swivel gun

noun

a gun mounted on a pedestal so that it can be turned from side to side or up and down.

Origin of swivel gun

First recorded in 1705–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for swivel gun

Historical Examples of swivel gun

The big gunner was at the breach of his swivel-gun, ramrod in hand.
The Black Buccaneer
Stephen W. Meader
Transcendentalism is a swivel-gun, which can be fired easily in any direction.
Liberty In The Nineteenth Century
Frederic May Holland
Poor fellow, he was very glad, fired his swivel-gun, and then brought up for breakfast.
The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido
Henry Keppel
There was a report, my boy; the swivel-gun kicked, and the Rear Admiral fell upon the deck with a promiscuous violence.
The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers. Series 3
Robert H. Newell