Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Twist \Twist\, n.
   1. The act of twisting; a contortion; a flexure; a
      convolution; a bending.

            Not the least turn or twist in the fibers of any one
            animal which does not render them more proper for
            that particular animal's way of life than any other
            cast or texture.                      --Addison.

   2. The form given in twisting.

            [He] shrunk at first sight of it; he found fault
            with the length, the thickness, and the twist.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.

   3. That which is formed by twisting, convoluting, or uniting
      parts. Specifically:
      (a) A cord, thread, or anything flexible, formed by
          winding strands or separate things round each other.
      (b) A kind of closely twisted, strong sewing silk, used by
          tailors, saddlers, and the like.
      (c) A kind of cotton yarn, of several varieties.
      (d) A roll of twisted dough, baked.
      (e) A little twisted roll of tobacco.
      (f) (Weaving) One of the threads of a warp, -- usually
          more tightly twisted than the filling.
      (g) (Firearms) A material for gun barrels, consisting of
          iron and steel twisted and welded together; as,
          Damascus twist.
      (h) (Firearms & Ord.) The spiral course of the rifling of
          a gun barrel or a cannon.
      (i) A beverage made of brandy and gin. [Slang]

   4. [OE.; -- so called as being a two-forked branch. See
      {Twist}, v. t.] A twig. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Fairfax.

   {Gain twist}, or {Gaining twist} (Firearms), twist of which
      the pitch is less, and the inclination greater, at the
      muzzle than at the breech.

   {Twist drill}, a drill the body of which is twisted like that
      of an auger. See Illust. of {Drill}.

   {Uniform twist} (Firearms), a twist of which the spiral
      course has an equal pitch throughout.

Gain \Gain\, v. i.
   To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to
   grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to
   make progress; as, the sick man gains daily.

         Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by
         extortion.                               --Ezek. xxii.
                                                  12.

   {Gaining twist}, in rifled firearms, a twist of the grooves,
      which increases regularly from the breech to the muzzle.

   {To gain on} or {upon}.
   (a) To encroach on; as, the ocean gains on the land.
   (b) To obtain influence with.
   (c) To win ground upon; to move faster than, as in a race or
       contest.
   (d) To get the better of; to have the advantage of.

             The English have not only gained upon the Venetians
             in the Levant, but have their cloth in Venice
             itself.                              --Addison.

             My good behavior had so far gained on the emperor,
             that I began to conceive hopes of liberty. --Swift.