crowbait

American  

[kroh-beyt] / ˈkroʊˌbeɪt /

noun

Chiefly Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S.

1. an emaciated, worn-out horse or cow.

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Etymology

Origin of crowbait

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; crow ¹ + bait

Example Sentences

“You didn’t sell that old gray crowbait of yours, did you, Carl?”

From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck

"Right there is where my lode of information turns to an old spavined crowbait, and folds its wings, for I've pumped it dry."

From Heart of the West by Henry, O.

Andy curiously regarded the poor crowbait of a horse soon driven into view attached to a ramshackly wagon.

From Airship Andy or The Luck of a Brave Boy by Webster, Frank V.

Waiting in the middle of a broad avenue of misshapen obelisks, a dilapidated barouche with a low body sagging the lower for debilitated springs, on either side its pole drooped two sorry specimens of crowbait.

From Alias the Lone Wolf by Vance, Louis Joseph

"Well, how in the name of all that is good, great, and wise did you get that crowbait wished on you?"

From Old Man Curry Race Track Stories by Van Loan, Charles E. (Charles Emmett)