A bone of contention, a subject of contention or dispute. -- A bone to pick, something to investigate, or to busy one's self about; a dispute to be settled (with some one). -- Bone ash, the residue from calcined bones; -- used for making cupels, and for cleaning jewelry. - - Bone black (Chem.), the black, carbonaceous substance into which bones are converted by calcination in close vessels; - - called also animal charcoal. It is used as a decolorizing material in filtering sirups, extracts, etc., and as a black pigment. See Ivory black, under Black. -- Bone cave, a cave in which are found bones of extinct or recent animals, mingled sometimes with the works and bones of man. Am. Cyc. -- Bone dust, ground or pulverized bones, used as a fertilizer. -- Bone earth (Chem.), the earthy residuum after the calcination of bone, consisting chiefly of phosphate of calcium. -- Bone lace, a lace made of linen thread, so called because woven with bobbins of bone. -- Bone oil, an oil obtained by, heating bones (as in the manufacture of bone black), and remarkable for containing the nitrogenous bases, pyridine and quinoline, and their derivatives; -- also called Dippel's oil. -- Bone setter. Same as Bonesetter. See in the Vocabulary. -- Bone shark (Zoöl.), the basking shark. -- Bone spavin. See under Spavin. -- Bone turquoise, fossil bone or tooth of a delicate blue color, sometimes used as an imitation of true turquoise. -- Bone whale (Zoöl.), a right whale. - - To be upon the bones of, to attack. [Obs.] -- To make no bones, to make no scruple; not to hesitate. [Low] -- To pick a bone with, to quarrel with, as dogs quarrel over a bone; to settle a disagreement. [Colloq.]
Bone (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Boned (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Boning.] 1. To withdraw bones from the flesh of, as in cookery. "To bone a turkey." Soyer.