Word.ws English Dictionary

Captain Armstrong

Captain Armstrong noun: a form of cheating in which the jockey deliberately pulls his horse back so that it does not win.

Noun

Captain Armstrong (uncountable)

  1. (archaic, slang) A form of cheating in which the jockey deliberately pulls his horse back so that it does not win.
    • "Poor child," he said to himself, all his angry feelings changing, "she seems to have set her heart so upon winning, it would be sad if she were disappointed. No one has much on it: shall I try Captain Armstrong for once? It would make her very happy. Bar accidents, I must win. They don't know that...1860, George Alfred Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, page 70
    • He had practised “Captain Armstrong” so palpably as to be banished from the Turf.1886, Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, volume 46, page 413

Origin of Captain Armstrong

A pun on the name Armstrong, referring to the use of a strong arm.

Questions about Captain Armstrong

What does Captain Armstrong mean?
Captain Armstrong means a form of cheating in which the jockey deliberately pulls his horse back so that it does not win.
What part of speech is Captain Armstrong?
Captain Armstrong is a noun.

Words near Captain Armstrong in the dictionary

  1. captaculum
  2. captafol
  3. captagon
  4. captain
  5. Captain Ahab
  6. Captain Armstrong
  7. captain ball
  8. captain balls
  9. Captain Bonespurs
  10. Captain Cook
  11. Captain Cooker

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Captain Armstrong (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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