baling wire
1
4.5
- noun
- /ˈbeɪlɪŋ waɪər/
- Specialized
:
alambre de pacas
- Cowboy boots spray-painted black, barely held together with duct tape and baling wire.
- baling wire and duct
- tape and baling wire
- held together with baling wire
Examples
-
All that scrap lumber held together with rusty nails and baling wire. "Instead, what fell apart was us."
Fiction book (1998) -
As I lift the loop of baling wire that keeps the gate closed, man and dog look up at me simultaneously.
Fiction book (1999) -
We need some baling wire, Tom.
Fiction book (1998) -
Don't ever underestimate what you can do with a bit of baling wire.
-
She would ride out to the airport with him in the morning; there was no sense fighting traffic in one of those fume-filled taxis with the door held on by baling wire.
Fiction book (1995) -
It is made of garbage can lids, old saucepans, lard tins, and car fenders all wired together with baling wire.
Fiction book (1993) -
The farmer used baling wire to securely bind the bales of hay for transport.
-
She fixed the broken fence with some lengths of baling wire she had in the barn.
-
The carpenter suggested using baling wire to hold the materials together while the glue dried.
Synonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'wire used for binding bales' is directly derivable from combining 'bale' (to press and tie material into bales) with 'wire' (metal thread used for binding). The gerundive form 'baling' signals purpose/use and this productive compounding pattern is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Baling wire comes from farm work: it is a thin but strong wire used for baling, which means tying up 'bales' of hay or cotton. Because farmers often used this handy wire for quick repairs, the phrase suggests a simple, strong piece of metal for tying or fixing things.