Word.ws English Dictionary

ablewackets

ablewackets is the alternative spelling of able whackets.

Meaning of able whackets

Noun

able whackets pl (plural only)

  1. (historical, plural, plural-only, slang) Blows on the hand from a knotted or twisted handkerchief, especially given as a punishment to the loser of certain card games.
    • The chief amusement or game in use in the midshipmen's berth, was ‘able whackets’, a pastime in which cards, blasphemy, and hard knocks were agreeably mingled.1905, John Masefield, Sea Life in Nelson's Time, section IV

Questions about ablewackets

What is ablewackets the alternative spelling of?
Ablewackets is the alternative spelling of able whackets.

Words near ablewackets in the dictionary

  1. ablesplaining
  2. ablesplains
  3. ablest
  4. ablet
  5. ablets
  6. ablewackets
  7. ablewhackets
  8. abligate
  9. abligated
  10. abligates
  11. abligating

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ablewackets (page history and authors); able whackets (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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