"massage" - Word of the Day from the OED

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massage, v.

DRAFT REVISION June 2010

Brit. /mas(d)/, U.S. /ms(d)/  [< MASSAGE n.²
  For the pronunciation, see note s.v. MASSAGE n.²] 

    1. trans.

    a. To apply massage to (a person or a part of the body); to treat by means of or in the manner of massage.

1887 H. TIBBITS Massage 14 In Massaging joints. 1889 Lancet 2 Mar. 423/1 Although abdominal massage will effect a great deal of good, it will not be productive of lasting benefit if we omit to massage the spine. 1921 Amer. Woman Jan. 16/2 To keep the mouth young, massage with the little fingers the lines of petulance from nostril to lips. 1955 J. D. SALINGER in New Yorker 29 Jan. 27/1 He began to massage the side of his face.., removing..a bit of sleep from one eye. 1981 I. MCEWAN Comfort of Strangers viii. 95 As he spoke Mary massaged his back.., working the small, firm muscles with convergent movements of her thumbs. 1997 B. ROWLANDS Which? Guide to Complementary Med. 234 Back rolls, for example, stretch the lower back and massage the spine.

    b. To apply (oil, lotion, etc.) by means of massage; to restore (warmth or sensation) by rubbing. Usu. with into.

1966 J. S. COX Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing 49/2 Dry shampoo,..a shampoo in powder form which is applied to the head as a powder, massaged in and then brushed out. 1979 J. RABAN Arabia through Looking Glass iv. 144 German businessmen and their wives were massaging suntan lotion into each other's brown backs. 1982 L. CODY Bad Company xiii. 96 She massaged some warmth into her cramped fingers. 1996 D. W. BROWN Teach yourself Aromatherapy xii. 175 The oils may be massaged into the back with the mother in a side-lying position.

    2. trans. In extended use.

    a. To manipulate so as to achieve a desired effect (lit. and fig.); to flatter, gratify, indulge.

1924 R. HICHENS After Verdict III. §1. 314 Arabs were washing sacks below the dam and massaging them with persistently stamping bare brown feet. 1936 F. CLUNE Roaming round Darling viii. 68 In the outer courtyard were several straw-hatted inmates in cover-alls massaging the lawns. 1979 Atlantic Monthly June 38/1 I'll go to a clothing store where I know the owner, where they massage me, instead of saving a hundred dollars a suit by shopping the manufacturers' factories. 1986 T. MCGUANE To skin Cat (1989) 123, I see you massaging the fellow's ego, forming a bond. It's shitwork. 1993 Money Apr. 71/1 (advt.) Our Passat GLX is built to massage roads, not egos.

    b. To manipulate (data, figures, etc., or their presentation), esp. in order to give a more acceptable result. Cf. DOCTOR v. 3.

1969 Business Week 10 May 142/2 Buying..a record of the day's trading activity and having it massaged through their computer programs at night. 1974 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 23 Sept. 7/5 The Japanese government's efforts to massage the press coverage of the visit have been substantial. 1990 Business Apr. 59/1 Numbers can be massaged by putting them in different places in the accounts..but it is difficult to manipulate them over several years.

    3. trans. U.S. slang. To assault (a person) with repeated blows; to kill.

1927 J. W. THOMASON Red Pants iv. 111 One guy was all set to massage your dome wit' a table leg. 1937 in J. E. Lighter Hist. Dict. Amer. Slang (1997) II. 521/2 The thugs have been caught and massaged with rubber hoses in the back room of some station house. 1971 D. PENDLETON Executioner: Vegas Vendetta (1972) 60 These two imaginary torpedoes cruise around wearing brass knuckles and massaging heads with blackjacks. 1983 Maledicta 1982 6 258 The Vietnam War seems to have spawned a large number of euphemisms for death and killing. Among these were..to light up, massage, [etc.].

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    DERIVATIVES

    massaging adj. and n.

1924 G. J. NATHAN in Amer. Mercury Nov. 377/2 How many yokel-*massaging final curtains have descended upon that banality! 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 30 Apr. 340/2 ‘Shellacking’, ‘massaging’.., euphemisms which cover the long ordeal of beating, pounding..by which the detective learns the truth. 1973 N.Y. Times 22 Sept. 39/6 The massaging device for which he was granted a patent..is the answer to the chubby woman's prayer. 1996 R. DREWE Drowner (1998) 68 She likes to add musk drops to her massaging oil.

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