Definition

1. Noun:
   • A whip with nine knotted cords or lashes: A cat-o'-nine-tails is a type of multi-tailed whip, historically used as an instrument for corporal punishment, particularly in the military and naval contexts.
   • An instrument for flogging: It refers specifically to the device used to inflict severe physical punishment.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The captain ordered the use of the cat-o'-nine-tails for the punishment.
  • Museums sometimes display a cat-o'-nine-tails as a relic of harsh naval discipline.

Advanced Usage

• "To feel the cat-o'-nine-tails": To be subjected to a flogging with this whip.
  • The mutineers were sentenced to feel the cat-o'-nine-tails.
• Historical/Figurative Use: The term can be used figuratively to describe something very harsh or punitive.
  • The new regulations were a verbal cat-o'-nine-tails for the staff.

Variants and Related Words

• The cat (n): A common shortened, informal term for the cat-o'-nine-tails.
  • He was sentenced to a dozen lashes with the cat.
• Flog (v): To beat with a whip or stick as punishment, which is the action performed with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
• Lash (n/v): Refers to a stroke from a whip or the cord of a whip.

Synonyms

• Whip: A general term for an instrument used for striking.
• Scourge: A whip used for punishment; can also mean a cause of great suffering.
• Flogging rope: A descriptive synonym.

Related Phrases

• To be flogged around the fleet: A historical naval punishment where the offender was whipped on multiple ships, often using a cat-o'-nine-tails.

Related Idioms

• Not enough room to swing a cat: This idiom is often said to originate from the lack of space needed to wield a cat-o'-nine-tails aboard a ship, meaning a very cramped space.
  • The cabin was so small, there wasn't enough room to swing a cat.

Noun

1. a whip with nine knotted cords
   • British sailors feared the cat