'Watchman's rattle' definitions:

Definition of 'Watchman's rattle'

From: GCIDE
  • Watchman \Watch"man\, n.; pl. Watchmen. [1913 Webster]
  • 1. One set to watch; a person who keeps guard; a guard; a sentinel. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Specifically, one who guards a building, or the streets of a city, by night. [1913 Webster]
  • Watchman beetle (Zool.), the European dor.
  • Watchman's clock, a watchman's detector in which the apparatus for recording the times of visiting several stations is contained within a single clock.
  • Watchman's detector, or Watchman's time detector, an apparatus for recording the time when a watchman visits a station on his rounds.
  • Watchman's rattle, an instrument having at the end of a handle a revolving arm, which, by the action of a strong spring upon cogs, produces, when in motion, a loud, harsh, rattling sound. [1913 Webster]