break v
   1 To cause water to churn or tumble; of a rock, to emerge through turbulent water.
   1975 BUTLER 37 And this sunker now would break with the three big seas. When the big one would come, the last one, he'd always go in over the sunker. 1975 GUY 140-1 The water fell lower than it did at any other time, the beaches became twice as broad and rocks away out were breaking water.
   2 Phr break the beam: in weighing dried and salted cod-fish for export, to assign more to the quantity placed on the scales than the strict weight requirement in order to make up for inadequacy of the scales or loss of weight in shipment.
   P 169-80 In this fish store we are required to break the beam when packing fish for shipment.
   break the bottom: to form the sort of waves induced by shallow water; of waves, to react as if the bottom were close to the surface.
   1975 BUTLER 38 Sunkers was breakin' and 'twas foldin' right in the cliff and goin' up in the cliff. But I knew they wasn't breakin' the bottom because ... I knew how much water was there. Ibid 39 'Twas just the same as you'll see pictures of it comin' down over a overfall—that's what it looked like, breakin' from side to side, that's what you'd think to look at the foam, see, but 'twasn't breakin' the bottom.
   break dead amain: of a fishing ground, to be very rough.
   P 187-73 Fishermen say 'it's breaking dead amain' when a big sea is causing the fishing ground to break.
   break the hoop: in coopering, to bend a birch hoop into circular form.
   P 127-78 The wooden hoops used around casks overlapped about ten to eighteen inches. Quiling refers to a specific procedure whereby hoops which have gone through a bending procedure called breaking the hoop, on the bending horse, are quiled on a ringer . The newly cut, split and bent birch is quiled inside pegs where it assumes a circular shape.
   break one's path: to walk by another route to avoid meeting someone approaching.
   C 66-13 'I was never one to break my path for anyone.'To break one's path means to attempt to avoid meeting another person by taking a different route.
   break the price: to determine the price paid for fish, etc, during a given season.
   [1806] 1954 INNIS 306 A custom prevails at St John's for the merchants to meet together and settle the price of fish and oil, which is termed 'breaking the price.' This is done about the beginning of August after having received advices from Europe and ascertained the state of the market.

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