PLUCK. Courage. He wants pluck: he is a coward.
Against the pluck; against the inclination. Pluck the
Ribbon; ring the bell. To pluck a crow with one; to
settle a dispute, to reprove one for some past transgression.
To pluck a rose; an expression said to be used by women
for going to the necessary house, which in the country usually
stands in the garden. To pluck also signifies to deny a
degree to a candidate at one of the universities, on account
of insufficiency. The three first books of Euclid, and as
far as Quadratic Equations in Algebra, will save a man
from being plucked. These unfortunate fellows are designated by
many opprobrious appellations, such as the twelve
apostles, the legion of honor, wise men of the East, &c.