Definition of "backstay" []

• A rope or shroud extending from the top of a mast aft to a ship's side or stern to help support the mast. (noun)
• A supporting device at or for the back of something else. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "What the "backstay" is to the inhabitant of the district around Lydd, the stilts are to the lonely dwellers in the Landes."
• "Oh, he's a pearl of purest ray serene, if anybody should slide down a backstay and ask you."
• "One hand on the backstay, one foot on the stern rail, I hopped aboard and felt that familiar rush of anything-is-possible."