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spindleshanks

[spin-dl-shangks]
noun, plural spin·dle·shanks. (used with a singular or plural verb)
  1. spindlelegs.
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Origin of spindleshanks

First recorded in 1560–70; spindle + shank + -s3
Related formsspin·dle-shanked [spin-dl-shangkt] /ˈspɪn dlˌʃæŋkt/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spindleshanks

Historical Examples of spindleshanks

  • Perhaps they call you Sheepshanks, or Cruickshanks, or Spindleshanks?

    Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)

    Various

  • Is your name, perhaps, Sheepshanks Cruickshanks, Spindleshanks?

  • Perhaps you are called Roast-ribs, or Sheepshanks, or Spindleshanks?

    Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm

    Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

  • Compliments are the makeshifts of the elderly to call away attention from their spindleshanks.

    A Nest of Linnets

    Frank Frankfort Moore