main brace

American  

noun

Nautical.

1. a brace leading to a main yard.

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Etymology

Origin of main brace

First recorded in 1480–90

Example Sentences

Tailing onto the heavy rope of the main brace was a runty, down-cheeked lad of 16 named Jimmy Bisset.

From Time Magazine Archive

From England, King George personally ordered an extra round of grog for all hands with the time-honored phrase: "Splice the main brace."

From Time Magazine Archive

As he fell he caught hold of the main brace, and was suspended for a minute over the water.

From Jack in the Forecastle or, Incidents in the Early Life of Hawser Martingale by Sleeper, John Sherburne

"Thyse and no higher, my Bo," answered the pilot sturdily: he had been splicing the main brace, and would have answered an admiral.

From Hard Cash by Reade, Charles

Oh, only because—"tell it not in Gath"—the captain "spliced the main brace!"

From In Eastern Seas Or, the Commission of H.M.S. 'Iron Duke,' flag-ship in China, 1878-83 by Smith, J. J.