Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Nautical, to secure by a forelock, as a bolt.
- noun The lock of hair that grows from the fore part of the head; a prominent or somewhat detached lock above the forehead, especially of a horse.
- noun A round or flat wedge of iron passed through a hole in the inner end of a bolt to prevent its withdrawal when a strain is placed on it.
- noun In medieval armor, a clasp or catch serving to hold the helm, or in some cases the beaver or the mentonnière, to the gorgerin or breastplate in front.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The lock of hair that grows from the forepart of the head.
- noun (Mech.) A cotter or split pin, as in a slot in a bolt, to prevent retraction; a linchpin; a pin fastening the cap-square of a gun.
- noun a bolt retained by a key, gib, or cotter passing through a slot.
- noun (Rope Making) a winch or whirl by which a bunch of three yarns is twisted into a standard.
- noun to make prompt use of anything; not to let slip an opportunity.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The part of a person's
hairstyle which covers theforehead . - noun The part of a horse's
mane that lies on its forehead.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a lock of hair growing (or falling) over the forehead
- noun a lock of a horse's mane that grows forward between the ears
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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This kind of forelock-tugging to the monarchy disappeared from the real world 40 years ago or more.
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There were about five people in different departments who, because of my forelock, ended up in tears.
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Nicholas's ID photo from the Saigon embassy shows a young man with a Superman forelock, fixing the camera with a challenging stare.
The Old Soldier Who Didn't Fade Away Michael M. Phillips 2011
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Instead of asking how it is that we all have to kiss the forelock of the Windsor family...
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So beautiful and majestic, with his forelock draped in his face, he really fit the part.
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We all agreed the war in Vietnam was wrong and the forelock tugging tendency of the British needed to end.
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That one lasted for 4 months, and in the end all I had was a cotton candy pink forelock.
A Candid Line of Questioning Candid Engineer 2009
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A lot of kneeling, kowtowing and forelock-tugging ensued -- and a public scolding of one of the Star's best journos and columnists by the "public editor."
Archive 2009-07-01 2009
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I have also dyed my hair deep blue with a pink forelock and magenta highlights.
A Candid Line of Questioning Candid Engineer 2009
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But otherwise very little, jokes or otherwise, that we hadn't heard before, and a preponderance of what blogger Julian Dobson has called "pointless forelock-tugging to the Taxpayers 'Alliance".
chained_bear commented on the word forelock
"Whereas previously captives were kept tied in huts, Grant, Oswald & Co. had a fifteen-foot stone wall built around an area about 150 feet square, so that people could be held in larger numbers outdoors. In 1751 the British firm sent to the fortress one hundred shackles, one hundred pairs of handcuffs, one thousand forelocks (another restraint), and some chain, along with goods the whites could use to pay local chiefs."
—Edward Ball, Slaves in the Family (NY: Ballantine Books, 1998), 428
October 13, 2009