gantlet
gantlet1 definition
gant·let (gônt′lit, gänt′-, gant′-)
noun
- a former military punishment in which the offender had to run between two rows of men who struck him with clubs, etc. as he passed
- a series of troubles or difficulties: in these senses, now spelled equally gauntlet
- a section of railroad track through a narrow passage where two lines of track overlap, one rail of each line being within the rails of the other
Etymology: earlier gantlope < Swed gatlopp, a running down a lane < gata, lane (akin to Ger gasse: see gait) + lopp, a run, akin to leap
transitive verb
to overlap (railroad tracks) so as to make a gantlet
gantlet Idioms
run the gantlet
- to be punished by means of the gantlet
- to proceed while under attack from both sides, as by criticism
gantlet2 definition
gant·let (gônt′lit, gänt′-, gant′-)
noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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