strap oil
Preserved but no longer current.
Slang for a thrashing. See above. Strappado (stra pa' do) (Ital. strappare, to pull). A mode of torture formerly practised for extracting confessions? retractations, etc. The hands were tied behind the back, and the victim was pulled up to a beam by a rope tied to them and then let down suddenly; by this means a limb was not infrequently dislocated, Were 1 at the strappado or the rack, I'd give no man a reason on compulsion. — I Henry IP, ii, 4.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “strap oil” mean?
Slang for a thrashing. See above. Strappado (stra pa' do) (Ital. strappare, to pull). A mode of torture formerly practised for extracting confessions? retractations, etc. The hands were tied behind the back, and the victim was pulled up to a beam by a rope tied to them and then let down suddenly; by this means a limb was not infrequently dislocated, Were 1 at the strappado or the rack, I'd give no man a reason on compulsion. — I Henry IP, ii, 4.
Is “strap oil” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.