tack 
to retain firmness or stability; hold fast; endure; last; 
hold out. 
They live in cullises, like rotten cocks. 
Stew'd to a tenderness that holds no tack. 
Fletcher, Bonclnca, iv. 1. 
Other Tumults with a plaine Warre in Norfolke, hold- 
ing tack against two of the Kings Generals, made them of 
force content themselves with what they had already 
done. Milton, Reformation in Eng., i. 
To hold one tackt, apparently an elliptical form of to 
hold one in tack, to keep one in place, keep one steadfast : 
the ellipsis giving tacit the appearance of an adjective. 
If I knew where to borrow a contempt 
Would hold thee lack, stay and be hang'd thou should'st 
then. Beau, and FL, Wit at Several Weapons, iii. 1. 
It was Venusius who eeven to these times held them 
tack, both himself remaining to the end unvanquish'd and 
some part of his Countrie not so much as reach't. 
Milton, Hist. Eng., ii. 
To hold tack with (naut.). See hold*. To start a 
tack. See startl. 
tack 1 (tak), v. [See the noun.] I. trans. 1. To 
fasten by tacks; join, attach, or secure by 
some slight or temporary fastening : as, to tack 
down a carpet ; to tack up a curtain ; to tack a 
shoe to the last ; to tack parts of a garment to- 
gether with pins or by basting preparatory to 
sewing. 
He presently shew'd us an old Bear's Skin, tackt there 
to a Piece of Timber. 
N. Bailey, tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, II. 12. 
When his clothes were quite worn out, he dried and 
tacked together the skins of goats, with which he clothed 
himself. Steele, Englishman, No. 26. 
A black cardboard screen pierced by a square hole of 2 
cm. on the side was tacked on in front. 
Amer. Jour. Psychol., I. 404. 
2. To attach by some binding force ; make a 
junction or union of ; connect ; combine : as, 
to tack a rider to a legislative bill ; to tack two 
leases together. 
Of what supreme almighty pow'r 
Is thy great arm, which spans the east and west, 
And tacts the centre to the sphere ! 
O. Herbert, Prayer. 
If the two poor fools have a mind to marry, I think we 
can tack them together without crossing the Tweed for it. 
Goldsmith, Good-natured Man, v. 
Two German tales are tacked together in the English 
romance. E. Dowden, Shelley, I. 94. 
3. In metal-working, to join (pieces) by small 
patches of solder placed at intervals to hold 
them in position until the final soldering can 
be completed. 
II. intrans. 1. To change the course of a ship 
when sailing by the wind, by turning her head 
toward the wind and bracing the yards round 
so that she will sail at the same angle with the 
wind on the other tack. 
The wind shifting into the W., we tacked and stood into 
the head sea, to avoid the rolling of our ship. 
Winthrop, Hist New England, 1. 19. 
But I remember the sea-men would laugh that, instead 
of crying Tack about, he would say Wheele to the right 
or left. Aubrey, Lives (General Monk). 
Hence 2. To change one's course; take a 
new line or direction ; shift; veer. 
For will anybody here come forward and say, "A good 
fellow has no need to tack about and change his road?" 
George Eliot, Felix Holt, xix. 
tack 2 (tak), v. t. and >. [By apheresis from at- 
tack.'] To attack. [Prov. Eng. and U. S.] 
tack 3 t (tak), n. [An unassibilated form of 
tache 3 , or else a corruption of tact, touch : see 
tache 3 , tact.'] A spot; a stain; a blemish. 
Names . . . which, having no corruption in their own 
nature, yet through the corrupt use of men have as it were 
gotten such a tack of that corruption that the use of them 
cannot be without offence. 
Whitgift, Works (Parker Soc.), II. 84. 
You do not the thing that you would ; that is, perhaps, 
perfectly, purely, without some tack or stain. 
Hammond, Works, IV. 612. (Richardson.) 
tack 4 (tak), H. [Said to be a corruption of tact 
(cf. taste 1 , ult. from the same source as tact). 
Cf . tack 3 , <a<*5.] A distinctive taste or flavor; a 
continuing or abiding smack. [Old and prov. 
Eng.] 
Or cheese, which our fat soil to every quarter sends, 
Whose tack the hungry clown and plowman so commends. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, xix. 130. 
He told me that three-score pound of cherries was but 
a kind of washing meate, and that there was no tacke in 
them, for hee had tride it at one time. 
John Taylor, Works (1630), I. 145. (Halliwell.) 
tack 5 (tak), n. [Origin obscure ; by some sup- 
posed to be a transferred use of taofr*.] 1. Sub- 
stance; solidity: spoken of the food of cattle 
and other stock. Hallhcell. [Prov. Eng.] 2. 
Bad food. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 3. Bad 
malt liquor. HalliweU. [Prov. Eng.] 4. Food 
in general; fare: as, li a i-d tack, coarse fare ; soft 
tack, good fare. 
6154 
Finding it rather slow work at Wooloomara, where old 
Jones has only mutton or potatoes and damper, he moved 
on one Tuesday to Robinson's place, where there was a 
Mrs. Robinson, and he calculated on getting some soft 
tack. Percy Clarke, The New Chum in Australia, p. 179. 
5. Specifically, among sailors, soldiers, etc., 
bread, or anything of the bread kind, distin- 
guished as hard tack (or hardtack) and soft tack. 
See hardtack. 
For supper in the cabin : salt beef and pork, warm snft 
tack, butter, sugar, tea, and sometimes hash, and prob- 
ably pie. Fisheries of If. S., V. ii. 228. 
Hard tack. See defs. 4 and 5, and hardtack. Soft tack. 
See defs. 4 and 5. 
tack 6 (tak), 11. [Cf. dagt.~] A variety of pistol 
used by the Highlanders of Scotland. See 
tack-block (tak'blok),. Naut.,a.bloc^. through 
which a tack is reeved. 
tack-claw (tak'kla), n. A tool with a fork or 
claw for seizing the head of a tack, usually bent 
to form a fulcrum for itself when used as a 
lever to withdraw driven tacks. Also tack- 
lifter. 
tack-comb (tak'kom), n. A line of tacks in the 
form of a comb, to be taken off and driven into 
place successively by a shoemaking-machine. 
tack-driver (tak^ri'ver), n. 1. A tack-ham- 
mer. 2. A hand-machine for driving tacks. 
It includes a hopper lor the supply of tacks, a feeding de- 
vice lor placing them successively in position, and a driv- 
ing-die which is retracted by a spring after each blow has 
been delivered. 
tack-duty (tak'du"ti), n. In Scots law, rent re- 
served on a tack or lease. 
tacker (tak'er), w. [< tack 1 + -er 1 ."] A person 
who tacks, in any sense, or an instrument for 
driving tacks. 
Carpet stretcher and tacker combined. 
Sri. Amer., N. S., LXII. 269. 
tacket (tak'et), it. [Early mod. E. takett; < 
tack 1 + -et; or directly < Gael, tacaid, a nail, 
peg: see tack 1 .] A short nail with a promi- 
nent head, worn in the soles of strong shoes; 
a clout-nail or hob-nail. [Scotch.] 
James took off his heavy shoes, crammed with tacket. 
Dr. J. Brown, Rab, p. 8. 
tackey. Another spelling of tacky. 
tack-free (tak'fre), a. [Formerly also tacfree; 
< tack 1 , 9, + free.] In old Scots law, exempt 
from rents, payments, etc. 
tack-hammer (tak'ham"er), . A small, light 
hammer used for driving tacks, having usually 
a claw on the opposite end of the head or on the 
handle for drawing the tacks, 
tackiness (tak'i-nes), n. The state or quality 
of being tacky ; stickiness, as of a partially 
dried surface of oil or varnish. 
To cause the vulcanised india-rubber to unite, the in- 
ventor coats its surface with india-rubber solution and 
ignites the same "to produce tackiness." 
Dredge's Electric Illumination, I., App. civ. 
tacking (tak'ing), n. [< tack 1 + -ing 1 .'] In 
Eng. law, the right of a third or subsequent 
mortgagee, who advances money without no- 
tice of a second mortgage, and pays off the first, 
to enforce his claim for the amount of both the 
mortgages to the exclusion of the mortgage of 
which he had no notice. This right is not (unless 
as against an unrecorded or a fraudulent mortgage) recog- 
nized in the United States, where by recording notice is 
given to all. 
tacking-millt (tak'ing-mil), n. An early form 
of fulling-mill. E. H. Knight. 
tack-lashing (tak'lash'ing), n. A lashing by 
which the tack of a fore-and-aft sail is secured 
in place. 
tackle (tak'l), n. [< ME. taM, takil, tack, < MD. 
D. LG. (> G.) takel = Sw. tackel, takel = Dan. 
takkel (W. tad, < E.), tackle; supposed to be 
connected with take (Icel. taka = OSw. taka, 
etc.): see take. It is now commonly associated 
with tack 1 , and the verb with attack. In defs. 5, 
6, the noun is from the verb.] 1. A device or 
appliance for grasping or clutching an object, 
connected with means for holding, moving, or 
manipulating it. This sense is seen in the phrase 
block and tackle, where the tackle is the rope with its hook 
or hooks which passes around a pulley ; also in ground- 
tackle, plow-tackle, fishing-tackle, etc. 
We were now employed in ... getting tackles upon 
the martingale, to bowse it to windward. 
R. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 258. 
Hence 2. A mechanism, or apparatus in gen- 
eral, for applying the power of purchase in 
manipulating, shifting, raising, or lowering ob- 
jects or materials; a rope and pulley-block, or 
a combination of ropes and blocks working to- 
gether, or any similar contrivance for aid in 
lifting or controlling anything: used either 
tackle 
definitely or indefinitely. Tackle is varied in many 
ways for different uses, as on board a ship, every form or 
adaptation having its own special name. In a ship's 
tackle, the standing part is so much of the rope as re- 
mains between the sheave and the end which is secured ; 
the running part is the part that works between the 
sheaves ; the fall is the part laid hold of in hauling. 
Warm broke the breeze against the brow, 
Dry sang the tackle, sang the sail. 
Tennyson, The Voyage. 
A tackle [on a ship] is an assemblage of ropes and blocks, 
and is known in mechanics as a system of pulleys. 
Luce, Seamanship, p. 70. 
3. The windlass and its appurtenances, as used 
for hoisting ore from small depths; also, in 
general, the cages or kibbles, with their chains 
and hooks, for raising ore or coal. [Eng.] 4. 
Equipment or gear in general; a combination 
of appliances: used of arms and armor, har- 
ness, anglers' outfit (see fishing-tackle), many 
mechanical devices, etc. 
Thorough myn ye unto myn herte 
The takel [arrow] smote, and depe it wente. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 1729. 
Wei coude he dresse his takel yemanly. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 106. 
A stately ship . . . 
With all her bravery on, and tackle trim. 
JlUton, S. A., 1. 717. 
I have little to do now I am lame and taking snuff, and 
have the worst tackle in the world whereby to subscribe 
myself. W. Lancaster, in Letters of Eminent Men, I. 295. 
Angling was extensively practised, with almost the same 
appliances and tackle as now, even down to the wicker 
creel at the side. 
J. Athlon, Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, I. 811. 
5. The act of tackling; a seizing or grasping; 
grasp or hold, as of an opponent in foot-ball. 
He [a rusher in foot-ball] . . . runs fast and never 
misses his tackle. New York Evening Post, Oct. 31, 1887. 
6. Either one of two players in the rush-line 
in foot-ball, stationed next to the end rushers. 
See rusher 2 , 2 Cutting-tackle, the tackle used in 
cutting in a whale. Fall and tackle, another name for 
block and tackle. See def. 1. Long-tackle block. See 
block^. Pendant-tackles, large tackles composed of 
double blocks, which hook to the masthead-pendants, and 
are used for setting up lower rigging, staying the mast, or 
steadying it under certain emergencies. Luce, Seaman- 
ship, p. 76. Believing tackles. Naut. : (a) Tackles kept 
in readiness to be hooked to the tiller in case of accident 
to the steering-gear, either in heavy weather or in action. 
(b) Tackles formerly used in heaving down a ship, to keep 
her from being canted over too much. Rolling tackle. 
Naut. : (a) A luff-tackle purchase for securing and steady- 
ing lower or topsail yards. (6) See rolling-tackle. Side 
tackle, a tackle consisting of a rope rove through a double 
and single block and fixed on each side of a gun-carriage, 
for securing the gun to the side of the ship and lor run- 
ning the gun out through the port. Side-tackle bolt, 
the bolt to which the blocks of the side-tackle are hooked. 
Stock-and-bill tackle. Same as stock-tackle. To 
overhaul, rack, etc., a tackle. See the verbs. Train- 
tackle, a tackle hooked to the rear of a gun-carriage to 
run it in. (See also yard-tackle.) 
tackle (tak'l), v. ; pret. and pp. tackled, ppr. 
tackling. [< ME. takelen, takilen ; < tackle, , .] 
I. trans. 1. To attach by tackle or tackling; 
make fast to something. Specifically 2. To 
hitch; harness. [Colloq.] 
They was resolute, strong, hard-workin' women. They 
could all tackle a boss, or load and fire a gun. 
H. B. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 168. 
3t. To ensnare, as with cords or tackle; en- 
tangle. 
All delytes of all thynges that mane may be tagyld [read 
takyld] with in thoghte or dede. 
Hampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. S.), p. 12. 
4f. To close or shut with or as if with a fasten- 
ing; lock; seclude. 
The Moralist tells us that a quadrat solid wise Man 
should involve and tackle himself within his own Virtue. 
Uowell, Letters, I. vi. 58. 
5t. To furnish with tackle ; equip with appli- 
ances, as a ship. 
Haue, at their owne aduenture, costs, and charges, pro- 
uided, rigged, and tackled certaine ships, pinnesses, and 
other meete vessels. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 268. 
6. To attack or fasten upon, in the widest sense ; 
set to work upon in any way ; undertake to mas- 
ter, persuade, solve, perform, and so forth : as, 
to tackle a bully; to tackle a problem. 
Tackle the lady, and speak your mind to her as best you 
can. Thackeray, Philip, xxi. 
7. In foot-ball, to seize and stop, as a player 
while running with the ball : as, he was tackled 
when within a few feet of the goal. 
II. intrans. To make an attack or seizure; 
specifically, to get a grasp or hold, as upon an 
opponent in foot-ball, to prevent him from run- 
ning with the ball To tackle to, to set to work ; bend 
the energies to the doing of something; take hold vigor- 
ously. [Colloq.] 
The old woman . . . tackled to for a fight in right earnest. 
S. Lover. (.Imp. Diet.) 
