yard donkey
- noun
- Specialized
:
winche
- Workers operated the yard donkey to move logs from the cutting area to the loading zone.
Examples
-
The old logging company still uses a yard donkey to pull heavy timber up the steep hillside.
-
A new engine was installed in the yard donkey to improve its hauling efficiency.
-
The yard donkey pulled the logs effortlessly.
-
Many saw the yard donkeys working in the forest.
-
The old logging company still uses a yard donkey to pull heavy timber up the steep hillside.
-
Workers operated the yard donkey to move logs from the cutting area to the loading zone.
-
A new engine was installed in the yard donkey to improve its hauling efficiency.
Synonyms
A machine that uses winches to pull logs to a collection point
How Powerful
- Archaic
- Specialized
- Specialized
20
6.6
- Specialized
2
9.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
yard + donkey
The literal constituents 'yard' (an area of ground) and 'donkey' (an animal) do not directly yield the technical sense 'winch' — the term rests on a specialised metaphorical use (cf. 'donkey engine') where 'donkey' names a hauling machine. This gives a partial clue (donkey→work/hauling), but the specific technical meaning is jargon and not predictable for a B1 learner without exposure, so the item is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The noun yard donkey comes from old logging: a small engine in the yard that pulled logs, and people called it a donkey because it did the heavy pulling like a working animal. That's why the phrase means 'a machine used for hauling logs'.