cleft
131gill cleft — noun one of a series of slit openings in the pharynxes of fishes and aquatic amphibians through which water passes • Syn: ↑gill slit, ↑branchial cleft • Hypernyms: ↑structure, ↑anatomical structure, ↑complex body part, ↑bodily structure, ↑ …
132in a cleft stick — phrasal : in an inextricable position : in a dilemma : in a fix I never saw his equal to put a fellow in a cleft stick Charles Lever * * * in a cleft stick (figurative) 1. In a difficult situation 2. In a dilemma • • • …
