whiffletree

[ hwif-uh l-tree, wif- ]

/ ˈʰwɪf əlˌtri, ˈwɪf- /

a crossbar, pivoted at the middle, to which the traces of a harness are fastened for pulling a cart, carriage, plow, etc.

Also called whippletree, singletree, swingletree.

Compare doubletree.

Origin of whiffletree

First recorded in 1820–30; variant of whippletree

whidbey island, whiff, whiffet, whiffle, whiffler, whiffletree, whiffy, whig, whig party, whiggish, whiggism

The pole was snapped, and the whiffletree smashed, so that the traces were useless.

The La Chance Mine Mystery |Susan Carleton Jones
"You kicked me and my friend the Whiffletree that day you ran away down in the hay field," replied the Wagon.

Bikey the Skicycle and Other Tales of Jimmieboy |John Kendrick Bangs
This wore away at last and on the third day I had no difficulty in keeping up my end of the whiffletree.

A Son of the Middle Border |Hamlin Garland
She managed to undo one, and to slip out the fastening of the trace, on one side, where it held to the whiffletree.

Faith Gartney's Girlhood |Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney

"It's the whiffletree, I think," she said, as if she were used to wagons.

The La Chance Mine Mystery |Susan Carleton Jones

whiffletree

/ (ˈwɪfəlˌtriː) /

another name (esp US) for swingletree

C19: variant of whippletree