chicane

See also: Chicane and chicané

English

a chicane in a roadway

Etymology

Etymology tree

French chicanebor.

English chicane

Borrowed from French chicane.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʃɪˈkeɪn/, /t͡ʃɪˈkeɪn/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -eɪn

Noun

chicane (countable and uncountable, plural chicanes)

A quibble, a pedantic or dishonest objection; an act of deception. [from 17th c.]
The use of dishonest means or subterfuge to achieve one's (especially political) goals; chicanery, trickery. [from 17th c.]
- 1775, Edmund Burke, speech on conciliation with America
  In this character of the Americans, a love of freedom is the predominating feature which marks and distinguishes the whole; and as an ardent is always a jealous affection, your Colonies become suspicious, restive, and untractable whenever they see the least attempt to wrest from them by force, or shuffle from them by chicane, what they think the only advantage worth living for.
- 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 107:
  ‘That they may be unlearned in the detestable chicane of politics, is certain; but, they are also uncorrupted by the odious and pernicious maxims of the unfeeling tools of despotism.’
(card games, chiefly bridge) The holding of a hand without trumps, or the hand itself. [from 19th c.]
(motor racing) A sharp double bend on a racecourse, designed to prevent unsafe speeds; an obstacle creating a curve. [from 20th c.]
- 2019 September 8, Andrew Benson, BBC Sport‎^[1]:
  On lap 23, Hamilton got a run on Leclerc into the second chicane after the two had overtaken Nico Hulkenberg's out-of-stop-sequence Renault down the main straight.
(road transport) A raised area or other obstacle around which vehicles must drive, especially designed to reduce speed. [from 20th c.]