Wiktionary
cotton reel
n. 1 A spool, or bobbin used to keep cotton thread tidy. 2 A Scottish highland country dance. A 4x40 bar reel for 4 couples in a 4-couple longwise set.
Usage examples of "cotton reel".
Taking up the roll of marline he tucked an end between the leather and the inside of the barrel and began to wind it round and round the base of the portfire, as though rewinding a cotton reel, pausing every now and again to push it down until the portfire was a tight fit in the bung-hole, and leaving a shallow depression all round.