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pin rail

noun
  1. Theater. a rail on a fly gallery, wall, etc., holding two rows of pins or cleats for securing lines attached to scenery.
  2. Nautical. a strong rail at the side of the deck of a vessel, for holding the pins to which some of the running rigging is belayed.
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Compare fife rail.

Origin of pin rail

First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pin rail

Historical Examples

  • "Tie it off" is the way they direct that the lines be made fast to the pin-rail.

    The Art of Stage Dancing

    Ned Wayburn

  • I stepped over to the pin-rail and pulled out a wooden belaying-pin.

    The Flying Bo'sun

    Arthur Mason

  • Margaret did not disdain the aid of my hand as she climbed upon the pin-rail at the foot of the weather jigger-rigging.

  • And yet, there, in the shade on the pin-rail, that unbelievable and monstrous heart beat on.

British Dictionary definitions for pin rail

pin rail

noun
  1. nautical a strong wooden rail or bar containing holes for belaying pins to which lines are fastened on sailing vesselsCompare fife rail
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012