cat-o'-nine-tails
kat-uh-NYN-taylz/ˌkæt ə ˈnaɪn teɪlz/
Pluralcats-o'-nine-tails
- 1A whip with nine knotted cords, once used to punish sailors in the navy.
Like nine thin ropes joined to one handle, all hitting at once.
The captain ordered a flogging with the cat-o'-nine-tails for the man who stole rum.
Every sailor feared the cat-o'-nine-tails hanging in the bosun's locker.
Note
- 2A whip of the same kind but made of leather, used to punish prisoners and soldiers.
Like nine leather straps joined to a single handle.
Guards at the colony used the cat-o'-nine-tails on prisoners who tried to escape.
A soldier could be sentenced to the cat-o'-nine-tails for striking an officer.
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Origin
From cat + o' + nine + tails. The word "cat" was used because the wounds it left looked like a cat's scratches. First seen in 1695.