Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A ship likely to founder, and thus become the coffin of the crew: a term in common colloquial and newspaper use in the United Kingdom, during the agitation in Parliament begun by Samuel Plimsoll for legislation on the subject.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Broke to the wide an 'aboard of a old wind-jammer wot was a coffin-ship -- a coffin-ship she was; an' 'er old man was the devil's father-in-law.
The Golden Scorpion Sax Rohmer 1921
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The exhibit that gives the show its title is Perry's haunting iron sculpture of a coffin-ship, supposedly sailing into the afterlife.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Charles Spencer 2011
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The old _Saigon_ has been as dull as a coffin-ship without you. "
Golden Stories A Selection of the Best Fiction by the Foremost Writers Various
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Chinese coffin-ship from 'Frisco would be hilarious compared with this trip, "rapped a sarcastic voice from behind the silk handkerchief.
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I don't mind admitting that when I stood on the doorstep of this house fifteen nights ago and knocked the mystic knock, I felt like a man embarking on a coffin-ship. "
The Mystics A Novel Katherine Cecil Thurston 1893
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