knee-sprung
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of knee-sprung
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
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.
The smaller of the two—but not by much—was a sloppy blond boy, rosy-cheeked and gum-chewing, with a relentlessly cheery demeanor and his fists thrust deep in the pockets of his knee-sprung trousers.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
An hour later he emerges, well fed, revives his knee-sprung horse, lights a fresh cigarette, cracks his whip like a package of torpedoes, and goes clattering off in search of a customer.
From The Real Latin Quarter by F. Berkeley (Frank Berkeley) Smith
Horses that are weak-kneed because of poor conformation, or knee-sprung, are inclined to stumble.
From Common Diseases of Farm Animals by R. A. Craig, D.V.M.
A horseman would have called him knee-sprung and declared he stumbled.
From The Man from the Bitter Roots by Caroline Lockhart
Thomas Carlyle's sentences are knee-sprung in front and his phrases are spavined behind, and, therefore, Carlyle has "a style" but not "style."
From The Battle of Principles A Study of the Heroism and Eloquence of the Anti-Slavery Conflict by Newell Dwight Hillis
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.
