Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adverb At full gallop; at top speed.
- noun A hunting cry.
- noun A fast, furious gallop; top speed.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Swiftly; rapidly; at full speed.
- To hurry off.
- noun A hunting cry, inciting to speed or denoting full chase.
- noun A rapid, violent movement; a gallop; a rush; a torrent.
- noun A High-church Tory of about the time of James II.
- Swift; rapid; hasty; on the rush.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A rapid, violent gallop; an impetuous rush.
- adverb Swiftly; speedily; rapidly; -- a fox-hunting term.
- intransitive verb colloq. To go away in haste.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb obsolete At
full tilt - noun obsolete A rapid
gallop - noun informal The sound of a
hunting horn in imitation of a galloping horse
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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These martial strains seemed as far away as Palestine, and reminded me of a march of crusaders in the horizon, with a slight tantivy and tremulous motion of the elm tree tops which overhang the village.
Walden 2004
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He says that an ambitious tantivy, [2] missing of his towering hopes of preferment in
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Rather than face death and the death-fear, in an attempt to flee the unfleeable he had thrown every other consideration to the winds, and ridden tantivy into the unknown.
Ultima Thule 2003
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He was of a nature to ride tantivy into anything that promised excitement or adventure.
Australia Felix 2003
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Ten minutes later, everyone was back in their seats and Tom, who had purloined the horn from the long basket attached to the side of the guard's seat, blew a tantivy into the night and Duncan, muffled from neck to heels in the big coat, set the horses in motion.
The Last Gamble Nichols, Mary 1996
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The wild tantivy boy had vanished, and the sobriquet of "Tavern Knight" was fast becoming
The Tavern Knight Rafael Sabatini 1912
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Is it strange that I became known as the wildest tantivy boy that rode with the King?
The Tavern Knight Rafael Sabatini 1912
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In the common-room one day sat as merry a company of carousers as ever gladdened the soul of an old tantivy boy.
The Tavern Knight Rafael Sabatini 1912
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He says that an ambitious tantivy, [2] missing of his towering hopes of preferment in Ireland, is come over to vent his spleen on the late Ministry, etc.
The Journal to Stella Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745 1901
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How does it come that a few short hours later we find him galloping tantivy over the dusty hills, no less than two hundred miles, as the birds fly, from the counter railing of welcomings?
Empire Builders Francis Lynde 1893
oroboros commented on the word tantivy
At a full gallop; top speed. Given as a crossword puzzle clue for apace.
November 22, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tantivy
"Tantivy, tantivy, tantivy, a-hunting we will go."
November 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word tantivy
I always thought it was the sound a hunting horn makes.
November 22, 2007
yarb commented on the word tantivy
Also a character in "Gravity's Rainbow".
November 22, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tantivy
I did too, trivet. The things you learn here....
November 22, 2007
knitandpurl commented on the word tantivy
"As soon as he caught Bud's eye, he kicked it up another gear, to a tantivy."
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, p 31 of the Spectra trade paperback
May 17, 2016
MaryW commented on the word tantivy
Kate Atkinson, Case Histories (New York: Little Brown & Co., 2004), p. 281.May 30, 2016
qms commented on the word tantivy
Fox hunters preparing to go
Hear brazen horns wavering blow,
But first a tantivy
En masse to the privy
Then mount with a brave tallyho!
October 6, 2017