That which fends off attack or danger; a defense; a protection; a cover; security; shield. "Let us be backed with God and with the seas, Which he hath given for fence impregnable.""A fence betwixt us and the victor's wrath."
2.
An inclosure about a field or other space, or about any object; especially, an inclosing structure of wood, iron, or other material, intended to prevent intrusion from without or straying from within. "Leaps o'er the fence with ease into the fold." Note: In England a hedge, ditch, or wall, as well as a structure of boards, palings, or rails, is called a fence.
3.
(Locks) A projection on the bolt, which passes through the tumbler gates in locking and unlocking.
4.
Self-defense by the use of the sword; the art and practice of fencing and sword play; hence, skill in debate and repartee. See Fencing. "Enjoy your dear wit, and gay rhetoric, That hath so well been taught her dazzing fence.""Of dauntless courage and consummate skill in fence."
5.
A receiver of stolen goods, or a place where they are received. (Slang)
Fence month (Forest Law), the month in which female deer are fawning, when hunting is prohibited.
Fence roof, a covering for defense. "They fitted their shields close to one another in manner of a fence roof."
Fence time, the breeding time of fish or game, when they should not be killed.
Rail fence, a fence made of rails, sometimes supported by posts.
Ring fence, a fence which encircles a large area, or a whole estate, within one inclosure.
Worm fence, a zigzag fence composed of rails crossing one another at their ends; called also snake fence, or Virginia rail fence.
To be on the fence, to be undecided or uncommitted in respect to two opposing parties or policies. (Colloq.)
Rail n.
1.
A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.
2.
(Arch.) A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling.
3.
(Railroad) A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
4.
(Naut.)
(a)
The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks.
(b)
The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.
5.
A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail.
Rail joint (Railroad), a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, which is merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among several hundred varieties, the fish joint is standard. See Fish joint, under Fish.
Rail train (Iron & Steel Manuf.), a train of rolls in a rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms or billets.
... of youth mounting from the feet of the past to the head of the present," Gid broke in. "I can jump a ten rail fence, staked and ridered." ... — An Arkansas Planter • Opie Percival Read Read full book for free!
... breastworks to show his men that the cannonade was not particularly dangerous. John Stark, bringing his company, in which were his Irish compatriots, across Charlestown Neck under the guns of the battleships, refused to quicken his step. His Major, Andrew McCleary, fell at the rail fence which he had held during the day. Dr. Joseph Warren, your own son of Roxbury, fell in the retreat, but the Americans, though picking off his officers, spared General Howe. They had fought the French under ... — Have faith in Massachusetts; 2d ed. - A Collection of Speeches and Messages • Calvin Coolidge Read full book for free!
... I've been used to seeing cars behave," Luck observed pointedly to the deposed chauffeur as he slammed the door open and climbed out. "You don't have to act like you're a catepillar on a rail fence, to play safe. I believe in keeping all four wheels on the ground—but I like to see 'em turn once in awhile. You get me?" He peeled a five-dollar banknote off a roll the size of his wrist, handed it to the impressed chauffeur ... — The Heritage of the Sioux • B.M. Bower Read full book for free!
... "cherry pickers" stand on the order of their coming. The whole Yankee army was thought to be over the hills. At last the officer commanding got the men halted some little distance up the road; a semblance of a line formed, men cocked their guns and peered anxiously through the cracks of the rail fence, expecting to see an enemy behind every tree. A great giant, a sergeant from the mountain section, who stood six feet, three inches in his stockings, and as brave as he was big, his face flushed with ... — History of Kershaw's Brigade • D. Augustus Dickert Read full book for free!
... the edges were grouped in unadorned and exaggerated ugliness the pictures of our former Presidents, and in the midst of them were the faces of "Lincoln and Hamlin," surrounded by way of a frame with a rail fence. We are all familiar with the strong and rugged face of Mr. Lincoln, the deep lines about the mouth, and the eyes have much the same sorrowful expression in all the pictures I have seen of him. I think ... — McClure's Magazine, Volume VI, No. 3. February 1896 • Various Read full book for free!
... to Halltown, encamped on the Miller farm, and threw out pickets. I was on first detail there. I learned how to get a fair sleep on top of a "herring-bone" rail fence. My proclivity for "prying into things" manifested itself there. An attack was expected, so our regiment slept on arms, anxiously waiting; it became tedious. I asked permission to reconnoitre alone, and was permitted. In the dark I sneaked out about ... — Between the Lines - Secret Service Stories Told Fifty Years After • Henry Bascom Smith Read full book for free!
... either hand, was bordered by a high rail fence, along which rose, here and there, the bleak spire of a ghostly and perishing Lombardy poplar. This is the tree of all least suited to those wind-beaten regions, but none other will the country people plant. Close up to the road, at one point, curved a ... — Earth's Enigmas - A Volume of Stories • Charles G. D. Roberts Read full book for free!
... Collection of the Fifth Avenue Bank shows the old Hospital as it was in 1867. The point from which the picture was taken was in the middle of Fifty-fourth Street, east of the Avenue. At the north-east corner an iron rail fence separates the hospital grounds from the sidewalk, but the other three corners are vacant lots. To the west, on the south side of Fifty-fourth Street, a solitary house looms up. It is No. 4, now the residence of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Near the Hospital, until ... — Fifth Avenue • Arthur Bartlett Maurice Read full book for free!
... shadow of those two oaks used to just touch the stone wall on the western border of father's property, and when the sun was just crawlin' into bed behind those woods off yonder the shadow of the oaks just overlapped the rail fence on the eastern border? That's all my father left me—that and the mortgage. That's all I brought you home to, Maw. I'm not disparaging my father. He was a great man. When he left his own home in the East and came out here all this was woods, woods, woods, far as you ... — In a Little Town • Rupert Hughes Read full book for free!
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