phoenixes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of phoenix.

   Embroidered phoenixes and dragons decorated the bride's silk robe.

   Several airlines that went bankrupt have since become phoenixes, flying again under new owners.

   Note

   The legendary bird is said to be the only one of its kind, so a plural sits more easily with the other meanings: anything reborn after apparent ruin, the fenghuang of Chinese myth, and the Greek silver coins used only from 1828 to 1832. After the x the ending is -es, as with box and fox, and the same spelling is the Australian business verb.

2. 2
   verbAustralia

   Third-person singular simple present of phoenix.

   Each time the firm phoenixes its assets into a new company, its creditors are left holding an empty shell.

   A director who phoenixes a failing business to avoid its debts can face heavy penalties.

   Note

   Australian business talk turned the reborn bird into a verb for a dodge: assets are shifted into a fresh company, and the liabilities stay behind with the old one. The new firm rises from the ashes; the creditors are left holding them. It takes the assets or the failing business as its object, with into naming the new company: the firm phoenixes its assets into a new company.

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