the Maltese cat; the Manx cat; the Siamese cat.
 Note: The word cat is also used to designate other animals, from some fancied resemblance; as, civet cat, fisher cat, catbird, catfish shark, sea cat.
 2. Naut. (a) A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and deep waist.  It is employed in the coal and timber trade. (b) A strong tackle used to draw an anchor up to the cathead of a ship.
 3. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.
 4. An old game; specifically: (a) The game of tipcat and the implement with which it is played. See Tipcat. (b) A game of ball, called, according to the number of batters, one old cat, two old cat, etc.
 5. same as cat o' nine tails; as, British sailors feared the cat.
 Angora cat, blind cat, See under Angora, Blind.
 Black cat the fisher. See under Black.
 Cat and dog, like a cat and dog; quarrelsome; inharmonious.  “I am sure we have lived a cat and dog life of it.” --Coleridge.
 Cat block Naut., a heavy iron-strapped block with a large hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to the cathead.
 Cat hook Naut., a strong hook attached to a cat block.
 Cat nap, a very short sleep. [Colloq.]
 Cat o' nine tails, an instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle; -- formerly used to flog offenders on the bare back.
 Cat's cradle, game played, esp. by children, with a string looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle.  The string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of another, at each transfer with a change of form. See Cratch, Cratch cradle.
 To bell the cat, to perform a very dangerous or very difficult task; -- taken metaphorically from a fable about a mouse who proposes to put a bell on a cat, so as to be able to hear the cat coming.
 To let the cat out of the bag, to tell a secret, carelessly or willfully. [Colloq.]
 Bush cat, the serval. See Serval.

 ◄ ►