contralto 

The low female singing voice in opera, choir, and non, classical music (the alto part in choir is sung by contraltos and mezzo-sopranos with strong low notes). The contralto has a range from F3 (below middle C) to G5 (the second G over middle C). This deep, dark female voice is the rarest female voice and they are known to sound almost like men on their lowest notes.

Sitting between mezzo sopranos and tenors, contraltos have relatively few roles in opera as little has been written specifically for them and what roles they have are usually that of maidservants, mothers, grandmothers, and friends of the heroine, but they occasionally get hardy roles, notably witches and goddesses. They also play roles originally meant for castratos (when mezzo-sopranos, countertenors, tenors, and baritones don't take them).

A number of pop singers and Broadway performers are contraltos, although they are not farther distinguished as they would be in opera. Examples include Fiona Apple, Cher, Toni Braxton, Etta James, Sarah Vaughn, Alicia Keyes, Diana Krall, Lisa Gerrard, Amy MacDonald, Yulia MacLean, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Reba MacIntire, Stevie Nicks, Katy Perry, Carly Simon, Ana Carolina, Emily Haines, Judy Garland, Chaka Khan, and Annie Lennox.

Based on vocal weight/voice type, contraltos are divided into three subcategories:

Coloratura contralto: light, agile, flexible, capable of vocal acrobatics (a rare voice).

Lyric contralto: stronger than coloratura contralto, but lighter and tamer than the dramatic contralto. Most common contralto voice.

Dramatic contralto: A powerful, rich, dark female voice and very rare.

Operatic contraltos include Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Maureen Forrester, Kathleen Ferrier, Marian Anderson, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Nathalie Stutzmann, Ewa Podles, Anna Larsson, and Sonia Prina.

contralto by Lorelili July 8, 2011

Contralto 

The lowest womyn's singing voice; at the bottom of their range, they sound almost like men, often leading to people mistaking them for men on the radio, telephone, or wherever.

The alto range, which is below soprano, is really an easy combination of the mezzo-soprano range and the contralto range; the mezzo-soprano is the medium female voice and therefore the higher of the two.

The contralto voice is a pretty rare voice. And there is little work that was written specifically for the contralto. Countertenors, mezzo-sopranos, and often tenors, baritones, and basses take the roles that were written for them.

Marian Anderson and Kathleen Ferrier were legendary operatic contraltos in their day.

Toni Braxton is a famous popular music contralto. As are Brandy, Alicia Keyes, Cher, and Blu Cantrell, among others.

Contralto by Lorelili August 26, 2005

contralto 

The lowest female singing voice. At their lowest, contraltos sometimes sound like Barry White. There are traditionally very few roles for contraltos in operas, though modern musical theatre has begun to include them. A common saying is that contraltos are only allowed to play "witches, bitches and britches," with "britches" referring to a trouser role.

Some famous contraltos are Cher, Fiona Apple, Patti LuPone and Marilyn Horne.
Some famous contralto roles in musical theatre are Katisha (The Mikado), Dalila (Samson et Dalila) and Charity (Sweet Charity).

contralto by Pitti-Sing June 23, 2006

Contralto 

The lowest womon's singing voice; on her lowest notes, she sounds almost like a man, often leading to people mistaking them for men on the radio, telephone, or wherever.

The alto range, which is below soprano, is really a mish-mash of the mezzo-soprano range and the contralto range; the mezzo-soprano is the higher of the two.

The contralto voice is pretty rare since there is little work that was written specifically for them. Countertenors, mezzo-sopranos, and often tenors, baritones, and basses take the roles that were written for them.

Contralto by Sam October 28, 2004

Smart Contract 

Smart Contracts are a tangible expression of the term 'Code is Law'. By coding prerequisite conditions into an algorithmic contract, one can essentially create a self-executing contract, eliminating the need for a middleman and automating the process of trust.

It is a common feature of blockchain and cryptocurrency protocols.

I tried to scam a customer for his money before the GPS logistics system verified delivery of the goods, but the pesky smart contract prevented me from touching their funds!

Smart Contract by Zenarchism October 17, 2018

contraption adaption 

1) The period of time needed to familiarize oneself with a new electronic device.
2) Often, a period of extreme anxiety and frustration stemming from one's need to learn a lot of technical information in a short to non-existent period of time.

1) "I'm sorry, Joe. I won't be in to work today. I'm exhausted from staying up all night learning how to use my new i-phone and am suffering this morning from a bad case of contraption adaption."

2) "I'm now limiting my persuit of new e-toys to only those gadgets with a low level of contraption adaption."

3) The salesguy said: "If you buy this new Mac laptop today, I guarantee you'll start using it today." "Yeah, sure", I said. "I'll BET there's no contraption adaption for THIS machine!"

contraption adaption by Juan O'Malley July 22, 2009

Contract Killer

an assassion for hire. paid to kill, and not leave a trace of evidence that can lead back to the customer.

I'm a contract killer, for my last hit i was paid $60K.

Contract Killer by Ric0 September 14, 2007