rail-splitter

[ reyl-split-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that splits logs into rails, rail, especially for fences.
2. Rail-splitter, nickname of Abraham Lincoln.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rail-splitter¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; rail ¹ + splitter

Example Sentences

He grew up a rail-splitter clearing land on the frontier.

From Washington Times

Smith is likened to Honest Abe, the humble rail-splitter who overturned the slave power by announcing the axiomatic truth of human equality.

From New York Times

The populist mythology surrounding Abraham Lincoln was not only the rail-splitter born in a log cabin, but the youth who studied books by candlelight.

From Washington Post

Since the recession, Hogan argues, we’re even more likely to hold up figures like Lincoln — a rail-splitter who made it all the way to the Oval Office – as the embodiment of American pluck.

From Time

With one hand on each shoulder, she planted her knee in the middle of his back, and dexterously brought the powerful frame of the rail-splitter to the ground.

From Project Gutenberg