Overthrow vs Slay - What's the difference?
overthrow | slay | Related terms |
To throw down to the ground, to overturn.
* 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , John II:
* Jeremy Taylor
To bring about the downfall of (a government, etc.), especially by force.
* Dryden
* Shakespeare
A removal, especially of a ruler or government, by force or threat of force.
*
(intransitive) To throw (something) so that it goes too far.
(sports) A throw that goes too far.
(cricket) A run scored by the batting side when a fielder throws the ball back to the infield, whence it continues to the opposite outfield.
To kill, murder.
(literary) To eradicate or stamp out.
(by extension, colloquial) To defeat, overcome.
* 1956', “Giants '''Slay Bears in Pro Title Battle”, in ''Lodi News-Sentinel , 1956 December 31,
* 1985', “Redskins '''slay Giants; Thiesmann shatters leg”, in ''The Gadsden Times , 1985 November 19,
* 1993 , Jack Curry, “
(slang) To delight or overwhelm, especially with laughter.
Overthrow is a related term of slay.
As verbs the difference between overthrow and slay
is that overthrow is to throw down to the ground, to overturn or overthrow can be (intransitive) to throw (something) so that it goes too far while slay is to kill, murder.As a noun overthrow
is a removal, especially of a ruler or government, by force or threat of force or overthrow can be (sports) a throw that goes too far.overthrow
English
Etymology 1
From .Verb
- And he made a scourge of smale cordes, and drave them all out off the temple, bothe shepe and oxen, and powred doune the changers money, and overthrue their tables.
- His wife overthrew the table.
- I hate the current government, but not enough to want to overthrow them.
- When the walls of Thebes he overthrew .
- [Gloucester] that seeks to overthrow religion.
Derived terms
* overthrowalNoun
(en noun)- What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race!
Hypernyms
* (removal by force) downfallCoordinate terms
* (removal by force) collapseEtymology 2
Verb
Noun
(en noun)- He overthrew first base, for an error.
Quotations
* * (seeCites)slay
English
Verb
- The knight slew the dragon.
- Our foes must all be slain .
- You must slay these thoughts.
page 8.
page D1-5.
Yanks’ Bullpen Falls Short Again”, in The New York Times , 1993 April 21:
- The Yankees were actually slayed by two former Yankees because Rich Gossage pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Eckersley to notch his first victory.
- Ha ha! You slay me!
Usage notes
* The alternative past tense and past participle form "slayed" is most strongly associated with the slang sense, "to delight or overwhelm": *: {{quote-book, i2=*::, 1929, Harry Charles Witwer, Yes Man's Landcitation, passage="Cutey, you slayed me !" grins Jackie, working fast. "I guess that's what made the rest of 'em look so bad — you was so good!"}} * In recent use, "slayed" is also often found associated with the other senses as well. However, this is widely considered nonstandard."But slayed cannot be considered established in such use. Whether it eventually becomes established remains to be seen." — '>citation * A review of US usage 2000-2009 in COCA suggests that "slayed" is increasing in popularity, but remains less common than "slew". It is very rare in UK usage (BNC).