cat-o'-nine-tails

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In “Blacklash,” from 1964, Mr. Clark signals racial anger with his title and a splatter of black paint that fans against red and white, like a cat-o’-nine-tails.

From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2018

That is at football, by the way, not just the nation's game but its sackcloth and ashes, its cat-o'-nine-tails, its hemlock on the bedside table.

From The Guardian • Mar. 22, 2011

But after 22 months, what the President's committee had to report amounted to the greatest change in service custom since the abandonment of the cat-o'-nine-tails.

From Time Magazine Archive

If Mr. Douglas does not make Wall Street dance to his cat-o'-nine-tails, they will soon turn upon him as bitterly as they did on Chairman Landis, making his public life a burden to him.

From Time Magazine Archive

The dirty little children didn’t do that, but they threw their orders around the Store like lashes from a cat-o’-nine-tails.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou