X'mas tree

Noun

Christmas tree (plural Christmas trees)

1. An evergreen tree (usually a conifer), or an artificial tree made to resemble this, which is typically decorated with lights and ornaments and often an angel or star at its tip, and used as a decoration during the Christmas holiday season.
   • "I and your mother," he wrote, "sit in the evenings, and gild apples and nuts, because we intend to dress up a Christmas tree,[…]["]1807, Augustus von Kotzebue, chapter XI, in [anonymous], transl., The Pastor’s Daughter, with Other Romances. […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: […] Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 220

   Synonyms:

   holiday tree, Yule tree

2. (broadly, informal) Something which is elaborately decorated.
   • The modern infantryman is a Christmas tree of weaponry, with grenades and extra ammunition hanging from all parts of his upper body.1985 May 20, Ellen Benoit, “Fit to Fight: Despite Advances in Technology since 1945, the Essential Weapon in the U.S. Arsenal is still the American GI”, in James W[alker] Michaels, editor, Forbes...
3. (broadly) A pattern of muscles visible in the lower back, resembling in outline the shape of a conifer.
   • The V-bar pull-up is a great retro exercise I pulled from the Arnold [Schwarzenegger] & Franco Columbo^([sic – meaning Franco Columbu]) Golden Era bodybuilding days. […] These are great for really developing that Christmas tree in your lower back and the proper arch at the top is key in that regard.2013, Cory Gregory, “Get Jacked! The 1,000 Rep Workout”, in Fitness Rx, volume 11, number 4, Seatauket, N.Y.: Advanced Research Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 56; reproduced with changes as “The 1,000 Rep...
4. (broadly, slang) A panel of indicator lights in an aircraft or a submarine.
   • Farnsworth and Reed […] have reported on comparative reaction times to "Christmas tree" signal lights with respect to color deficiency. One of the most important color discriminations involved in the operation of a submarine is that of reading the "Christmas tree," a panel of 30 to 60 small...D[ean] Farnsworth, J. D. Reed (5 February 1946), Comparative Reaction Times to Christmas Tree Signal Lights with Respect to Color Deficiency (Project X-265 (Av-153-c); Report No. 10), New London...
5. (US, broadly, historical) An alert area at an air base with aircraft parked in stubs arranged at a 45-degree angle to a central taxiway to enable them to move rapidly to a runway; these were constructed by the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force during the Cold War (generally 1947–1991).
   • The existing ramp, the part that the B-52 used, a great amount of it was out in the alert area, on what we call a christmas tree^([sic]) stub at the end of the runway, in a dispersed posture.1968 May 1, Colonel Fenlon, witness, “Statement of Maj. Gen. G. H. Goddard, Director of Civil Engineering, U.S. Air Force—Resumed”, in Military Construction Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1969: Joint...
6. (broadly) A pole with lights, similar to a traffic signal, used for signalling the start of an automobile race.
   • Then, after a smoky-burnout to warm up the tires, you're lined up next to another competitor and the Christmas tree lights blink down … yellow, yellow, yellow, green!1990 January, Rich Taylor, “Racing 1990: Cheap Thrills: Four Grass-roots Rides—Low Investment, Low Maintenance, High on Fun”, in Joe Oldham, editor, Popular Mechanics, volume 167, number 1, New York...

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