Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- To shackle, as a horse or a cow, by a rope or strap attached to the head and to one of the legs, to prevent it from running away or wandering too far; hence, to curb; restrain.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To fasten (an animal) by a rope binding the head to one of the fore legs; ; hence, to bind or restrain; to curb.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
fasten (an animal) by a rope binding the head to one of the fore legs; as, to hamshackle a horse or cow; hence, tobind orrestrain ; tocurb .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
ham + shackle
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Examples
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Would to Heaven he was yoked to some tight piece of business, no matter whether well or ill paid, but some job that would hamshackle him at least until the courts rose, if it were but for decency's sake. '
Redgauntlet Walter Scott 1801
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Would to Heaven he was yoked to some tight piece of business, no matter whether well or ill paid, but some job that would hamshackle him at least until the courts rose, if it were but for decency’s sake.’
Redgauntlet 2008
qms commented on the word hamshackle
When casting with fly fishing tackle
The novice who has not the knack'll
Find that such angling
Is deeply entangling
And wind up impaled and hamshackled.
July 30, 2016