eavesdrop v

eavesdrop v
A man who despised his city's Building Department decided to re-roof his house. He knew he was supposed to get a building permit to do this, but didn't out of spite. He had completed most of his illegal repairs and was preparing to eliminate the sag in the eaves at the end of the house. As the man struggled to eliminate the sag in the eaves, some rotted wood gave way underneath him. He fell right through the hole in the roof, but managed to grab the edge of the eaves as he fell, catching himself. Unfortunately, the sudden weight of the falling man caused the edge of the roof to completely tear loose from the rest of the house, resulting in the man falling twenty feet to the ground and getting pummelled with debris from the collapsed eaves. A neighbor happened to witness this and hurried over to check on the man. He was alive, but badly hurt. The paramedics were called and he was taken to the hospital in agony. The man's injuries were serious enough hat he spent six weeks in the hospital recovering. On his last day in the hospital, the police arrived and announced that he was under arrest for his activities six weeks earlier. "What!?" exclaimed the man. "You're going to arrest me for falling off my own roof?" "Oh no," replied the policeman. "We're arresting you for tearing off the edge of your roof without a permit. That's a clear case of illegal eavesdropping."

English expressions. 2014.

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  • eavesdrop — eaves·drop vi eaves·dropped, eaves·drop·ping: to listen secretly to what is being said in private without the consent of the speaker compare bug, wiretap eaves·drop·per n Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster …   Law dictionary

  • Eavesdrop — Eaves drop ([=e]vz dr[o^]p ), v. i. [Eaves + drop.] To stand under the eaves, near a window or at the door, of a house, to listen and learn what is said within doors; hence, to listen secretly to what is said in private. [1913 Webster] To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • eavesdrop — ► VERB (eavesdropped, eavesdropping) ▪ secretly listen to a conversation. DERIVATIVES eavesdropper noun. ORIGIN from obsolete eavesdrop «the ground on to which water drips from the eaves» …   English terms dictionary

  • eavesdrop — [ēvz′dräp΄] n. [ME evesdrop, altered (after drop, DROP) < OE yfesdrype: see EAVES & DRIP] Rare water that drips from the eaves, or the ground on which it drips vi. eavesdropped, eavesdropping [prob. back form. < eavesdropper, lit., one who… …   English World dictionary

  • Eavesdrop — Eaves drop , n. The water which falls in drops from the eaves of a house. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • eavesdrop — c.1600, probably a back formation from EAVESDROPPER (Cf. eavesdropper). Related: Eavesdropping …   Etymology dictionary

  • eavesdrop — [v] listen without permission be all ears*, bend an ear*, bug, ears into*, listen in, monitor, overhear, pry, snoop, spy, tap, tune in on*, wire, wiretap; concepts 188,596 Ant. ignore …   New thesaurus

  • Eavesdrop — To eavesdrop, used as a verb, refers to eavesdropping, the act of surreptitiously listening to a private conversation.As a noun, in Architecture, it can refer to: * Eavesdrop or eavesdrip, the width of ground around a house or building which… …   Wikipedia

  • eavesdrop — v. (D; intr.) to eavesdrop on (to eavesdrop on a conversation) * * * [ iːvzdrɒp] (D; intr.) to eavesdrop on (to eavesdrop on a conversation) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • eavesdrop — eavesdropper, n. /eevz drop /, v., eavesdropped, eavesdropping, n. v.i. 1. to listen secretly to a private conversation. v.t. 2. Archaic. to eavesdrop on. n. Also, eavesdrip /eevz drip /. 3. water that drips from the eaves. 4. the ground on which …   Universalium

  • eavesdrop — UK [ˈiːvzˌdrɒp] / US [ˈɪvzˌdrɑp] verb [intransitive] Word forms eavesdrop : present tense I/you/we/they eavesdrop he/she/it eavesdrops present participle eavesdropping past tense eavesdropped past participle eavesdropped to listen to other people …   English dictionary

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