CAST, a throw, or something thrown (a word of Scandinavian origin, cf. Dan. kaste, throw), e.g., a throw of dice, with the figurative sense of a chance ; the spreading out of hounds in search of a lost scent ; with the meaning of a twisted throw or turn, a slight squint in the eye. A "cast" is a measure of fish, being the amount taken in two hands to be thrown into a vessel, and similarly a potter's measure for a certain quantity of clay. It is also a term for the coils of earth thrown up by earthworms, and in fly-fishing for the casting line of gut. The phrase "to cast up an account" is probably derived from the old method of calculation by counters which were thus thrown into a heap. The word is also used of a mould for casting metals, or of the copy of an original statue or relief, taken from a mould, and similarly of fossils for the mineral filling of the empty mould left by the organism. The casting of a play is the assignment of par ticular parts to the actors and actresses.