spindle-shanked
/'spindlʃænkt/ Cách viết khác : (spindle-legged) /'spindl'spindl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Having long, slender, and often thin or spindly legs: Describes a person or animal whose legs are noticeably long and thin, sometimes suggesting a lack of muscularity or a fragile appearance.
Usage
- The word spindle-shanked is a descriptive adjective, often used in literary or somewhat formal contexts to paint a vivid physical image. It can carry a neutral descriptive tone or a slightly critical one, implying excessive thinness or frailty.
- It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predictively (after a linking verb like 'be' or 'seem').
Examples
- Attributive use:
- The spindle-shanked foal struggled to keep up with its mother.
- He was a tall, spindle-shanked youth who seemed all elbows and knees.
- Predictive use:
- The old horse had become quite spindle-shanked in its later years.
- Many of the birds in that species are spindle-shanked.
Advanced Usage
- Descriptive Nuance: While the core meaning is "having long slender legs," the term often implies that the legs are so thin they resemble spindles (the rods used in spinning), suggesting a lack of strength or substance.
- The villain was depicted as a spindle-shanked coward, all height and no might.
Variants and Related Words
- Spindle-legged (adjective): A direct synonym with identical meaning.
- The spindle-legged model walked down the runway.
- Spindly (adjective): More general, describing anything long, thin, and often frail-looking (e.g., spindly legs, spindly plants).
- The plant grew tall but remained spindly due to lack of light.
Synonyms
- Long-legged: Neutral term for having long legs.
- Lanky: Tall and thin in an ungainly way.
- Gangly: (Also gangling) Tall, thin, and awkwardly built.
Antonyms
- Stocky: Broad and sturdily built.
- Sturdy: Strongly and solidly built.
- Short-legged: Having legs that are not long.
Adjective
- having long slender legs