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bar shot

noun

Definition of bar shot 

: a cannon shot consisting of two spheres or hemispheres united by a bar and formerly used in naval warfare It should also be noted that bar shot was effectively employed against the rigging and sails of enemy ships only at close range, as this type of artillery projectile was quite inaccurate because the round spun once it had been fired.— Douglas R. Cubbison, The American Northern Theater Army in 1776, 2010 also : a discharge of such shot

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First Known Use of bar shot

1711, in the meaning defined above

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The first known use of bar shot was in 1711

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