The Collaborative International Dictionary
Truss \Truss\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Trussed; p. pr. & vb. n. Trussing.] [F. trousser. See Truss, n.]
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To bind or pack close; to tie up tightly; to make into a truss.
--Shak.It [his hood] was trussed up in his wallet.
--Chaucer. -
To take fast hold of; to seize and hold firmly; to pounce upon. [Obs.]
Who trussing me as eagle doth his prey.
--Spenser. To strengthen or stiffen, as a beam or girder, by means of a brace or braces.
To skewer; to make fast, as the wings of a fowl to the body in cooking it.
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To execute by hanging; to hang; -- usually with up. [Slang.]
--Sir W. Scott.To truss a person or To truss one's self, to adjust and fasten the clothing of; especially, to draw tight and tie the laces of garments. [Obs.] ``Enter Honeysuckle, in his nightcap, trussing himself.''
--J. Webster (1607).To truss up, to strain; to make close or tight.
Trussed beam, a beam which is stiffened by a system of braces constituting a truss of which the beam is a chord.
Usage examples of "to truss up".
At length, he came up with a roll of twine you use to truss up chickens or turkeys for roasting.
The firefighters used various lines and straps from their pockets to truss up Leon and his two men.
They climbed into the wagon and found some rope, which they promptly used to truss up the prisoner.
And, as you'll recall, when we reached the lake all we found were the ropes I'd used to truss up Orloff.