All 3 Uses of
rein
in
The House of Mirth
- She yielded up the reins of the light runabout in which she had driven over, and as he climbed heavily to her side, crushing her into a scant third of the seat, he said: "Halloo!†
Chpt 1.7
- He drew up in the shade of the village street, and passed the reins to her while he held a match to his cigar.†
Chpt 1.7 *
- As she handed back the reins, she said sympathetically: "Did you have such a lot of tiresome things to do?"†
Chpt 1.7
Definition:
-
(rein as in: to rein in their activities) to restrain or control; or a means of controlThe meaning of rein depends upon its context. For example:
- "keep a tight rein on the new employee," or "rein in a horse" -- to control or restrain
- "give the new employee free rein," or "give the horse full rein" -- do not restrain
- "the reins of government" -- means of control
- "the reins of the horse" -- leather straps used with a bit to control a horse (You might like to think of other senses of rein as being figurative derivations from this sense.)