gantlet Hear it!

gantlet1 definition

gant·let (gônt′lit, gänt′-, gant′-)

noun

    1. 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
    2. a series of troubles or difficulties: in these senses, now spelled equally gauntlet
  2. 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

  1. to be punished by means of the gantlet
  2. to proceed while under attack from both sides, as by criticism
gantlet2 definition

gant·let (gônt′lit, gänt′-, gant′-)

noun

gauntlet

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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