Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Neck \Neck\, n. [OE. necke, AS. hnecca; akin to D. nek the nape
   of the neck, G. nacken, OHG. nacch, hnacch, Icel. hnakki, Sw.
   nacke, Dan. nakke.]
   1. The part of an animal which connects the head and the
      trunk, and which, in man and many other animals, is more
      slender than the trunk.

   2. Any part of an inanimate object corresponding to or
      resembling the neck of an animal; as:
      (a) The long slender part of a vessel, as a retort, or of
          a fruit, as a gourd.
      (b) A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main
          body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts.
      (c) (Mus.) That part of a violin, guitar, or similar
          instrument, which extends from the head to the body,
          and on which is the finger board or fret board.

   3. (Mech.) A reduction in size near the end of an object,
      formed by a groove around it; as, a neck forming the
      journal of a shaft.

   4. (Bot.) the point where the base of the stem of a plant
      arises from the root.

   {Neck and crop}, completely; wholly; altogether; roughly and
      at once. [Colloq.]

   {Neck and neck} (Racing), so nearly equal that one cannot be
      said to be before the other; very close; even; side by
      side.

   {Neck of a capital}. (Arch.) See {Gorgerin}.

   {Neck of a cascabel} (Gun.), the part joining the knob to the
      base of the breech.

   {Neck of a gun}, the small part of the piece between the
      chase and the swell of the muzzle.

   {Neck of a tooth} (Anat.), the constriction between the root
      and the crown.

   {Neck or nothing} (Fig.), at all risks.

   {Neck verse}.
      (a) The verse formerly read to entitle a party to the
          benefit of clergy, said to be the first verse of the
          fifty-first Psalm, ``Miserere mei,'' etc. --Sir W.
          Scott.
      (b) Hence, a verse or saying, the utterance of which
          decides one's fate; a shibboleth.

                These words, ``bread and cheese,'' were their
                neck verse or shibboleth to distinguish them;
                all pronouncing ``broad and cause,'' being
                presently put to death.           --Fuller.

   {Neck yoke}.
      (a) A bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or
          carriage is suspended from the collars of the
          harnesses.
      (b) A device with projecting arms for carrying things (as
          buckets of water or sap) suspended from one's
          shoulders.

   {On the neck of}, immediately after; following closely.
      ``Commiting one sin on the neck of another.'' --W.
      Perkins.

   {Stiff neck}, obstinacy in evil or wrong; inflexible
      obstinacy; contumacy. ``I know thy rebellion, and thy
      stiff neck.'' --Deut. xxxi. 27.

   {To break the neck of}, to destroy the main force of. ``What
      they presume to borrow from her sage and virtuous rules .
      . . breaks the neck of their own cause.'' --Milton.

Stiff \Stiff\, a. [Compar. {Stiffer}; superl. {Stiffest}.] [OE.
   stif, AS. st[=i]f; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw.
   styf, Icel. st[=i]fr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes
   a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf.
   {Costive}, {Stifle}, {Stipulate}, {Stive} to stuff.]
   1. Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or
      flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints.

            [They] rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid
            a["e]rial sky.                        --Milton.

   2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated;
      neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.

   3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff
      gale or breeze.

   4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate;
      pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.

            It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument.
                                                  --Jer. Taylor.

            A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to
            defend their hospitable laws.         --Dryden.

   5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected;
      starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.

            The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the
            Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved.
                                                  --Addison.

   6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or
      Colloq.] ``This is stiff news.'' --Shak.

   7. (Naut.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much;
      as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to {crank}. --Totten.

   8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff
      charge; a stiff price. [Slang]

   {Stiff neck}, a condition of the neck such that the head can
      not be moved without difficulty and pain.

   Syn: Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate;
        pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected;
        starched; rigorous.