boat-tailn.
/ˈbəʊtteɪl/, U.S. /ˈboʊ(t)ˌteɪl/ 1. = boat-tailed grackle n. at boat n.1 Compounds 2.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Icteridae > [noun] > genus Quiscalus > quiscalus major (boat-tail)
jackdaw1729
boat-tail1817
1785 T. Pennant Arctic Zool. II. 264 (heading) Boat-tail grakle.]
1817 Jrnl. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1 256 It associates in common with the Boat-tail.
1868 J. G. Wood Homes without Hands xxv. 473 A group of birds..scientifically known as Quiscalinae. They are also called Boat-tails because their tail-feathers are formed so as to take the shape of a canoe.
1955 Bios 26 194 Understanding that what they called a boat-tail was any of the three and not our bird of that name of the southern United States, we lapsed into a complacency.
2003 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) (Nexis) 18 May 26 Crows are from 17 to 21 inches, so the boat-tail is the same size as the smallest crow.
2. A bullet, car, etc., with a tapering rear end shaped like a boat's stern. Frequently attributive.
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1919 Jrnl. U.S. Artillery 50 245 After having devoted many months to the study of the boat tail bullet I give herewith some deductions that may be both interesting and surprising.
1929 Forest & Stream Apr. 244/2 The Germans..then showed their realization of what a boat-tail meant on a bullet by sending over boat-tail 198 gr. missiles.
1971 N.Y. Times: Abstr. (Nexis) 2 May 28/1 '32 Auburn boat-tail roadster.
1989 Amer. Motorcyclist June 26/2 I've always wanted a '71 Harley-Davidson Super Glide—you know, the boat-tail, because it's one of the most unique motorcycles ever built by Harley.
2011 B. Saar In Memory of David's Buick xli. 288 Gimme a box of ought-six soft nose, ah..better make 'em boat-tails, hundred-fifty grain slugs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1817