tawse

Definition

A leather strap or thong which is split into (typically three) tails, used for corporal punishment in schools, applied to the palm of the hands or buttocks.

Etymology

Apparently a plural form of taw, though attested earlier.

Example Sentences

• "I lay about me with the taws That night and morning I may thrash Greek Alexander from my flesh, […]"
• "[W]hile James Murray might punish a late comer by a stroke on the palm of the hand, the children found his lessons so interesting that he had no need to resort to the "tawse", the traditional leather strap, that descended on the shoulders of Mr Dodds' pupils at the United school."