Sculpin
a name popularly given to unshapely and repulsive fishes of different genera. The yellow sculpin belongs to a different family from the daddy sculpin, and it again is not the same as the common grubby of the New York and the New England coasts which rivals it in ugliness. All are unshapely with very large spiny heads, wide mouths, and slender, tapering bodies. These sculpins are of a dull, mottled color and are found in coast waters, both of the Atlantic and the Pacific, being especially abundant on the western coast where they are used sometimes by the Indians for food although held in contempt by the whites. Still another sculpin is the deep-water sculpin, or sea-raven. It is particularly hideous and is distinguished by a long, irregular dorsal fin, having about seventeen spines.
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Scutari
a suburb of Constantinople.
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Scutari (Town in Albania capital)
a town in Albania, capital of the province of the same name, situated on the river Drin, where it is joined by the Boyana, and on the Lake of Scutari, a sheet of water eight miles in length and six miles broad, connected with the Adriatic by the Boyana. Scutari was attacked by the Montenegrins in the Balkan War of 1912, and was by them besieged during the entire period of the war, but was heroically defended by Essad Pasha. Pop. about 32,000.
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Scutari (Town of Asiatic Turkey)
a town of Asiatic Turkey, situated opposite Constantinople, on the banks of the Bosphorus, in Asia Minor. Its site is beautiful, and fine views of Constantinople and the surrounding scenery are obtained from the hills above. It has a palace and gardens belonging to the Sultan, a college of dervishes, a college for girls (conducted by Americans), barracks, public baths, and extensive cemeteries, used by the Turks of Constantinople, from their belief that the soil of Asia is more sacred than that of Europe. There is also a densely filled English burial ground containing Marochetti's monument in honor of 8,000 nameless British soldiers of the Crimean War (1854-1856). Scutari was the scene of Florence Nightingale's labors during this war. It carries on a considerable trade, being a rendezvous for the caravans which come from the interior of Asia. Pop. about 100,000.
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Scutching
in the manufacture of textiles, a name given to certain processes applied to raw fiber preparatory to carding. The scutching of flax separates the fibers from the woody particles adhering to them. The process is performed by means of a simple machine which beats off the woody particles. The scutching of cotton separates the fibers after they are opened up, cleanses them from fine foreign litter, and spreads them in a wide lap ready for carding. The scutching of silk disentangles and straightens refuse silk preparatory to carding.
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Scylla
and CHARYBDIS (kar-ib' dis), the former a famous promontory and town of southern Italy, at the entrance to the narrow strait separating Pacific (from Arctic Circle to 40° Italy from Sicily. The promontory is 200 feet high, projecting into the sea, and at its base is the town. The navigation at this place was looked upon by the ancients as attended with immense danger. At the present day the risk is not more than attends the doubling of an ordinary cape. Charybdis (modern name Galofaro) is a celebrated whirlpool in the Straits of Messina, nearly opposite the entrance to the harbor Messina in Sicily, and in ancient writings always mentioned in conjunction with Scylla. The navigation of this whirlpool is, even at the present day, considered to be very dangerous.
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Scylla (Classical mythology a daughter)
in classical mythology, a daughter of Nisus, King of Megara. When Minos came from Crete to take vengeance for the death of his son, Androgeos, his efforts to take the city were fruitless as long as the purple lock on the head of Nisus remained unshorn. Urged by her love for Minos, Scylla cut off the fatal lock, and with it destroyed the life of her father and the safety of the city. According to one version Minos tied Scylla to the stern of his ship and drowned her; but another tale says that she was changed into a fish, which Nisus, transformed into an eagle, constantly pursued. The myth was localized in the names of the port of Nicea and the promontory Scyllæum. The "Odyssey" (xii. 73) speaks of another Scylla, a daughter of Cratæis, as a monster with 12 feet, six necks, and six mouths, each containing three rows of teeth. This being haunted a rock on the Italian coast; a neighboring rock being tenanted by Charybdis, who thrice every day swallowed the waters of the sea, and thrice threw them up again. Like Medusa, Scylla is represented in some legends as having been beautiful, and as having been changed into a monster through the jealousy of Circe or Amphitrite.
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Scylla and Charybdis
sil's and ka-rib'-dis, a promontory and whirlpool on opposite sides of the Strait of Messina, Italy. Scylla is a rocky promontory at the western extremity, toe, of the mainland. According to legend, it was the haunt of a monster of that name having twelve feet and six long necks and mouths, each mouth armed with three rows of sharp teeth. It barked like a dog. In reality, the promontory, while formidable, no doubt, to the ships of the ancients in time of storm, presents no unusual obstacle to the passage of modern ships. Charybdis is a dangerous whirlpool at the opposite side of the strait, off the coast of Sicily. It is a rapid eddy of dark waters caused by conflicting tides. Even to this day sailors aim to keep out of it. In mythology, it was represented as the home of a monster with upper parts like those of a woman and lower parts like those of a fish or serpent. The whirlpool is situated outside the harbor of Messina, not directly opposite the promontory. In the Homeric legends, the monsters are represented as situated so near together that unlucky sailors, aiming to keep out of reach of the horrid mouths of Scylla, were engulfed in the dark depths of Charybdis. "Between Scylla and Charybdis" is a traditional expression for a situation with implied danger on either hand.
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