rat-tail file
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of rat-tail file
First recorded in 1840–50
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.
A rat-tail file or de-burring tool can be used�as long as you smooth all roughness around the hole.
From Time Magazine Archive
You can bend a rat-tail file or ice pick in a vise to fashion a tool.
From Time Magazine Archive
There was a good two-handed saw in the shed and Hiram found a good rat-tail file.
From Hiram the Young Farmer by Todd, Burbank L.
First drill a smaller hole, and then with a 1/4-inch rat-tail file slowly open it out, at the same time rubbing a groove down the stern-post.
From Boys' Book of Model Boats by Yates, Raymond F. (Raymond Francis)
It was laconic, but it sounded like a rat-tail file on steel.
From The Skipper and the Skipped Being the Shore Log of Cap'n Aaron Sproul by Day, Holman
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.
