tilting

A knight practices tilting at a wooden quintain.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sloping position: "tilting" refers to the act or state of being inclined or slanted, as when an object is not level or upright.
   • A jousting contest: Historically, "tilting" describes a sport in which knights on horseback charge at each other with lances, aiming to strike the opponent.
   • A forging process: In engineering, "tilting" is a method of hammering or shaping metal using a tilt hammer or power hammer.

2. Verb (present participle of tilt):

   • To cause to slope: "tilting" means moving something so that one side is higher than the other, creating an angle.
   • To attack with a lance: In medieval contexts, "tilting" is the act of charging with a lance in a joust.
   • To forge with a hammer: In metallurgy, "tilting" refers to using a tilt hammer to shape metal.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The tilting of the table caused the cups to slide off. (The sloping position of the table.)
  • Knights competed in tilting at the medieval fair. (The jousting contest.)
  • The blacksmith used tilting to shape the iron bar. (The forging process.)

• Verb:

  • He is tilting the painting to straighten it. (Causing the painting to slope.)
  • The knight was tilting at his opponent. (Attacking with a lance in a joust.)
  • The machine is tilting the metal into a flat sheet. (Forging with a hammer.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be tilting at windmills": to fight imaginary enemies or engage in futile battles (from Cervantes' Don Quixote).

  • His campaign against the new policy is like tilting at windmills. (Fighting a pointless or illusory opponent.)

• "tilting the balance": to cause a situation to change in favor of one side.

  • The new evidence is tilting the balance in the defendant's favor. (Shifting the advantage.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tilt (noun/verb): the base word meaning a slope or the act of sloping; also a joust.

  • The tower has a noticeable tilt. (A slope or lean.)

• Tilted (adj): placed at an angle; slanted.

  • The picture frame is tilted on the wall. (Not level.)

• Tilter (n): a person who tilts, especially a jouster or a blacksmith using a tilt hammer.

  • The tilter prepared his lance for the next round. (A jouster.)

Synonyms

• Slanting: positioned at an angle, not vertical or horizontal.
• Inclining: bending or leaning toward a particular direction.
• Jousting: the specific medieval sport of combat on horseback with lances.

Phrasal Verbs

• Tilt at: to attack or challenge someone or something, often verbally.

  • The politician tilted at his rival during the debate. (Attacked or challenged.)

• Tilt over: to cause something to fall or tip sideways.

  • The strong wind tilted over the garden umbrella. (Caused to fall over.)

Related Idioms

• Tilt the scales: to influence the outcome of a situation.

  • Her donation tilted the scales in favor of the charity. (Shifted the balance.)

• Full tilt: at maximum speed or effort.

  • He ran full tilt toward the finish line. (At top speed.)