Sharp-cut` (?), a. Cut sharply or definitely, or so as to make a clear,
well-defined impression, as the lines of an engraved plate, and the
like; clear-cut; hence, having great distinctness; well-defined; clear.
Sharp"en (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sarpened (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Sharpening.] [See Sharp, a.] To make sharp. Specifically: (a) To give a
keen edge or fine point to; to make sharper; as, to sharpen an ax, or
the teeth of a saw. (b) To render more quick or acute in perception; to
make more ready or ingenious.
The air . . . sharpened his visual ray To objects distant far.
Milton.
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our
skill.
Burke.
(c) To make more eager; as, to sharpen men's desires.
Epicurean cooks Sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite.
Shak.
(d) To make more pungent and intense; as, to sharpen a pain or disease.
(e) To make biting, sarcastic, or severe. "Sharpen each word." E.
Smith. (f) To render more shrill or piercing.
Inclosures not only preserve sound, but increase and sharpen it.
Bacon.
(g) To make more tart or acid; to make sour; as, the rays of the sun
sharpen vinegar. (h) (Mus.) To raise, as a sound, by means of a sharp;
to apply a sharp to.
Sharp"en, v. i. To grow or become sharp.
Sharp"er (?), n. A person who bargains closely, especially, one who
cheats in bargains; a swinder; also, a cheating gamester.
Sharpers, as pikes, prey upon their own kind.
L'Estrange.
Syn. -- Swindler; cheat; deceiver; trickster; rogue. See Swindler.
Sharp"ie (?), n. (Naut.) A long, sharp, flat-bottomed boat, with one or
two masts carrying a triangular sail. They are often called Fair Haven
sharpies, after the place on the coast of Connecticut where they
originated. [Local, U.S.]