the.com/spare
The understudy of objects, waiting patiently for the day everything else fails.
means Kept in reserve as an extra, beyond what's currently needed, so it's ready to step in if something runs out or breaks; as a verb, to refrain from harming someone or to give up something you could keep.
from From Old English 'sparian,' to refrain from harming or to use frugally, and the related adjective 'spær,' meaning thrifty or scanty. It has Germanic cousins — German 'sparen,' to save, sits in the same family. The thread running through all its senses is restraint: holding something back, whether that's your hand, your wrath, or one extra tire in the boot.
- bowling glory
- Knock down all ten after missing once
- tire trap
- Many modern cars ship with none anymore
- old meaning
- Once meant lean or thin, as in frame
- royal title
- Heir gets the throne; spare gets a memoir
- spare ribs
- Name comes from German ribspeer, not surplus
spare tire — a wheel kept in reserve in vehicles, typically mounted on the back or trunk
spare ribs — cut of pork ribs from the rib cage, popular in barbecue and chinese cuisine
spare time — free time outside of work or obligations that people use for hobbies or rest