sunk fence

American  

noun

1. a wall or other barrier set in a ditch to divide lands without marring the landscape.

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sunk fence British  

noun

1. Also called: ha-ha.  a ditch, one side of which is made into a retaining wall so as to enclose an area of land while remaining hidden in the total landscape

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Etymology

Origin of sunk fence

First recorded in 1755–65

Example Sentences

The wall is often concealed in a sunk fence, in order to give an idea of greater extent.

From Travels in China, Containing Descriptions, Observations, and Comparisons, Made and Collected in the Course of a Short Residence at the Imperial Palace of Yuen-Min-Yuen, and on a Subsequent Journey through the Country from Pekin to Canton by Barrow, John, Sir

She had always been a part of his life since the days when nothing but a sunk fence divided his father’s park from her father’s rabbit-warren.

From Man and Maid by Nesbit, E. (Edith)

He had come to her as usual from out the gloom, just as she was about to cross the little bridge which spanned the sunk fence.

From The Nest of the Sparrowhawk by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness

There the going was splendid—till you came to the sunk fence….

From Anthony Lyveden by Yates, Dornford

He was kept at home for a week, and told not to go past the sunk fence.

From The Book of One Syllable by Bakewell, Esther