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sconce
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As a noun, sconce means a fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb. As a verb, it means during a meal or as part of a drinking game, to announce some (usually outrageous) deed such that anyone who has done it must drink.
Meanings of sconce
16 meaningsnoun
A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
A candlestick (holder for a candle, especially a circular tube, with a brim, into which a candle is inserted), either with a handle for carrying, or with a bracket for attaching to a wall.
A head or a skull.
A poll tax; a mulct or fine.
oxon slangAn act of sconcing; very similar to a fine at Cambridge University, though a sconce is the act of issuing a penalty rather than the penalty itself.
A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.
architectureA squinch.
A fragment of a floe of ice.
A fixed seat or shelf.
A shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather
A candle or flaming torch secured in a sconce
A decorative wall bracket for holding candles or other sources of light
Older and rare meanings (1)
obsoleteA hut for protection and shelter; a stall.
verb
oxon slangDuring a meal or as part of a drinking game, to announce some (usually outrageous) deed such that anyone who has done it must drink; similar to I have never; commonly associated with crewdates; very similar to fining at Cambridge University.
“I sconce anyone who has ever…”
Older and rare meanings (2)
obsoleteTo impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct.
obsoleteTo shut within a sconce; to imprison.
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).