All 4 Uses of
rein
in
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
- The man hopped off the horse and handed the reins to one of the niggers on the boat.†
Chpt 1
- He held back on the reins and the horse stopped.
Chpt 1 *reins = straps used to control a horse
- He didn't try to take the hoe from her, he just rode down there and started beating her with the bridle reins.†
Chpt 3
- He had put on a good bridle, good strong reins.†
Chpt 3
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.)