All 5 Uses of
breech
in
Gone with the Wind
- Nineteen years old, six feet two inches tall, long of bone and hard of muscle, with sunburned faces and deep auburn hair, their eyes merry and arrogant, their bodies clothed in identical blue coats and mustard-colored breeches, they were as much alike as two bolls of cotton.†
Chpt 1.1
- They were completely fearless of wild horses, shooting affrays and the indignation of their neighbors, but they had a wholesome fear of their red-haired mother's outspoken remarks and the riding crop that she did not scruple to lay across their breeches.†
Chpt 1.1
- But if it's to buy a new pair of breeches for Ashley Wilkes, I fear I must decline to lend it.†
Chpt 4.36
- Now she knew what Reconstruction meant, knew as well as if the house were ringed about by naked savages, squatting in breech clouts.†
Chpt 4.37 *
- Reluctantly he slid out of his hiding place, a giant ragged figure, bare-footed, clad in denim breeches and a blue Union uniform jacket that was far too short and tight for his big frame.†
Chpt 4.44
Definition:
-
(breech) rear
Most commonly used today in the phrase breech birth in reference to a baby who comes out of the birth canal butt-first rather than head-first.More-archaic senses seen in classic literature include:- breechcloth -- a form of loincloth consisting in a strip of material passed between the thighs and held up in front and behind by a belt or string
- breeches -- pants
- a cannon's breech -- the rear of a gun