Gallows
['gæləʊz] or ['gæloz]
Definition
(noun.) an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging.
Inputed by Bennett--From WordNet
Definition
(pl. ) of Gallows
(n. sing.) A frame from which is suspended the rope with which criminals are executed by hanging, usually consisting of two upright posts and a crossbeam on the top; also, a like frame for suspending anything.
(n. sing.) A wretch who deserves the gallows.
(n. sing.) The rest for the tympan when raised.
(n. sing.) A pair of suspenders or braces.
Typed by Brandon
Definition
n. a wooden frame on which criminals are executed by hanging—a pl. used as a sing. and having (Shak.) the double pl. 'gallowses' (used also coll. originally for a pair of braces for supporting the trousers): (Shak.) a wretch who deserves the gallows: any contrivance with posts and cross-beam for suspending objects: a rest for the tympan of a hand printing-press: the main frame of a beam-engine.—ns. Gall′ows-bird a person who deserves hanging; Gall′ows-bitts a frame fixed in a ship's deck to support spare spars.—adj. Gall′ows-free free from danger of hanging.—n. Gall′owsness (slang) recklessness.—adj. Gall′ows-ripe ready for the gallows.—n. Gall′ows-tree a tree used as a gallows.—Cheat the gallows to escape hanging though deserving it.
Checker: Sheena
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of seeing a friend on the gallows of execution, foretells that desperate emergencies must be met with decision, or a great calamity will befall you. To dream that you are on a gallows, denotes that you will suffer from the maliciousness of false friends. For a young woman to dream that she sees her lover executed by this means, denotes that she will marry an unscrupulous and designing man. If you rescue any one from the gallows, it portends desirable acquisitions. To dream that you hang an enemy, denotes victory in all spheres.
Edited by Debra
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. A stage for the performance of miracle plays in which the leading actor is translated to heaven. In this country the gallows is chiefly remarkable for the number of persons who escape it.
Edited by Kitty
Examples
- If I shake and tremble, as we pass the gallows, don't you mind, but hurry on. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Some of us found our way to the gallows, and some to Siberia. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- The avidity, the _alieni appetens_[10] is the same; it is the fear of the gallows that makes the difference. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- I think Mademoiselle Lucy will now confess that the cord and gallows are amply earned; she trembles in anticipation of her doom. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- He knows nothing, said Defarge; at least nothing more than would easily elevate himself to a gallows of the same height. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- On the top of the gallows is fixed the knife, blade upwards, with its point in the air. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- The mender of roads looked _through_ rather than _at_ the low ceiling, and pointed as if he saw the gallows somewhere in the sky. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Now, young gallows! Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- That fellow will rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a gallows. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- A pause--then Flo cried out, Bless me, there's a gallows and a man going up. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The gallows awaits him, and I would do nothing to save him from it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- We might as well bury it here on the chance that some of us will escape the gallows to come back and enjoy it later. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Some, indeed, do not avoid it; as some do not avoid the gallows. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- You may be in time to save her yet--though it be for the gallows. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- If I shake and tremble, as we pass the gallows, don't you mind, but hurry on. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Some of us found our way to the gallows, and some to Siberia. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- The avidity, the _alieni appetens_[10] is the same; it is the fear of the gallows that makes the difference. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- I think Mademoiselle Lucy will now confess that the cord and gallows are amply earned; she trembles in anticipation of her doom. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- He knows nothing, said Defarge; at least nothing more than would easily elevate himself to a gallows of the same height. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- On the top of the gallows is fixed the knife, blade upwards, with its point in the air. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- The mender of roads looked _through_ rather than _at_ the low ceiling, and pointed as if he saw the gallows somewhere in the sky. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Now, young gallows! Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- That fellow will rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a gallows. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- A pause--then Flo cried out, Bless me, there's a gallows and a man going up. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The gallows awaits him, and I would do nothing to save him from it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- We might as well bury it here on the chance that some of us will escape the gallows to come back and enjoy it later. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Some, indeed, do not avoid it; as some do not avoid the gallows. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- You may be in time to save her yet--though it be for the gallows. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Inputed by Dennis