larry

plural larries

1. obsoleteObsolete spelling of lorry.

   3 more examples

   In order that these very important mails might not be unnecessarily delayed, we procured an express engine, and having, as is customary in such cases, fastened those for Manchester and the North on a larry between the engine and the Post-office, they being too bulky to travel in the latter, we departed at 8.10, […] On our arrival at the next station, Crewe, we were much alarmed at the intelligence received from the engineer, that one of the bags on the larry, which proved to be the Carlisle, was on fire: […]

   1838 February 16, Fred[eric]k W. Karstadt, W. Mellush, “Minutes of Evidence”, in Report from the Select Committee on Railroad Communication; […], [London]: Ordered, by the House of Commons [of the United Kingdom], to be printed, published 28 March 1838, →OCLC, paragraph 1183, page 103

   The mixing 48-in. belts lie flat and run from the bottom of the mixer bins to two coal mixers which deliver the coal to a reversing 42-in. belt conveyor, taking it to either one of two 36-in. belts, running to the top of two larry bins. Each larry bin is located between two batteries of ovens, […] Under the larry bins are provided platform scales which enable the larry operator to fill his larry with the exact amount of coal to charge an oven.

   1916 December 7, “Youngstown’s New Coke Oven Plant”, in A. I. Findley, Geo[rge] W. Cope, W. W. Macon, editors, The Iron Age, volume 98, number 23, New York, N.Y.: David Williams Co., →OCLC, page 1271

   [page 4] [T]he larry had been filled to overflowing. When the controller was moved to the third point there was a jarring of the larry, which shook off more of the fine coal and created a dust cloud that enveloped the larry. This dust cloud was ignited by an arc at the wheels. The flame enveloped the larry and the operator, who was standing at the footboard at the controls. He received severe burns on the hands, forearms, face, and neck. […] page 5] Coal dust should be kept from tracks on which electric locomotives or slate larries travel.

   1936 July, W. J. Fene, C. W. Owings, “Cases of Explosions in Tipples and Cleaning Plants”, in Explosions of Coal Dust in Tipples and Cleaning Plants and Some Suggestions on Preventing Them (United States Bureau of Mines Information Circular; 6895), Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, →OCLC, pages 4 and 5

1. BritishdialectaluncountableA confused noise; an uproar; a hubbub.

   "That was all a part of the larry!

   1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 32

1. A diminutive of the male given name Laurence or Lawrence, popular as a male given name in the U.S. in the 1940s and the 1950s.

   No one gets named Larry anymore. It's had it as a name. Think of someone called Larry and you automatically conjure up a guy drinking beer in a sixties rec room.

   1998, Carol Shields, Larry's Party, Penguin, →ISBN, page 254

   2 more examples

   "Larry, name's Larry." I smiled, it was too ridiculous. He was worried about me calling him Lawrence instead of Larry with a rogue zombie climbing out of the dirt.

   2002, Laurell K. Hamilton, Circus of the Damned, JOVE, →ISBN, page 149

   Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger is alleging that the online encyclopedia has a left-leaning bias and “a lot of problems,” and recently released a nine-point plan to fix it.

   2025 October 3, Ray Bogan, “Wikipedia co-founder says site has liberal bias — here’s his plan to fix that”, in Straight Arrow News, archived from the original on 04 Oct 2025

1. slanglifestyleThe real-person fiction ship of Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles of the band One Direction.

   Perhaps the most striking example of this intra-fandom antagonism comes in responses to Larry shippers.

   2016, Bethan Jones, “'I Will Throw You off Your Ship and You Will Drown and Die': Death Threats, Intra-Fandom Hate, and the Performance of Fangirling”, in Lucy Bennett, Paul Booth, editors, Seeing Fans: Representations of Fandom in Media and Popular Culture, page 60

   2 more examples

   "Larry" shippers even make evidence videos on YouTube to try to prove that they are actually a couple, showing a more extreme side of shipping.

   2013, Andrea Flores, "Is Your (Relation)Ship Sailing?", TheBearCat (San Mateo High School), 1 November 2013, page 8

   Fan platforms often include some type of Larry fan fiction, fan art and detailed explanations of their fan theories.

   2014, Mary Sheehan, "One Direction: Why We Need To Pay Attention", The Edge (Elon University), Fall 2014, page 25

   Synonyms: Larry Stylinson