pitch (n.)

pitch (v.)

Dark as pitch.

John Bunyan (1628-1688): Pilgrim's Progress. Part i.

He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith.

Old Testament: Ecclesiasticus xiii. 1.

Here in the body pent,

Absent from Him I roam,

Yet nightly pitch my moving tent

A day's march nearer home.

James Montgomery (1771-1854): At Home in Heaven.

Above the pitch, out of tune, and off the hinges.

Martin Luther (1483-1546): Works. Book iv. Chap. xix.

Between two hawks, which flies the higher pitch;

Between two dogs, which hath the deeper mouth;

Between two blades, which bears the better temper;

Between two horses, which doth bear him best;

Between two girls, which hath the merriest eye,—

I have perhaps some shallow spirit of judgment;

But in these nice sharp quillets of the law,

Good faith, I am no wiser than a daw.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King Henry VI. Part I. Act ii. Sc. 4.