loose-footed

American  

[loos-foot-id] / ˈlusˈfʊt ɪd /

adjective

Nautical.

1. (of a fore-and-aft sail) not having the foot bent to a boom.

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Etymology

Origin of loose-footed

First recorded in 1710–20

Example Sentences

The mainsail is of course loose-footed, and the tack is seen well triced up.

From King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 by Chatterton, E. Keble (Edward Keble)

She had a lofty fo'c'sle and poop, with a low waist, her rig consisting of two raking masts, from the slanting yards of which bellied closely reefed, loose-footed triangular sails.

From The Quest of the 'Golden Hope' A Seventeenth Century Story of Adventure by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

There were the "loose-footed fellows," who followed the railroad, worked for seasons on the farms, drifted on with the renewal of demand for railroad laborers, and disappeared from the Hill.

From Quaker Hill A Sociological Study by Wilson, Warren H. (Warren Hugh)

Then in swift, eloquent speech Kells launched the idea of his Border Legion, its advantages to any loose-footed, young outcast, and he ended his brief talk with much the same argument he had given Joan.

From The Border Legion by Grey, Zane