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quirt

quirt

1 9.9
A short leather whip for guiding horses
  • noun
  • /kwɜrt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : látigo
  • The charro also carries a quirt and ropes on his saddle.
  • a leather quirt
  • quirt in his hand

Examples

  • His arm tightened around her waist, and he shifted the quirt until its tip rested on her thigh.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The charro carries a quirt to help guide his horse during herding.

  • "He shifted the quirt in his hand."

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Elam dropped his quirt on the table.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • He pointed the quirt at the boy.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Argument with a planter, I think he told me; the planter cut him across the cheek with a quirt.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • To score well, the rider must avoid faults like touching the saddle or horse's mane; he must not use his quirt and must not raise his leg more than once to hook the tail.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Elam dropped his quirt onto the table after the ride.

  • He swung his quirt as he urged the horse to go faster.

Synonyms

strap
vsquirt
  • NSFW
13 7.2

A strip of leather for beating someone as punishment

is a riding tool used on horseback for guidance not for punishment
riding crop
vsquirt
6 6.7

A short whip used to guide a horse when a person sits on it

uses a leather thong tip rather than a thin flexible end
horsewhip
vsquirt
1 7.0

A long leather strap used to guide or urge horses

is a specific short handled thong whip used during mounted riding
buggy whip
vsquirt
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A tool that makes horses move when they pull a small carriage and now means something old-fashioned

is a short horseback thong used for riding rather than carriage driving
hunting crop
vsquirt
9.3

A short whip riders use to guide a horse and open gates

is the same short riding thong used broadly in horseback riding
hunting whip
vsquirt
  • UK
8.6

A short stick riders use to signal and control hunting dogs during a fox hunt

is meant primarily for guiding the horse rather than signaling animals

How Long

bullwhip
4 7.2
whip
41 3.5
quirt
  • Archaic
1 9.9
crop
  • Specialized
24 8.5

Surface Forms

quirt singular
quirts plural

Etymology

Quirt probably comes from Mexican Spanish for a 'short leather whip' used by riders. So a quirt today is a small, quick whip that riders and cowboys used to give a light tap to guide a horse.