käpälälauta

käpälä (“paw”) +‎ lauta (“board”)

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæpælæˌlɑu̯tɑ/,
• Rhymes: -ɑutɑ
• Hyphenation^(key): kä‧pälä‧lauta

käpälälauta

1. (hunting, historical) A type of traditional trap used in hunting wolf and fox.
2. (by extension, figurative) The event of getting caught and punished for wrongdoing.

   Varas jäi käpälälautaan kolmannella murtoyrityksellä.

   The thief was caught during the third attempt of burglary.

• käpälälauta consists of an upright board stuck firmly in the ground, with two clefts in the free end. The board is made long enough for the animal not to be able to reach the peak between the clefts with its teeth. When the animal tries to reach a bait attached to the peak with its paw(s), it may get stuck from its paws in one or both of the clefts. The use of this type of trap is now banned, as it causes unnecessary suffering for the catch.
• The verbs commonly used with käpälälauta include jäädä and joutua.

• “käpälälauta”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02