four-in-hand
1. a. A vehicle with four horses driven by one person.
| 1793 European Mag. XXIII. 46 Swift thro' Hyde Park I drive my four-in-hand. 1825 Disraeli in Smiles Life J. Murray (1891) II. xxvi. 188 The four-in-hands of the Yorkshire squires. 1842 Tennyson Walking to Mail 103 As quaint a four-in-hand As you shall see—three pyebalds and a roan. |
| fig. 1837 Longfellow in Life (1891) I. 277 This four-in-hand of outlandish animals [the foreign instructors at Harvard College], all pulling the wrong way, except one. |
b. A kind of necktie of the variety designed to be tied in a loose knot with hanging ends. Also
four-in-hand tie. Chiefly
U.S.| 1892 Pall Mall G. 11 Oct. 7/2 You do not need..slippers, nor *four-in-hand ties. 1902 S. Hale Let. (1919) 374 The young men in Tuxedos, four-in-hands, panamas. 1909 ‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny x. 166 While trying to figure out Jimmy's method of tying his four-in-hand he cordially gave information. 1909 Public Ledger (Philadelphia) 24 June 5/1 Knitted and French Four-in-hands, made of fiber and short lengths of silk. 1919 T. K. Holmes Man fr. Tall Timber xix. 224 She had fashioned..a crimson four-in-hand to be tied at the low, rolling collar of her blouse. 1942 E. Paul Narrow St. ii. 12 His twinkling blue eyes..noted my American felt hat and four-in-hand tie. 1967 Boston (Mass.) Herald 1 Apr. 21/2 The traditional four-in-hand or ascot. |
2. quasi-adv. With a four-in-hand.
| 1812 Combe (Dr. Syntax) Picturesque xx. 145 Thus off they went, and, four-in-hand, Dash'd briskly tow'rds the promis'd land. 1871 M. Collins Mrq. & Merch. II. ix. 276 He drives them down four-in-hand. |
3. a. attrib. and
Comb., as
four-in-hand club,
four-in-hand-driver,
four-in-hand-driving;
four-in-hand tie: see sense 1 b.
| 1849 E. E. Napier Excurs. S. Africa I. 169 A style that completely outdoes the..most renowned members of the *‘Four in hand’ Club at home. 1877 M. M. Grant Sun-Maid ii, He considered himself equal to the best whip in the Four-in-Hand Club. |
| 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 153 Flash *Four-in-Hand and Donkey drivers. |
| 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair x, Boxing, rat-hunting..and *four in hand driving were then the fashion of our British aristocracy. |
b. quasi-adj.| 1799 H. More Fem. Educ. (ed. 4) I. 75 The intrepid female, the hoyden..the swinging arms, the confident address, the regimental, and the four-in-hand. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. iii. (1811) 41 It is excessively pleasant to hear a couple of these four-in-hand gentlemen retail their exploits over a bottle. 1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Cov. xx, The tobacco-smoking, four-in-hand Miss Coventry. |