Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A hitch made in a line to shorten it.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The shank or leg of a sheep; hence, something lank, slender, or weak: in the quotation applied to a bridge.
- n. Nautical, a kind of knot, hitch, or bend made on a rope to shorten it temporarily.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Naut.) A hitch by which a rope may be temporarily shortened.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a knot for shortening a line
Etymologies
- sheep + shank (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The next day, we all commenced in earnest our studies in navigation and seamanship, the naval instructor with his assistants working us up in our mathematics and imparting to us the elements of plane and spherical trigonometry; while the boatswain and his mates gave us practical lessons in the setting up of rigging and making of knots, so that there should be no chance of our mistaking a "sheepshank" for a "cat's paw," or a "Flemish eye" for a "grommet!”
“Although, I'd classify Thom as a good drawer of ugly people. sheepshank”
“Is there anything we can do to keep my illustrations with his stories? sheepshank”
“I have an idea for a children’s book” « Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog
“Moeller gulped the last of his milk and rose, just in time to have a bubble of gas twist his intestine like a sailor knotting a sheepshank.”
“Oaxyctl held up the bight of a line, the loop flopping over, and tied a sheepshank.”
“Oaxyctl pulled the knot apart and demonstrated the bowline, the sheepshank, a simple square knot, and a sheet bend.”
“Oaxyctl concentrated on joining two lines together with a sheepshank knot.”
“Stupified as I was, some instinct must have told me not to refuse Gallantin's invitation a second time-it's a good rule, as I hope I've demonstrated, that when scalp-hunters offer you a squaw, you should take her away quick and quiet, and if you don't fancy her, then teach her the two times table, or "Tintern Abbey", or how to tie a sheepshank.”
“Figs. 81-82 illustrate two other forms of shortenings, but these can only be used where the end of the rope is free, and are intended for more permanent fastenings than the ordinary sheepshank; while Fig. 83 is particularly adapted to be cast loose at a moment's notice by jerking out the toggles, _A_, _B_.”
“I doubt na, frien, yell think yere nae sheepshank, 90”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sheepshank’.
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Hence
Words with definitions that have a "hence" in them.
hanger, Deet, tripe, spindlelegs, fiddle, store, pluck, snap, villain, link, comedy, particular and 410 more...
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Knots!
O time, thou must untangle this, not I.
It is too hard a knot for me to untie.
-- Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act 2, scene 2figure eight, cat's paw, fisherman's knot, miller's knot, tiller's hitch, chain hitch, surgeon's knot, bowline on bight, sailor's knot, stevedore's knot, timber hitch, clove hitch and 148 more...
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Compounds That Look Freakish
You know who you are, freakish compounds. Though very useful, some of these words just don't seem right together--or, their meanings are so far from what the two (or more) component words suggest t...
nightjar, bullfinch, grassquit, bananaquit, ovenbird, waxwing, stonechat, wheatear, bushtit, wrentit, starthroat, godwit and 158 more...
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Random
These are just some random words that I might find a list for someday.
troglodytism, chinkle, vasculum, sabz, cucullus, tricornigerous, cuboctahedron, eruca, gamp, pilum, taha, angelhood and 244 more...
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Words of Whimsy & Grace
abecedary, addendum, ampersand, anachronism, avuncular, balderdash, barnacle, befuddle, behemoth, bejeebers, blabbermouth, blatherskite and 465 more...
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Turning and Twisting Tours
words in the nature of double spirals
swift, swerve, swirl, swivel, swarm, swag, swank, swoop, swinge, swarf, spire, esparto and 361 more...
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skipvia's Words
syzygy, egg, lossy, catharsis, impuissance, truckle, obsequious, sequoia, sonot khazoot, alizarin, sepulchre, klister and 434 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for sheepshank.
reesetee Used to shorten a rope temporarily; for example, for a topmast shroud when the topmast is lowered. Most yachts today use wire topmast shrouds instead of hemp ones, however. Each shroud has two joints, so that when the topmast is housed, the lowest joint is unshackled and stowed away, and the upper joint is set up with the tackle or lanyards.
Jan 9, 2008