Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A metal or wooden plate bolted to the sides of two abutting rails or beams, used especially in the laying of railroad track.
Wiktionary
- n. rail transport A metal bar that is bolted to the ends of two rails to join them together in a track.
WordNet 3.0
- n. metal plate bolted along sides of two rails or beams
Etymologies
- fish + plate. See fish ("curved wooden bar used to strengthen a ship's mast"). (Wiktionary)
- Probably from French fiche, peg (from Old French; see microfiche) + plate. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“A fishplate is a metal or wooden plate bolted to the sides of two abutting rails.”
“Another distributed splice bars, and a third the bolts and nuts for the fishplate.”
“Others dropped the rails and made certain they were the requisite spread apart four feet eight and a half inches, spiked them in with their heavy sledgehammers—three blows to a spike—and connected the ends with a fishplate.”
“Most of the rail was old chair iron, short, and consequently more time was used in making the change than would have been required had our work been on fishplate rail.”
“From one of the holes for the fishplate bolts there dangled a rotten cord, and on the sand beneath this improvised yet apparently effective gallows lay a human skull and bones, quite white and beautifully polished by the action of sun and wind.”
“The fishplate instead of the frog, and the steel rail in place of the good old snakehead!”
“Not a bolt nor a fishplate had been forgotten, and moreover John Castellan's operations from the air had reduced the destruction to a minimum, and the consequence was that twelve hours after the Kaiser had landed at Dover he found himself in his headquarters at Canterbury, whence the British garrison had been forced to retire after heavy fighting along the lines of wooded hills behind”
“February 14th, 2009 KOLKATA - A major train accident was averted in West Bengal Sunday when a railway worker spotted a crack in a rail track fishplate and stopped a train.”
Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘fishplate’.
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WF - nominal compounds (concrete)
foodstuff, banknote, crankshaft, earphone, fibreboard, fishplate, forklift, glassware, guardrail, handicraft, headband, kitchenware and 181 more...
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TECH - department store terms
lift, flask, datum, cater, absorbable, access road, account book, acoustic, adding machine, adhesive, advisory service, aeration and 231 more...
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Ute
Durable items invented by Hom. Sap.
alpenhorn, matchbox, plinth, pillow, cantilever, fulcrum, troika, cloverleaf, nib, wheelbarrow, dictabelt, cockpit and 184 more...
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Words that make you go hmmmm...
Interesting words you probably won't hear in your day-to-day.
maxwell, mooncalf, quagga, glaikit, musquash, lingam, haruspex, qindarka, chthonic, ipomoea, azimuthal, valuta and 304 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for fishplate.
ruzuzu Squeak! Apr 4, 2011
oroboros Criminy! Nobody's even bothered to list fishplate! I'm not gonna either...*tests ruzuzu's squeak, just to make sure* Apr 4, 2011
reesetee *plays ████████ in celebration of ruzuzu's squeaky cleanness* Apr 4, 2011
ruzuzu Squeaky. Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu As clean as a train whistle. Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu Yes. I am as clean as a brand new fishplate. Mar 28, 2011
yarb As clean as a brand new fishplate? Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu I know... but I'm clean now. Mar 28, 2011
yarb Trainspotting really is a filthy habit. A habit with many innocent victims.
By the way, I'm sure reesetee will be delighted to play his ████████ for us. Mar 28, 2011
yarb I suppose you were deaf to the anguished cries of the tiny little passengers? And the miniature guard, gibbering in his caboose. Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu Just one. I was in high school, it was late at night, and all my friends were doing it. Mar 28, 2011
yarb Have you potted many trains, ruzuzu? Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu To be fair, ████████ in the wrong hands could be pretty dangerous. But I understand. Mar 28, 2011
yarb It seems perverse to be redacting harmless words like ██████ and ████████, while trainspotting remains there for all to see. Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu Awesome. I bet we could get reesetee to come along and play the ████████. Mar 28, 2011
yarb Yes, and be sure to bring plenty of ██████. Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu Absolutely! Shall we meet at your cabin in ████████? Mar 28, 2011
yarb Hurrah!
Why not come trainspotting with me some time? Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu I adore you. Mar 28, 2011
yarb I've known since the age of about five. Mar 28, 2011
ruzuzu Who knew? Mar 28, 2011