gantlet
- noun
- /ˈɡænt.lɪt/
- Offensive
:
pasillo de golpes
- In the 18th century, sailors might be forced to run the gantlet as punishment for disobedience.
- run the gantlet
Examples
-
To teach a lesson, the captain ordered the accused to run the gantlet before the entire crew.
-
The soldiers had to run the gantlet as punishment.
-
The prisoner dreaded the moment he would have to face the gantlet set up by the guards.
-
He faced the gantlet of angry villagers.
-
The prisoners had to endure a brutal gantlet of guards who struck them as they ran between the lines.
-
During the initiation ceremony, new recruits were made to run the gantlet while other members shouted and hit them with paddles.
-
To prove his bravery, he volunteered to run the gantlet of his peers, knowing it would be a painful challenge.
Synonyms
13
9.9
A punishment where a person runs between two rows of people who hit them
6
6.7
A severe beating given to someone as punishment
4
8.1
A hard hit given to someone as punishment
Antonyms
How Severe
- Offensive
262
7.1
- Offensive
- Offensive
11
5.7
720
1.3
- Formal
24
6.1
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gantlet for a punishment comes from a Swedish word gatlopp meaning 'street run', where someone was forced to run between two rows of people who struck them, so to 'run the gantlet' meant to suffer a public beating or test.