All 5 Uses of

scythe
in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame

A huge head, bristling with red hair; between his shoulders an enormous hump, a counterpart perceptible in front; a system of thighs and legs so strangely astray that they could touch each other only at the knees, and, viewed from the front, resembled the crescents of two scythes joined by the handles; large feet, monstrous hands; and, with all this deformity, an indescribable and redoubtable air of vigor, agility, and courage,—strange exception to the eternal rule which wills that force as well as beauty shall be the result of harmony.†
Chpt 1.1.5

Quasimodo then beheld distinctly surging in the Parvis a frightful herd of men and women in rags, armed with scythes, pikes, billhooks and partisans, whose thousand points glittered.†
Chpt 2.10.4

One was noticed who had a large, glittering scythe, and who, for a long time, mowed the legs of the horses.†
Chpt 2.10.7 *

scythe = a tool for cutting grass that has a curved blade and a long handle that is held with both hands

He was singing a ditty, with a nasal intonation, he swung and drew back his scythe incessantly.†
Chpt 2.10.7

Definitions:

(1) (scythe)
a tool for cutting grass that has a curved blade and a long handle that is held with both hands

(See this Google Images link for scythe to see samples.)
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

Much more rarely, scythe can be used as a verb to reference the cutting of weeds or tall grasses (such as hay or wheat) with a scythe. Metaphorically, the verb form can be used to describe cutting through anything as in "scythed through the problems in less than a week."