lead-works
Noun (plural in form but singular or plural in construction): - A factory or industrial establishment where lead is smelted, refined, or cast into various forms. This term refers specifically to a place where lead ore is processed or where objects made of lead are produced.
- (A factory that processed lead shut down.)
- (Employees at the lead-processing plant needed safety equipment.)
- (The community relied on the lead factory for jobs and income.)
"to work at the lead-works": to be employed in a lead-processing factory.
- His grandfather worked at the lead-works for forty years. (His grandfather had a long career at the lead smelting plant.)
"the lead-works district": the area of a town or city where a lead factory is located.
- The lead-works district was known for its polluted soil. (The neighbourhood around the lead factory had contaminated ground.)
Lead (n): a heavy, soft, bluish-grey metal.
- The pipes were made of lead. (The plumbing was constructed from this metal.)
Lead-working (n): the craft or process of shaping or casting lead.
- Lead-working requires careful handling of molten metal. (The skill of forming lead demands caution.)
Works (n): a factory or industrial plant (often used in combination, e.g., ironworks, steelworks).
- The chemical works released waste into the river. (The chemical factory discharged pollutants.)
- Lead smelter: a facility where lead ore is melted to extract the metal.
- Lead foundry: a workshop where lead is cast into moulds.
- Lead plant: a general term for an industrial site processing lead.
"to have lead in one's pencil": an informal idiom meaning to have energy or vitality (unrelated to lead-works, but includes the word "lead").
- He still has lead in his pencil after a long day. (He remains energetic.)
"to swing the lead": a British idiom meaning to avoid work or pretend to be ill (unrelated to lead-works, but includes "lead").
- She was accused of swinging the lead when she called in sick. (She was suspected of malingering.)