gimlet

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small hand tool with a screw-shaped point, used for boring holes in wood

   He used a gimlet to bore a neat pilot hole for the screw.

2. 2
   noun

   a cocktail made with gin or vodka and lime juice or lime cordial

   She ordered a gin gimlet with fresh lime.

From Middle English and Old French forms such as guimbelet, probably a diminutive related to wimble, 'drill.' The cocktail name may compare the drink's sharp effect to the piercing tool; a proposed link to naval surgeon Thomas Gimlette is uncertain.

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