neat's-foot oil

American  

[neets-foot] / ˈnitsˌfʊt /

noun

1. a pale-yellow fixed oil made by boiling the feet and shinbones of cattle, used chiefly as a dressing for leather.

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neat's-foot oil British  

noun

1. a yellow fixed oil obtained by boiling the feet and shinbones of cattle and used esp to dress leather

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Etymology

Origin of neat's-foot oil

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

neat's-foot oil

It was tangy and slick, like a dirty Martini, with a whiff of neat’s-foot oil.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 4, 2016

They want to stop and smell the neat's-foot oil.

From Time Magazine Archive

His lined, leathery face is as supple as if treated daily with neat's-foot oil.

From Time Magazine Archive

These people remained here for some time, subsisting on shrimp salad, sea-moss farina, and neat's-foot oil.

From Cordwood by Nye, Bill

Behind it dangled from dusty pegs portions of leather harness, which all the neat's-foot oil of the military pharmacopœia could never again restore to softness or pliability.

From Foes in Ambush by King, Charles