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boneshaker

British  
/ ˈbəʊnˌʃeɪkə /

noun

  1. an early type of bicycle having solid tyres and no springs

  2. slang any decrepit or rickety vehicle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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This we learn when a census officer pops by his breeze-block house – a half-cute, half-clumsy device – just before he hops on his boneshaker for the night shift at the local auto factory.

From The Guardian May 16, 2013

By the time the old boneshaker finally took to the road, the empty plastic bag and bottle were at his feet, and he was gnawing the last clam off the stick.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

The man named Honeysett had ridden off on an old boneshaker of his to fetch the engines.

From Oswald Bastable and Others by C. E. (Charles Edmund) Brock

They are rude machines, only a slight improvement upon the honored boneshaker; but their introduction is suggestive of what may be looked for in the future.

From Around the World on a Bicycle - Volume II From Teheran To Yokohama by Thomas Stevens

She saw him vividly, a little boy, whizzing down King Street on a boneshaker, and his cap flying off.

From The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett

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