Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- The coastal region of mainland Spanish America in the 1500s and 1600s, especially the region of coast on the Caribbean Sea between the Isthmus of Panama and the mouth of the Orinoco River.
- The section of the Caribbean Sea crossed by Spanish ships in colonial times. English buccaneers often raided these treasure-laden ships.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun The
mainland coast of Spanish America.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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He didn't realise that this piece of mock GA Henty – Adventure on the Spanish Main – was my own entire invention.
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A long, thin thumb, mist-mighty, points shadowy to the Spanish Main, while through the fingers foam the Seven Seas.
DARKWATER W.E.B. DU BOIS 2004
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Mayoral coffers will hardly match the riches of the Spanish Main, the Times reports:
When it comes to localism, absolute clarity of aim is essential 2010
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Mayoral coffers will hardly match the riches of the Spanish Main, the Times reports:
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Mayoral coffers will hardly match the riches of the Spanish Main, the Times reports:
When it comes to localism, absolute clarity of aim is essential 2010
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Mayoral coffers will hardly match the riches of the Spanish Main, the Times reports:
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The Charge of the Light Brigade, and the little Revenge went down in the Spanish Main.
Twin Moons 2010
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In fact it's doubtful whether the traditional piracy now flourishing off the Horn of Africa would be possible without the more respectable piracy taking place in the English Channel, the Irish Sea and off the Spanish Main.
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"In all my years of search in this world, from the Golden Gate in the West to the Vistula in the East, and from the Orkney Islands in the North to the Spanish Main in the South, I have never met a thoroughly moral man who was honorable."
Archive 2009-08-01 News from Mad Plato 2009
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"In all my years of search in this world, from the Golden Gate in the West to the Vistula in the East, and from the Orkney Islands in the North to the Spanish Main in the South, I have never met a thoroughly moral man who was honorable."
MORE MENCKEN GEMS News from Mad Plato 2009
MaryW commented on the word Spanish Main
"the islands across the direct route of the galleons that traveled from the Spanish Main to Havana."
Tim Severin, In Search of Robinson Crusoe (2003)
Also "Main":
"Whicker suspected that 'the boat was so large and unruly and they so unskillful in navigation that I fear they either perished at sea or were driven ashore on the Main."
October 31, 2015