longtail

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See also: long tail

English

Etymology

From long +‎ tail.

Noun

longtail (plural longtails)

  1. Any animal that has an unusually long tail relative to similar species.
  2. (Bermuda) Phaethon lepturus, the white-tailed tropicbird.
  3. (Bermuda, by extension) A young, unattached female tourist.
  4. A longtail boat.
  5. (colloquial, Isle of Man) A rat.
  6. (slang) A pheasant.
  7. (slang) A greyhound.

Usage notes

The Manx colloquial usage derives from a relatively modern superstition that it is considered bad luck to use the word "rat".

Derived terms

References

  • (pheasant; greyhound): John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary