Crossword clues for spanker
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Spanker \Spank"er\ (sp[a^][ng]k"[~e]r), n.
One who spanks, or anything used as an instrument for spanking.
(Naut.) The after sail of a ship or bark, being a fore-and-aft sail attached to a boom and gaff; -- sometimes called driver. See Illust. under Sail.
--Totten.One who takes long, quick strides in walking; also, a fast horse. [Colloq.]
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Something very large, or larger than common; a whopper, as a stout or tall person. [Colloq.]
Spanker boom (Naut.), a boom to which a spanker sail is attached. See Illust. of Ship.
Spanker \Spank"er\, n. A small coin. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Wiktionary
n. 1 Someone who spanks. 2 An instrument used to give someone a spanking or spank, such as a paddle. 3 (context nautical English) A fore and aft gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel. 4 (context dated music English) A musician who plays his instrument well. 5 (context obsolete UK dialect English) A small coin. 6 (context dated English) One who takes long, quick strides in walking. 7 (context dated English) A swift horse. 8 (context dated English) Something very large, or larger than usual; a whopper.
WordNet
n. a hitter who slaps (usually another person) with an open hand; "someone slapped me on the back and I turned to see who the slapper was"; "my father was the designated spanker in our family" [syn: slapper]
a fore-and-aft sail set on the aftermost lower mast (usually the mizzenmast) of a vessel
Wikipedia
Spanker can refer to:
- One who administers a spanking
- Spanker (sail), a type of sail on a sailboat
- Spanker (horse), a famous 18th-century thoroughbred race horse
- Spanker, Ohio, an unincorporated community
- SS-17 Spanker, the NATO reporting name for the MR-UR-100 Sotka intercontinental ballistic missile
A spanker is either of two kinds of sail.
On a square rigged ship, the spanker (sometimes called a dolphin spanker) is a gaff rigged fore-and-aft sail set from and aft of the aftmost mast. Almost all square rigs with more than one mast have one or two spankers, which evolved from the driver sail. Some also carry a topsail above the uppermost or only spanker, called the gaff sail. A spanker in this situation is often 'soft footed' in that it has no boom to which it is attached at its foot.
On a racing or cruising yacht, a spanker is an additional headsail set beside and to leeward of a spinnaker when running downwind. It is often of bright colours to match the particular spinnaker with which it is designed to be used, is relatively narrow, and is sometimes called a tallboy or blooper.
Spanker (foaled 1678), sometimes called Old Spanker or the Pelham Arabian, was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who sired many important horses in the history of the breed. He was said to be the best horse in Newmarket, the home of British racing, during the reign of Charles II.
Usage examples of "spanker".
Possibly, Susie smiled in recollection, remembering the upturned bottoms, jnst possibly beause the spanker had the unswerving habit of gently palming their rounded rumps for several bewitching moments before the grimmer business in hand commenced.
Nicholas peered and then he could see the ship, black against dark gray, now clearly seen for what she was, a huge thing with high aftercastle, and a rear lateen spanker sail.
Her forestaysail and mizzen spanker were set as though an effort had been made to hold her head up into the wind, but the sheets had parted, and the sails were tearing to ribbons in the half gale of wind.
As the ship was kept under her topsails and spanker, with two reefs down, no fresh sail was made, and the boatswain did not order the midshipmen to perform any duty.
Under Anya Amaya's guidance the deck crew of four had assembled in the bridge to begin the long, slow process of furling the speed sails: stuns'ls, t'gallants, flying jibs, and spankers.
When the wind was on our port beam, Soterio ordered the jibs furled, the fore course reefed and the spanker raised.
One of the two soldiers whom we had employed to fish the two pieces of the spanker boom, with some quartering that we had, was washed overboard and drowned.
For a moment Roberto grasps the spanker boom (if I have understood correctly), until the sail is rent, shredded by thunderbolts, the boom and the gaff both start emulating the curved course of the stars, and Roberto is flung at the foot of the mizzenmast.
Then the mizzenmast was braced around, jibs and staysails sheeted home, 'tween mast staysails reset, course steadied, and the spanker eased off.
In order to keep rigidly to her station in the Amphion's wake, the Lively was perpetually reefing, dewing up, hauling down jibe, staysails, spanker, starting sheets.