cap pistol
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of cap pistol
An Americanism dating back to 1915–20
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.
After adjusting the cap pistol strapped to his hip, he took a whirling cut that brought to mind a finish-line flagman or a revolving lawn sprinkler.
From Golf Digest • Sep. 25, 2016
Among the prodigious animals he brought back last week: Pistol shrimp, which snap their claws with a report as loud as that of a cap pistol.
From Time Magazine Archive
Secret Service men forbade the use of a five-and-ten-cent-store cap pistol.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Helena, Mont., onetime ripsnortin' mining town, police got a complaint that a boy was frightening horses with a cap pistol.
From Time Magazine Archive
“I can bring my cap pistol for a starter’s gun,” volunteered Brad, showing interest for the first time.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
