honda Western U.S.
(ˈhɒndə)
Also hondo, -oo, ou, -u.
[Sp. honda sling.]
The eye at the end of a lasso through which the rope passes to form a loop (see also quot. 1958). Also fig.
| 1887 Scribner's Mag. II. 508/2 The common [cowboy] terms are..heel, to lariat an animal by the hind leg, hondou (derivation unknown, though probably from the Spanish honda, the eye of a needle), the slip-knot of the lariat. 1894 Dialect Notes I. 324 Hondoo, hondou, the slip-knot of a reata. 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 338/1 Lariat Hondas... Hondas for lariats; firmly pressed rawhide. 1933 Amer. Speech Feb. 28/2 Hondo, a small loop made of metal or rawhide to prevent the rope from burning or cutting the hands and to hold the loop open. 1958 Ibid. Dec. 270 Hondoo, the loop plaited in the end of a rope to make a running noose. Also the metal grommet or thimble inserted in that loop. 1964 ‘F. O'Rourke’ Mule for Marquesa xi. 177 He tied the lead lines to a slip rope, dropped the loop over a rock, wedged the honda. |