snatch block

American  

noun

Nautical.

1. a fairlead having the form of a block that can be opened to receive the bight of a rope at any point along its length.

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snatch block British  

noun

1. nautical a block that can be opened so that a rope can be inserted from the side, without threading it through from the end

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Etymology

Origin of snatch block

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

Lead aft to a snatch block fast to the aftermost ringbolts and forward free.

From Time Magazine Archive

The section was then hauled ahead by passing the main fall of the derrick through a snatch block on the first rib.

From Concrete Construction Methods and Costs by Gillette, Halbert Powers

Maybe you noticed the boys used the snatch block two or three times this afternoon?

From Big Timber A Story of the Northwest by Sinclair, Bertrand W.

Hence to haul the concrete cars up the grade by using a wire cable, it was necessary to anchor a snatch block at the center of the bridge.

From Concrete Construction Methods and Costs by Gillette, Halbert Powers

"And, Billy,—'fore ye go ashore, jump into the yawl and take a look at that snatch block on the spar buoy,—that clam digger may want it 'fore night."

From The Veiled Lady and Other Men and Women by Smith, Francis Hopkinson