clothesline

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a rope, cord, or wire from which washed clothes are hung to dry

   She pinned the wet sheets to the clothesline in the yard.

2. 2
   verb

   informal: to knock someone down by striking the upper chest or neck with an outstretched arm

   The defender was penalized for clotheslining the runner.

A compound of clothes + line. The informal sports verb compares an outstretched arm at neck height to running into a low clothesline.

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