undercraft

English

Alternative forms

under-craft

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

From under- +‎ craft.

Noun

undercraft (usually uncountable, plural undercrafts)

(obsolete) A sly trick, or subterfuge in general.
- 1759–1767, [Laurence Sterne], The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume (please specify |volume=I to IX), London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […]:
  Not that by any analysis , -or that from any table of interest or genealogy , there appears much more ground of alliance betwixt them than betwixt light and darkness , or any two of the most unfriendly opposites in nature ; - only 'tis an undercraft of authors to keep up a good understanding amongst words , as politicians do amongst men.
- 1872, Ann Sophia Stephens, The Reigning Belle, page 277:
  Mrs. Lambert believed this, and Ivon would not permit himself to doubt it; for to a generous and noble character like his, the undercraft and meanness of a small nature is simply incomprehensible.
- 1874, H W. Jeffree, Life, an epic - Issue 761, page 121:
  But in the usual routine of its life, When it addresses friend, lover or wife; The soft sweet smooth and modulating strain, Doth ever in expression sweeter gain, Without the undercraft or oily tone, It e'en delights their foes and stands alone.
- 1990, Garrett Stewart, James O Freedman, Reading Voices: Literature and the Phonotext, page 217:
  Meredith's high-toned verbosities often draw strength from a secret affiliation with the "undercraft" of the underclasses, his humor sociolectic as well as lexical.
- 2010, Graham Greene, Collected Essays:
  Such hordyng up of worldly wealth, such keeping much in store. . .Such falshed undercraft, and such unstedfast wayes, Was never sene within men's hartes, as is found nowadayes.
(archaic) Witchcraft or sorcery.
- 2008, John Dickinson, The Fatal Child:
  Under-craft, witchcraft, call it what you will, but it is indeed poisonous.
- 2011, Linda Pavonetti, Bridges to Understanding: Envisioning the World Through Children's Books, page 273:
  He arrives at Ambrose's home in Tarceny and lets loose the “Heron Man,” Ambrose's uncle, who, for three hundred years, has used “undercraft” to maintain his evil power.
An apprentice or journeyman.
- 1925, The Journeyman Barber, volume 21, page 426:
  These principles are to organize the undercrafts for justice and humanity, for better wages and diminished poverty, the reduction of hours of toil and the abolishment of Sunday slavery in so far as possible.

Verb

undercraft (third-person singular simple present undercrafts, present participle undercrafting, simple past and past participle undercrafted)

(obsolete) To outwit; to outmaneuver.
- 1901, Charles Richard Panter, Granuaile: A Queen of the West, page 94:
  In mock obeisance bow him low And he succumbs your slave: a show Of high respect will undercraft His cunning wit!
To make with insufficient craftsmanship.
- 1999, Marilyn Kallet, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Sleeping with One Eye Open, page 137:
  Quite recently I had a piece published in a special Latino issue of a respected literary magazine, and though the cast now includes Cuban and Puerto Rican writers as well, the themes are still the same, and much of the writing is disappointingly simplistic or undercrafted.
- 2010, Francesco Pellizzi, Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics, 55/56: Absconding, page 79:
  Although the unpolished nature of Chan-related figure painting is taken as a matter of course, apparition painting appears to rely largely on deskilling, the purposeful undercrafting that strained to achieve whatever the opposite of professionalism looked like in the monochrome ink medium.
- 2012, Jim Aitchison, Cutting Edge Advertising:
  "I'd infinitely rather fall into the trap of overcrafting an ad than undercrafting it,” confesses Graham Warsop, “though clearly a healthy balance is preferable. […] "
- 2022, Ryan Hibbett, Lit-Rock: Literary Capital in Popular Music, page 82:
  While she does not explicitly say that Swift's writing is undercrafted, she relies heavily on the word “clichéd,” which implies that Swift's work is lazy or insufficiently polished.

Etymology 2

From under- +‎ craft.

Noun

undercraft (plural undercrafts)

(dated) A submarine.
- 1916 January, Robert Wilden Neeser, “The Submarine in War”, in Scribner's Magazine, volume 59, number 1, page 43:
  But effective as mine-fields and cable nettings may be against hostile "undercraft" – as in the case of the channel where not a single troop-ship or supply-ship has yet been lost – they can be said to be only a deterrent, little more.
- 1917 March 3, Marion Eppley, “Anti-Submarine Patrol”, in Scientific American, volume 116, number 9, page 222:
  Before considering the ways of combatting "undercraft," analyze the characteristics of this class of sea-fighters.
- 1920, The American Photo Engraver - Volume 13, page 397:
  How many of you know that before the war was over the dreadnaught which cost $8,000,000 was at the mercy of the submarine undercraft ?
- 1940, Nykyfor I︠A︡. Hryhoriïv, Democracy: Its Channels and Tasks, page 22:
  In Spain, the “Rome-Berlin Axis" had its way, and on the Mediterranean "unknown" undercraft plied their game of piracy.
- 1959, Communist Threat to the United States Through the Caribbean:
  At the south coast at the end of the island there are great depths in the sea where the undercraft can very easily maneuver.
(historical) An underground crypt.
- 1708, Richard Newcourt, Repertorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense, page 552:
  His Body was first buried in the Undercraft of his own Cathedral-Church, whence, shortly after, it was taken up, put into a goodly Shrine beset with costly Jewels and precious Stones, and plac'd at the East end of the same Church.
- 1815, William Dunlap, The Life of Charles Brockden Brown, page 275:
  According to the plans of the second Arthur, an undercraft was to be hewn out beneath the whold of the new building, and this was to be reserved for a sepulchre or mausoleum.
- 1905, Ralph Adams Cram, Ruined Abbeys of Great Britain:
  Here in this dim and scanty undercraft is an epitome of the English art of four centuries, precious and beautiful beyond the power of words to describe.
- 1958, Go: Travel, Holiday Magazine, page 66:
  The Abbey, seat of the Leigh family for 400 years, was founded by the Cistercians in 1154 and the original Gate House is still occupied, while the vaulted undercraft and parts of the original buildings are incorporated in the Elizabethan wing of the House.

Adjective

undercraft (not comparable)

Beneath a craft (water, air, or space vehicle).
- 1952 January, Wilfrid O. White, “1952 Equipment”, in MotorBoating, volume 89, number 1, page 139:
  All models are recording instruments, instantaneously charting undercraft conditions on a permanent record.
- 1962, The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine-builder, page 525:
  Eight hard points are provided with landing pads, and these extend below the bottom of the buoyancy tank and protect the undercraft structure from local projections on the ground.
- 2008, Tania Hershman, The White Road and Other Stories, page 18:
  The sidespin is intended to compensate for the, umm, gravitational deficiencies, but of course I should have activated the tripswitch to alter the undercraft sensor system .
- 2013, J.R. Amyot, Hovercraft Technology, Economics and Applications, page 317:
  Undercraft spray would be minimized by this system and a uniformly depressed water surface would result.