lingtown.
/ˈlɪŋtəʊ/, U.S. /ˈlɪŋtoʊ/, Scottish English /ˈlɪŋto/ Scottish. historical. Now rare.
A coil of rope worn over the shoulder by smugglers.Recorded earliest in lingtowman n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > a bond, tie, or fastening > [noun] > a turn of rope round anything
hitchingc1440
round turn1794
lingtow1815
belay1908
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 374 A person..assured my kind informant..that he had frequently seen upwards of two hundred Lingtow-men assemble at one time, and go off into the interior of the country, fully laden with contraband goods.
1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders i. 14 Wondering how long it would be till my father let me have a horse from the stable and a lingtow over my shoulder to go out to the Free Trade among the Manxmen.
2003 L. C. Higgs Thorn in my Heart 52 The stock pens were crowded with packhorses belonging to the lingtowmen, named for the coil of rope, or lingtow, which they wore around their shoulders as they transported smuggled goods inland.
Compounds
lingtowman n. a smuggler.
ΚΠ
1815Lingtow-men [see main sense].
1845 J. Train Hist. & Statist. Acct. Isle of Man II. xxii. 317 The carriers from the coast to the interior were called Lingtowmen, from the coil of ropes or Lingtows which they generally wore.
1996 W. N. Herbert Cabaret McGonagall 84 Thae fiendish English lingtowmen brocht phonies in in cases.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1815