Both Uses of
harrowing
in
1776, by McCullough
- The march south from McKonkey's Ferry was for many the most harrowing part of the night.†
p. 276.9 *
- On December 29, Washington, Greene, Sullivan, Knox, and their troops were on the move, marching through a six-inch snowfall, to cross the Delaware at McKonkey's Ferry and nearby Yardley's Ferry, an undertaking that was as harrowing as the crossing of Christmas night.†
p. 285.2
Definitions:
-
(1)
(harrowing as in: a harrowing story) frightening or unsettling
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, harrowing can mean breaking apart soil on a farm. Even more rarely (and archaically), it can mean harrying or harassing as in: "We are harrowing their army as they advance northward."