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

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

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

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