the.com/nip
a tiny bite that moonlights as both a chill and a shot of gin
means To pinch, bite, or grip something sharply and quickly — or, as a noun, a small sharp thing: a quick bite, a biting cold, or a little measure of spirits.
from From the Middle Low German or Middle Dutch family — related to words like 'nippen,' 'to pinch or sip.' English absorbed it as 'nippen' in the medieval period, and the core idea of a small, sharp seizing action branched out over centuries: a 'nip' of cold air that bites your nose, and a 'nip' of liquor (probably short for 'nipperkin,' an old word for a small drinking vessel) that bites your throat.
- gin slang
- a nip means a quick swig of liquor
- weather word
- a nip in the air signals coming cold
- dog talk
- puppies nip to test boundaries and play
- bonsai bud
- to nip means pinching back new growth
- smallest measure
- a nip equals roughly a single shot
for instance
nip the bud — common english idiom meaning to stop something early, popularized in phrases like 'nip it in the bud'