Bomb-lance definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

View all »
Definitions (1)

A lance or harpoon having a hollow head charged with gunpowder, which is automatically fired when thrust into a whale.

Then came the dull explosion of the bomb-lance somewhere in the vitals of the whale. — Swept Out to Sea Clint Webb Among the Whalers
Mr. Gibson went over backward, exploding the gun and sending the bomb-lance into the air. — Swept Out to Sea Clint Webb Among the Whalers
The bomb-lance and gun are all very well; but the harpoon is the real weapon on which the whaleman must depend. — Swept Out to Sea Clint Webb Among the Whalers
The bomb-lance is surer than the old-time lance, and keeps the boat and crew farther from the seat of peril. — Swept Out to Sea Clint Webb Among the Whalers
Gibson had dropped, and sent a bomb-lance into the whale at so short a distance that it seemed as though we might have touched him by putting out a hand. — Swept Out to Sea Clint Webb Among the Whalers