australopithecine
aw stray loh pi thuh sahyn
- n any of several extinct humanlike bipedal primates with relatively small brains of the genus Australopithecus; from 1 to 4 million years ago
- a of or belonging to the hominid genus Australopithecus
- A news report about a robbery includes a police sketch of the suspect--a hairy, generic australopithecine; the three cavemen buddies argue the merits of using the slur "Cro-magger.
- Thus some punctured australopithecine skulls found in Africa were at first chalked up to "intentional armed assault" -- until someone pointed out that the punctures precisely fit .
- It has the structure of a late australopithecine: wide palate, huge rear molars, enormous cheekbones and a pronounced crest of bone running along the top of the skull.