starting handle

a crank used to start the motor of an automobile.

Origin of starting handle

First recorded in 1885–90

Finally, he hurled the starting-handle at the wind-screen and smashed it.

The Secret Places of the Heart |H. G. Wells
Even Maida's beauty failed as an attraction beside the starting-handle of the car, when the Chauffeulier turned it.

My Friend the Chauffeur |C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
The boat was in an exposed and altogether unhealthy position, but they examined it, and found that there was no starting-handle.

Adventures of a Despatch Rider |W. H. L. Watson
He could look directly forward through a thick glass port directly over the starting-handle.

The Panchronicon |Harold Steele Mackaye

One day you toil at the starting-handle half an hour, the next the thing comes to life with a touch, and nobody can explain why.

The Lightning Conductor |C. N. Williamson