Word.ws English Dictionary

ablewhackets

ablewhackets 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 ablewhackets

What is ablewhackets the alternative spelling of?
Ablewhackets is the alternative spelling of able whackets.

Words near ablewhackets in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ablewhackets (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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