Also 6–7, (9 Sc.) strapp, 6–7 strappe, (7 Sc. strape). [dial. form of STROP sb. The early examples are either Sc. or nautical; in Sc. the form is normal: cf. tap, drap = TOP, DROP.]
1. A leather band, thong; in recent use, a flat band or strip of leather of uniform breadth. (Cf. STROP sb. 1.)
1685. Rec. Scott. Cloth Manuf. New Mills (S.H.S.), 105. Anent allowing of the stocken weavers oyle, strape and cords ordered that they be allowed oyle but noe strape nor cord.
1687. Lovell, trans. Thevenot’s Trav., II. 87. They have a stick, with a strap of leather, like a bow, but very slack.
1706. Phillips (ed. Kersey), Strap, a Thong of Leather.
1796. J. Lauderdale, Poems, 68 (E.D.D.). Providence did bless the seed, Sae brought it forth unto the strap.
1824. Mactaggart, Gallovid. Encycl., 439. Strapps, bands for binding grain with.
1827. Scott, Highl. Widow, v. I, who have gone for years with only a strap of deer’s hide to tie back my hair.
b. as used for flogging. Hence, the application of the strap as an instrument of punishment.
c. 1710. Celia Fiennes, Diary (1888), 217. My horse was quite down in one of these holes full of water but by ye good hand of God’s providence…, for giving him a good strap he fflounc’d up againe.
1712. Addison, Spect., No. 499, ¶ 5. A lively Cobler, that … had scarce passed a Day in his Life without giving her the Discipline of the Strap.
1874. H. Calderwood, On Teaching, ii. 19. ‘A thrashing-mill,’ as an ingenious school-fellow named a teacher given to the rough and ready use of the strap.
1905. Westm. Gaz., 20 May, 6/2. I got strap for that.
c. transf. Something resembling a leather strap in form.
a. 1680. Butler, Rem. (1759), I. 195. On both Sides of his Noddle Are Straps o’ th’ very same Leather; Ears are imply’d, But th’ are mere Hide.
1837. P. Keith, Bot. Lex., 167. The stem of an ash-tree thus flattened terminated in a strap of about two inches in breadth.
1845. Gosse, Ocean, i. (1849), 43. From a shallow cup … spring two or three long, olive-coloured straps [of the sea-thong], each of which becomes divided into two.
† d. A snare for birds. Also fig. [Cf. Du. strop in the same sense.] Obs.
1584–7. Greene, Carde of Fancie (1593), K 1. Is the bird inticed to the strap by the shewe of the nets?
1602. Rowlands, Greenes Ghost (1626), B 1. As for Conicatching, they cleape it Batfowling, the wine the Strap, and the cards the Limetwigs.
e. A rope (of onions); a cluster, bunch (of fruit). Sc. and north.
1816. Scott, Old Mort., x. They winna string the like o’ him up as they do the puir Whig bodies … like straps o’ onions.
1894. Northumbld. Gloss., Strap, a cluster, a bunch; especially applied to red or white currants.
2. Naut. = STROP sb. 2.
a. 1625. Nomenclator Navalis (Harl. MS. 2301).
1644. Manwayring, Seaman’s Dict., 103. A Strap a roape which is spliced about any block, that the block thereby may be made fast, to any place where they have occasion to use it: by the eye which is made in the Strap.
1745. P. Thomas, Jrnl. Anson’s Voy., 27. We broke the Straps of the Main-Sheet and Clugarnet Blocks.
1794. Rigging & Seamanship, I. 57. Strap, a number of yarns platted together with an eye at one end, to put a stick through [in ropemaking].
1837. Hebert, Engin. & Mech. Encycl., I. 180. Blocks are suspended by straps, either of rope or iron.
1860. Ld. W. Lennox, Pict. Sporting Life, II. 137. Away went the strap of the mainsheet.
1862. F. A. Griffiths, Artil. Man. (ed. 9), 107. Wooden blocks are generally bound on the outside … with a grummet, which is called ‘the strap’ of the block.
Phrase. 1852. Bentley’s Misc., XXXI. 59. We can’t keep strap and block together, no how at all.
3. A narrow strip of leather, cloth, or other material fitted with a buckle as a fastening and for adjustment.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. 93/1. Strapps, are Leathers fastned to the sides of the Tree [of a saddle], to draw the Girths streight under the Horse Belly. Ibid., 93/2. End straps for tying, or buckling the ends to the Belly Girths.
1827. J. F. Cooper, Prairie, I. i. 22. To release his own rifle from the strap.
1833. J. Holland, Manuf. Metal, II. 317. The leather part of bridles and other straps usually pass through metal rings, after which they are fastened with buckles.
1885. Fairholt, Costume (ed. 3), II. 386. Straps as well as leathern points were used in great numbers for the adjustment of armour.
1898. Encycl. Sport, II. 298/1. (Rowing) Straps, the leather bands looped through holes in the stretcher, between which and the stretcher itself the oarsman’s feet are placed.
1901. P. N. Hasluck, Tailoring, iii. 44. The right strap [at the back of a waistcoat] should be shaped at the narrow end…, and a buckle put on the left one.
1915. E. Œ. Somerville & M. Ross, Mr. Knox’s Country, 300. ‘We’ll have to step out,’ concluded M‘Cabe, shortening the strap of his game-bag, and settling it on his back.
4. a. A short band formerly attached to the bottom of each leg of a pair of pantaloons or trousers passing from side to side under the shank or waist of the boot. Chiefly pl.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., xiv. ‘Damn my straps and whiskers,’ says Tom, ‘if this [the weather] ain’t pleasant, blow me!’
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, lvi. Master George wore straps, and the most beautiful little boots like a man.
1878. A. J. C. Hare, Story of my Life (1896), I. 291. For many years afterwards, all young gentlemen wore straps to their trousers, not only when riding, but always.
b. = SHOULDER-STRAP 2.
1802. C. James, Milit. Dict., s.v.
c. A band, usually elastic, inside the skirt of a lady’s riding-habit, forming a loop in which the toe or the heel is inserted, so as to keep the skirt in its place.
1883. Mrs. E. Kennard, Right Sort, x. 107. While Stirrup proceeded to adjust her skirt satisfactorily and place her feet in the elastic straps.
5. A looped band. a. A looped band of leather or cloth attached to the top of a boot to draw it on.
1601. Shaks., Twel. N., I. iii. 13. And so bee these boots too: and they be not, let them hang themselues in their owne straps.
a. 1625. Fletcher, Captain, II. ii. And by all likelihoods he was begotten Between a stubborn pair of Winter-boots; His body goes with straps, he is so churlish.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. 13/2. The Straps are those Leathers sowed within the Boot on each side to draw them on.
1860. Ld. W. Lennox, Pict. Sporting Life, I. 209. The boots being short, and finished with very broad straps, which hung over the tops and down to the ankles.
b. A band or loop of leather to be grasped by the hand or arm, esp. as a means of steadying oneself in a moving vehicle.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 375. A deal plank to tread upon, with a strap at each end to drag it along either way.
1861. Mrs. Riddell, City & Suburb, i. ‘Now then,’ yelled out another conductor, balancing himself with a strap, while he stooped to open the door of his omnibus.
1897. C. T. Davis, Manuf. Leather, xxvii. (ed. 2), 415. The straps which are used in street cars to hold to when the cars are crowded.
6. Mech. A band or belt by means of which motion is communicated from one wheel, shaft or pulley to another. = BAND sb.2 7.
1790. W. Nicholson, in Repert. Arts (1796), V. 157. These three cylinders are connected, either by cogs or straps at the edges of each.
1835. Ure, Philos. Manuf., 47. The endless strap or belt which descends from the driving shaft to the steam pulley.
1860. All Year Round, 26 May, 163. The straps glide smoothly enough about the wheels [of the machine].
7. Surg. a. (See quot. 1706. Cf. STROP sb. 5.) b. A strip of adhesive plaster used to hold together the edges of a wound, fasten on a dressing, etc.
a. 1706. Phillips (ed. Kersey), Strap,… In Surgery, a sort of Band usually made of Silk, Wooll, or Leather, to stretch out Members, in the setting of broken or disjoynted Bones.
b. 1749. Gataker, trans. Le Dran’s Oper. Surg., 430. In order to keep the skin even with the flesh,… we apply two straps of plaister over the lint.
1813. J. Thomson, Lect. Inflam., 285. The utility of stitches, in some of the wounds … has been denied … and the uniting bandage and adhesive strap … may … be advantageously substituted.
8. A razor-strop: = STROP sb. 3. Obs. exc. dial.
1758. Johnson, Idler, No. 40, ¶ 9. The dispute about straps for razors, now happily subsided.
1797. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3), IX. 743/2. The powder of black-lead serves also to cover the straps for razors.
1809. Malkin, Gil Blas, II. vii. ¶ 2. Two razors … with a strap to set them.
1859. Bartlett, Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), 455. Strap, a razor-strop is, with us, generally called a razor-strap.
b. slang. A barber.
Hugh Strap, a barber, is one of the characters in Smollett’s Roderick Random, 1748.
1865. Hotten’s Slang Dict. (ed. 3), 248. Strap, a barber.
9. A narrow band of iron or other metal used in the form of a plate, loop or ring for fastening a thing in position, holding together timbers, parts of machinery, etc.
[1573–4, 1603–4: see STROP sb. 4.]
1620. in Swayne, Sarum Church-w. Acc. (1896), 172. Twoe new strapps for bell wheles, waying vij li. 2s. 4d.
1753. F. Price, Brit. Carpenter (ed. 3), 17. The prick’d posts … being tyed to the back of the rafter … with iron straps.
1833. Loudon, Encycl. Archit., § 1584. Straps to tie together the wall-plates at the external angles of the building.
1848. Ronalds & Richardson, Knapp’s Chem. Technol., I. 234. The iron straps for strengthening the furnace.
1874. Spon’s Dict. Engin., VIII. 2938. A strap is a band or strip of metal, usually curved to clasp or hold other parts; as a beam-strap, a spring-strap; especially the 𝖴-shaped part of a strap-head which clasps and holds the brasses.
10. A projection on a metal article, narrowed and flattened for screwing down to a wooden surface or for slipping under a metal plate; esp. each or one of the leaves of a strap-hinge.
1831. J. Holland, Manuf. Metal, I. 140. The cheeks or straps of the shovel. Ibid. The middle inside, where the handle is to be inserted, being kept open by the driving of an iron chisel down between the straps.
1833. Loudon, Encycl. Archit., § 630. q is the part [of a strap-hinge] screwed to the under side of the flap; and r the strap or part which is inserted under the top of the table, into an iron plate, s.
1847. Brandon, Anal. Goth. Archit., 100. That [hinge] in Plate 1 has the strap continued quite through, and is finished with an ornamental termination.
11. † a. ? A piece of timber serving to fasten two objects together. Obs.
1588. Shipping Lists of Dundee, in D. Wedderburne, Compt. Bk. (S.H.S.), 217. Ye said schip now come from norrovay contenand … thrie hundreth & fyve dousone daillis viij dousone of tymmer twentie strappis ane hundreth vndergirths of aik fyve dousone of crockit tymmer ane thousand steyngis thrie small maistis.
1739. C. Labelye, Westm. Bridge, 24. These Sides [of the Caisson] were fastened to the Bottom, or Grating, by 28 Pieces of Timber … call’d Straps, about 8 Inches broad, and about 3 Inches thick, reaching and lapping over the Top of the Sides.
b. Mining. (See quots.)
1883. Gresley, Gloss. Coal-mining, 244. Straps, old iron way rails put up between the coal face and the front rank of props, in long-wall stalls, for supporting a tender roof.
1886. J. Barrowman, Sc. Mining Terms, 65. Strap, a plank supported at each end to uphold the roof strata.
1892. Labour Commission Gloss., Straps, lengths of wood, either round or flat and from four to eight feet long, placed up to the roof and across the working places of a mine. At either end they are supported by props called legs.
12. Bot. a. (See quot. 1796.) b. = LIGULE 1.
1796. Martyn, Lang. Bot., s.v., Strap. Ligula. An appendage to the leaf in some Grasses.
1862. Darwin, Fertil. Orchids, v. 171. The labellum … is remarkable by being joined to the base of the column by a very narrow, thin, white strap.
1900. B. D. Jackson, Gloss. Bot. Terms, Strap, the ligule of a ray floret in Compositæ.
13. Anglo-Irish. A term of abuse applied to a woman or girl.
1842. Lover, Handy Andy, ii. ‘You infernal old strap!’ shouted he, as he clutched up a handful of bottles … and flung them at the nurse.
c. 1848. J. Keegan, Leg. & Poems (1907), 454. You lie, you Orange strap … you were insulting every one you met.
14. slang. Credit, trust. Phr. on (the) strap.
1828. Carr, Craven Gloss., Strap, credit, trust.
1876. W. Cudworth, Round abt. Bradford, 146. Meal and milk … were had from the neighbouring farmhouses, and in reckoning for the latter a system of ‘strap’ then existed which was easily checked by both buyer and seller. This was done by what was called a ‘milk stick.’
a. 1890. J. Brown, Literæ laureatæ (1890), 106. With willing hand I drain the brazen tap, Or draw the cork, or estimate the strap.
1894. Hall Caine, Manxman, IV. ix. It was a trick of the devil to deal with you, and forget to pay strap (the price). Ibid., V. xxi. Himself going round to pay the grocer what had been put on ‘strap’ while he was at Kinsale.
1896. Daily News, 21 Feb., 6/7. There was plenty to be had without paying for it. No one else paid that he saw. Whether they had ‘strap’ he did not know.
15. An energetic spell of work. (Cf. STRAP v. 4.)
1840. Col. Hawker, Diary (1893), II. 173. Had a stiff pianoforte lesson from Bertini, who by mere chance dropped in, and invited me to a good ‘strap.’
16. attrib. and Comb. a. simple attrib., as strap-end, -tab; with the meaning ‘made or consisting of a strap,’ as (sense 3) strap-muzzle, (sense 5 b) strap-handle. b. objective, as strap-maker, strap-wielding; c. similative, as strap-like adj.
1909. T. Sheppard, in Trans. Hull Sci. Club, IV. II. 62. The part with a swivel is attached to the brass at the *strap-end.
1892. Photogr. Ann., II. 533. A polished mahogany stained case with leather *strap handle for carrying.
1835–6. Todd’s Cycl. Anat., I. 785/2. At the same epoch there are formed anteriorly … two pairs of small *strap-like bodies.
1770. Ann. Reg., 73/2. He was a clog *strap-maker.
1889. Daily News, 7 Nov., 7/2. When the ordinary *strap muzzle was used, if drawn too tightly, a dog could not drink.
1913. E. T. Leeds, Archæol. Anglo-Sax. Settlements, iii. 56. Other objects included the bronze *strap-tab, [etc.].
1910. I. MacIntosh, in Poets of Ayrshire, 331. His reputation for *strap-wielding made roots respected.
17. Special comb.: strap-bar (a) (see quot.); (b) a bar that carries the strap-fork q.v. (Cent. Dict., Suppl., 1909); strap-block (see quot.); strap-bolt sb., a bolt with a flattened end for screwing down to a surface; strap-bolt v. trans., to fasten down with a strap-bolt; strap-bound a. in strap-bound-block (see quot.); strap brake, a brake consisting of a friction strap applied to a cylindrical bearing surface; esp. a dynamometer brake on this plan; strap-butt [BUTT sb.11], leather for the making of bands, belts, straps, etc. (see quot. 1904); strap-cap, a cap with bands to fasten under the chin; strap-fork, an apparatus with prongs for guiding the driving-belt of a machine from one pulley to another; strap-form a. Bot., ligulate (cf. STRAP-SHAPED a.); strap game, a swindling game = FAST AND LOOSE (Cent. Dict., 1891); straphanger, slang, a passenger who is compelled to stand and hold on by the strap in a full omnibus, compartment of a railway carriage, etc.; strap-head (see quot. 1875); strap hide, a hide suitable for or used for the making of straps (cf. strap-butt); strap hinge, a hinge with long leaves or flaps for screwing down to a surface; also a hinge with one leaf lengthened for insertion into an iron plate; strap iron, (a) (see quot. 1833); (b) U.S. iron in the form of long narrow strips (cf. strap-rail); strap-laid a., (of a rope) made in a flat form by binding together two or more hawser-laid ropes; strap leather, leather for making straps; strap-oil, slang, flogging with a strap; strap-ornament, ornamentation in strap-work; strap-oyster U.S. (local) (see quot.); strap-rail U.S., a flat railroad rail laid upon a continuous longitudinal sleeper (Cent. Dict., 1891); hence strap railroad, railway, road U.S., a railroad constructed with strap-rails; strap shoe, a shoe fastened by means of a strap across the instep; strap skein U.S., a strengthening iron band or a series of such bands placed upon a wooden spindle of an axle bar (see SKEIN sb.2 2); strap solder (see quot. 1896); † strap-spear-shaped a. Bot., (of a leaf) flattened or strap-shaped at the base with a spear-shaped head; strapwork (see quot. 1854); also attrib.; strap-worm, a cestoid worm of the family Ligulidæ; strapwort, a small annual plant belonging to the genus Corrigiola found in the extreme south-west of England. Also STRAP-SHAPED a.
1887. J. A. Phillips & Bauerman, Elem. Metall. (ed. 2), 647. There are also two bars, called *‘strap-bars,’ connecting the first transverse bar at the wider end with the ring.
1875. Knight, Dict. Mech., *Strap-block (Nautical), a block with a strap around it, and an eye worked at the lower end for attachment to a hook upon deck for a purchase.
1795. Herschel, in Phil. Trans., LXXXV. 359. They were all screwed down by *strap-bolts. Ibid., 360. The lower end is *strap-bolted down upon the beams.
1794. Rigging & Seamanship, I. 157. *Strap-bound-blocks are single blocks, with a shoulder left on each side, at the upper part, to admit the strap through, a little above the pin.
1902. S. Sheldon & H. Mason, Altern.-Current Machines, 240. The power output of the motor is absorbed in a *strap brake.
1885. H. R. Procter, Tanning, 200. In the case of *strap-butts, the currying is … far less elaborate.
1904. P. N. Hasluck, Harness Making, ii. 38. Black strap butts are the best part of the hide from which the belly and shoulder have been cut.
1820. in Alice M. Earle, Two Cent. Costume Amer. (1903), II. 501. The women … had two kinds…. One was called a *strap-cap; it came under the chin; the other was called round-cord cap, and did not come over the ears.
1902. Thornley, Cotton Combing Machines, 7. *Strap Fork.
1845–50. Mrs. Lincoln, Lect. Bot., Vocab., *Strap-form, ligulate.
1892. Lawrence Daily Jrnl., 26 Aug., 2/4. The guard stepped inside the door and said: ‘Seats at the other end of the [railway] car, ladies and gentlemen!’ The straphangers looked surprised.
1905. Daily News, 30 Jan., 3. Mr. W. Lestocq … has espoused the cause of the long-suffering *‘straphanger.’
1905. Punch, 8 Nov., 341/2. I am a Straphanger. I am one of a million swaying souls who travel underground to the vast city.
1864–86. Webster, *Strap-head.
1875. Knight, Dict. Mech., Strap-head, a journal-box secured by a strap to a connecting-rod.
1862. Catal. Internat. Exhib. Brit., II. No. 4671. Brown *Strap Hides.
1737. Hoppus, Salmon’s Country Build. Estim. (ed. 2), 107. *Strap Hinges, are sold by the Dozen.
1833. Loudon, Encycl. Archit., § 630. The end flaps … are made to put on or to take off as required, by means of what are called strap-hinges. Ibid., § 1584. Fix on each side of the principals two long double wrought-iron *strap irons (binding plates of iron) … secured by thirteen screw-bolts.
1883. Ingersoll, in Harper’s Mag., Jan., 199. The track is rudely built…, the rails being heavy strap-iron bolted upon string pieces.
1839. Ure, Dict. Arts, 1072. A three-inch *strap-laid rope.
1897. C. T. Davis, Manuf. Leather, xxvi. (ed. 2), 414. Large sides are used for bag leather and for *strap leather.
1847. Halliwell, Strap-oil, a severe beating. It is a common joke on April 1st to send a lad for a pennyworth of *strap-oil, which is generally ministered on his own person.
1895. Daily News, 27 May, 6/6. A vase-shaped sugar castor,… chased with cherubs and *strap ornament in relief.
1881. E. Ingersoll, Oyster-Industr. (Hist. Fish. Industr. U.S.), 249. *Strap-oyster, the long, slender form which grows in mud.
1911. Webster, *Strap railroad or railway.
1861. N. A. Woods, Prince of Wales in Canada, xviii. 357. The first part of the journey was over what is termed a *‘strap road,’ one of the most unsafe varieties of railway ever used.
1903. Daily Chron., 10 Jan., 8/4. Patent leather *strap shoes.
1891. Century Dict., *Strap-skein.
1885. P. J. Davies, Pract. Plumbing, I. 44. *Strap Solder. Ibid. (1896), II. 801. Strap solder, solder run into strips.
1796. Withering, Brit. Plants (ed. 3), I. 85. *Strap-spear-shaped (lineari-lanceolatum). Ibid., II. 30. Blossom of 3 petals, the 2 upper strap-spearshaped.
1854. Fairholt, Dict. Terms Art, *Strap-work, a peculiar kind of ornament, adopted extensively in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (particularly in Flanders and Germany) … which consists of a narrow fillet or band, folded and crossed, and occasionally interlaced with another.
1901. Illustr. Lond. News, CXVIII. 912. Above the monogram is a strapwork panel.
1854. A. Adams, etc., Man. Nat. Hist., 361. *Strap-Worms (Ligulidæ).
1896. trans. Boas’ Text-bk. Zool., 151. The Strap-worm, Ligula simplicissima, parasitic in the digestive tract of different Water-birds.
1799. J. Hull, Brit. Flora, I. 66. Corrigiola littoralis, Sand *Strapwort.
