bisque

plural bisques · alternative archaic bisk

1. countableuncountableA thick creamy soup made from fish, shellfish, meat or vegetables.

   lobster bisque

2. countableuncountableA pale pinkish brown colour.
3. countableuncountableceramicsA form of unglazed earthenware; biscuit.

alternative archaic bisk

1. not comparableOf a pale pinkish brown colour.

present singular third person bisques · participle present bisquing · participle past bisqued · past bisqued · alternative archaic bisk

1. transitiveTo prepare ceramics in the bisque style.

   I use an electric kiln strictly for bisquing my pots.

   2018, Melissa Weiss, Handbuilt, A Potter's Guide, page 147

plural bisques · alternative bisk

1. hobbiesAn extra turn, free point or some other advantage allowed.

   Going round with Angus McTavish carrying your bag, she mused, was equivalent to about four bisques to the opposition. Angus McTavish was the sort of man who, just by going about looking like a frozen asset, takes all the edge and zip out of a girl's game.

   1937 March 19, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, Lord Emsworth and Others, London: Herbert Jenkins, OCLC 851336728; republished Woodstock, N.Y.: The Overlook Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-58567-277-6, pages 137–138

   1. hobbiesA free turn in a handicap croquet match.
   2. hobbiesA free point in a handicap real tennis match.
2. Exemption from work or other duty on a particular day.
   1. Britishhistoricalchiefly BBCA day's leave an employee may take without warning or reason and not be counted as annual leave.
   2. BritishBritish parliamentPermission for an MP to be absent from a vote, granted by the whips when the absence is not likely to affect the outcome.