four-in-hand

[fawr-in-hand, fohr-]

noun

1. a long necktie to be tied in a slipknot with the ends left hanging.

2. a vehicle drawn by four horses and driven by one person.

3. a team of four horses.

adjective

1. of or relating to a four-in-hand.

four-in-hand

noun

1. Also called: tally-ho. a road vehicle drawn by four horses and driven by one driver

2. a four-horse team in a coach or carriage

3. a long narrow tie formerly worn tied in a flat slipknot with the ends dangling

Word History and Origins

Origin of four-in-hand¹

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

This time pledged by a man in a bespoke suit and a four-in-hand.

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Acting ambassador William B. Taylor Jr. was also duly attired in a suit, with a green four-in-hand — his brow furrowing with his efforts to sort the questions from the chaff.

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She drove a four-in-hand on her fourteenth birthday, and her cousin, Mr. Jack, got up on the box beside her and tried to take the reins from her hands.

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Sen. Cory Booker — black guy, bald head — wore a red four-in-hand.

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It’s a preposterous position with his head turned to his right and his torso directly facing the camera as his hands try to make sense of a four-in-hand with its narrow stripes.

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