cat-o’-nine-tails

noun, plural cat-o’-nine-tails.

1. a whip, usually having nine knotted lines or cords fastened to a handle, used for flogging.

noun plural -tails

1. a rope whip consisting of nine knotted thongs, used formerly to flog prisonersOften shortened to: cat

n.

1690s, probably so called in reference to its “claws.” It was a legal instrument of punishment in British Navy until 1881.