Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Another spelling of
gauntlet . - noun A military punishment formerly inflicted for heinous offenses, in which the offender, stripped to his waist, was compelled to run a certain number of times through a lane formed by two rows of men standing face to face, each of them armed with a switch or other weapon with which he struck the offender as he passed; also, such a punishment used on board of ships, and, by extension, any similar punishment (used by some savage tribes and in Russia).
- noun Hence A series or course of things or events. See
to run the gantlet , below. - noun In railway engin., the running together of parallel tracks into the space occupied by one, by crossing the two inner rails so as to bring each side by side with the opposite outer rail.
- noun Hence— To be exposed or to expose one's self to a course or series of disagreeable or unpleasant treatment or observations, remarks, criticisms, etc. Also sometimes to pass the gantlet.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A military punishment formerly in use, wherein the offender was made to run between two files of men facing one another, who struck him as he passed.
- noun to suffer the punishment of the gantlet; hence, to go through the ordeal of severe criticism or controversy, or ill-treatment at many hands.
- noun A glove. See
gauntlet .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative spelling of
gauntlet .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a glove of armored leather; protects the hand
- noun a form of punishment in which a person is forced to run between two lines of men facing each other and armed with clubs or whips to beat the victim
- noun the convergence of two parallel railroad tracks in a narrow place; the inner rails cross and run parallel and then diverge so a train remains on its own tracks at all times
- noun to offer or accept a challenge
- noun a glove with long sleeve
Etymologies
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Examples
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A gantlet is a flogging ordeal, literally or figuratively.
Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage PAUL R. MARTIN 2002
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A gantlet is a flogging ordeal, literally or figuratively.
Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage PAUL R. MARTIN 2002
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It's been a year since drunken naval aviators at the Tailhook convention assaulted 26 women in a "gantlet" at the Las Vegas Hilton, and no officer has been charged.
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I claim it has to be "gantlet," and he of course says, "yo mama!"
The State of Things 2006
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I claim it has to be "gantlet," and he of course says, "yo mama!"
Archive 2006-11-01 2006
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Just to cover the story in Baghdad journalists had first to survive the five-mile trip between Baghdad International Airport and the capital, a road known as “Route Irish,” which was a gantlet of suicide bombers and rocket attacks during the first two years of the war.
The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011
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"It's almost impossible to get to the end of the gantlet without being branded a criminal."
Senate Adjusts Rules, But Keeps Filibuster Corey Boles 2011
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To clicking shutters, the Fly Girls strut the gantlet with chests out.
Fly Girls: TV series follows flight attendants at home and in the air 2010
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At one stage in the hiring process, I went through a gantlet of nearly a full day of interviews with Sierra Club Board members and senior staff.
Michael Brune: Thanks, Carl Michael Brune 2011
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Just to cover the story in Baghdad journalists had first to survive the five-mile trip between Baghdad International Airport and the capital, a road known as “Route Irish,” which was a gantlet of suicide bombers and rocket attacks during the first two years of the war.
The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011
chained_bear commented on the word gantlet
See also gantlope.
October 13, 2008