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Anna Karenina vocabulary
20 horse related terms (carriages, anatomy, breeds, tack)
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four-in-hand
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tags: [equestrian]
► definition
Definition:four horses reigned such that they are controlled by a single driver. It is a difficult skill to master.
photo: By US Embassy Sweden - AMB Brzezinski presents credentials, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31223522
photo: By Femina, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2456624
► uses
Uses:
the descriptions and representations he gave of driving in the English fashion, four-in-hand; and it was in the very best of spirits that after lunch they drove to the Gvozdyov marsh.
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In the meantime I was learning—I shall not say to tool a four-in-hand—but just simply to drive four horses. Now it is all right enough to begin with four work-horses pulling a load of several tons. But to begin with four light horses, all running, and a light rig that seems to outrun them—well, when things happen they happen quickly.Jack London. Four Horses and a Sailor
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"I've always wanted a four-in-hand coach but I know my limitations. I've no experience with horses, let alone handling four sets of reigns. [...]"
John Jakes. The Gods of Newport, pp.275-6 (2006)
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Tuesday last the 'squire took his place in a hired coach and four, accompanied by his sister and mine, and Mrs Tabby's maid, Winifrid Jenkins, whose province it was to support Chowder on a cushion in her lap.
Tobias Smollett. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771)
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Her coach-and-four turned back into a pumpkin and a bunch of mice late this afternoon.
Stephen King. The Stand (1990)
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