Sop

Last night, I found this small word with many big meanings in Richard Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion.

sop (sop) [Italian, from sopra, above, from Latin supra.]

n.

1. a piece of solid food, as bread, for dipping in liquid food.
2. anything thoroughly soaked.
3. something given to pacify or quiet, or as a bribe: The political boss gave him some cash as a sop.
4. a weak-willed or spineless person; milksop. -verb (used with object)
5. to dip or soak in liquid food: to sop bread in gravy.
6. to drench.
7. to take up (liquid) by absorption (usually followed by up): He used bread to sop up the gravy. -verb (used without object)
8. to be or become soaking wet.
9. (of a liquid) to soak (usually fol. by in).

Usage: I suspect that both astronomers were, yet again, bending over backwards to be polite; theologians have nothing worthwhile to say about anything else; let's throw them a sop and let them worry away at a couple of questions that no body can answer and maybe never will.

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