What is "flukes"

Usage examples of "flukes".

This delicacy is chiefly evinced in the action of sweeping, when in maidenly gentleness the whale with a certain soft slowness moves his immense flukes from side to side upon the surface of the sea.

She was quite surprised when he nuzzled against her beak and flippers and rubbed his flukes tenderly against hers.

The strongest and most reliable hold which the ship has upon the whale when moored alongside, is by the flukes or tail.

The compact round body of its root expands into two broad, firm, flat palms or flukes, gradually shoaling away to less than an inch in thickness.

At the crotch or junction, these flukes slightly overlap, then sideways recede from each other like wings, leaving a wide vacancy between.

In striking at a boat, he swiftly curves away his flukes from it, and the blow is only inflicted by the recoil.

The most direful blow from the elephant’s trunk were as the playful tap of a fan, compared with the measureless crush and crash of the Sperm Whale’s ponderous flukes, which in repeated instances have one after the other hurled entire boats with all their oars and crews into the air, very much as an Indian juggler tosses his balls.

The delicate side fins, and the palms of his flukes, still freshly retained the plaited crumpled appearance of a baby’s ears newly arrived from foreign parts.

This lucky salvation was cheaply purchased by the loss of Queequeg’s hat, who, while standing in the bows to prick the fugitive whales, had his hat taken clean from his head by the air-eddy made by the sudden tossing of a pair of broad flukes close by.

I say, that the motion of a Sperm Whale’s flukes above water dispenses a perfume, as when a musk scented lady rustles her dress in a warm parlor.

But a finer search revealed horizontal flukes and warm blood coursing.

She even found it less tiring, for when Old Wind wagged his flukes she was nearly carried along in the wash.

The dolphins all seemed to know Greyback and crowded around, nibbling affectionately at his flukes and flippers.

Then, with a mighty kick of his flukes, the Squarehead jackknifed upwards.

Breee caught up with him, pumping all her fear into her flukes, unsure, but feeling safe with him.