billy club
5
6.7
- noun
- /ˈbɪli klʌb/
- US
:
porra
- During the protest, the police used their billy clubs for crowd control.
- beaten with billy club
Examples
-
A Volkswagen pulled up behind us, and three cops got out, waving long billy clubs and yelling in Spanish.
Fiction book (1999) -
With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head.
Blog text (3) -
One put his hand on his billy club.
Fiction book (2002) -
So you know the cop, the cop has the gun, the cop has the Billy club, and the cop can haul you into jail.
-
His shoes and badge were polished, his billy club, his belt buckle.
Fiction book (2002) -
Two white men dressed in riot gear, toting billy clubs, rushed her and threw her down on the ground.
Fiction book (1997) -
So if you can believe it—and I know you can—the police start using their billy clubs.
Fiction book (1996) -
Here comes a cop in municipal bulk with a gun, cuffs, a flashlight, and a billy club all jiggling on his belt, and a summons pad wadded in his pocket.
Fiction book (1992) -
The officer issued a warning while holding his billy club firmly in his hand.
-
He noticed the billy club hanging from the policeman's belt as he walked by.
Synonyms
16
5.0
A short heavy stick that police use as a weapon
16
5.1
A short heavy stick used by police to hit or control crowds
6
8.7
A short heavy stick that police use to control crowds
5
9.0
A short thick stick police carry to hit someone or protect themselves
4
7.6
A thick heavy stick or club used as a weapon
A short heavy stick that police use to hit or control people
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents denote the same kind of object (a short heavy stick used as a weapon), and the noun–noun compound simply specifies that type of club (commonly a police weapon). This is a straightforward, compositional compound: a B1 learner who knows 'billy' and 'club' would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Billy club may come from an old name for a small stick, billy, plus club, which means a heavy stick. Imagine a short, thick stick called 'Billy' used to hit or 'defend', and police carried these, so billy club came to mean a short, heavy stick used by police.