Crossword clues for stirrup cup
stirrup cup
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Stirrup \Stir"rup\, n. [OE. stirop, AS. stigr[=a]p; st[=i]gan to mount, ascend + r[=a]p a rope; akin to G. stegreif a stirrup.
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A kind of ring, or bent piece of metal, wood, leather, or the like, horizontal in one part for receiving the foot of a rider, and attached by a strap to the saddle, -- used to assist a person in mounting a horse, and to enable him to sit steadily in riding, as well as to relieve him by supporting a part of the weight of the body.
Our host upon his stirpoes stood anon.
--Chaucer. (Carp. & Mach.) Any piece resembling in shape the stirrup of a saddle, and used as a support, clamp, etc. See Bridle iron.
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(Naut.) A rope secured to a yard, with a thimble in its lower end for supporting a footrope.
--Totten.Stirrup bone (Anat.), the stapes.
Stirrup cup, a parting cup taken after mounting.
Stirrup iron, an iron stirrup.
Stirrup leather, or Stirrup strap, the strap which attaches a stirrup to the saddle. See Stirrup, 1.
Wiktionary
n. A parting cup taken after mounting.
WordNet
n. a farewell drink (especially one offered to a horseman ready to depart); usually alcoholic
Wikipedia
A stirrup cup is a "parting cup" given to guests, especially when they are leaving and have their feet in the stirrups. It is also the traditional drink (usually port or sherry) served at the meet, prior to a traditional foxhunt. The term can describe the cup that such a drink is served in.
In Scots the host may well, in inviting his guest to stay briefly for that farewell drink, call it a "dochan doruis" (from Scottish Gaelic deoch an dorais , literally "drink of the door").
In Anya Seton's Katherine the custom occurs frequently before English royalty and nobility leave on travels abroad or progresses. In G.G. Coulton's Chaucer and his England it is referred to in relation to the Canterbury pilgrims setting out. It is also used in a number of Rosemary Sutcliff's historical novels set in England after the Norman Invasion.
Usage examples of "stirrup cup".
The Earl waited for the second gun to fire, then, as though these horsemen were about to ride to hounds, he gravely raised his stirrup cup.
Grim-eyed in blue-and-green armor, with a helmet carrying two plumes under her arm, she wanted her stirrup cup right then.
I was in the saddle when the innkeeper brought me a stirrup cup and a pouch of gold.
After a stirrup cup, they saw the gates close behind them and set out for Morguhnpolis at a brisk trot.
He made an imposing sight, a towering form, encased in steel plate and helm, with the oval shield and the long lance set in his stirrup cup.