batless

English

Etymology

From bat +‎ -less.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbætləs/

Adjective

batless (not comparable)

1. (rare) Without bats (the winged mammals).
   • 1986, John Sherry, Maggie's Farm:

     He assured me that we would be batless by mid-afternoon. When I asked what would become of the bats, he got rather shifty and said that the cyanide would drive them from the house...

   • 2010, Ann M. Jayne, Kory's Jungle, page 145:

     Soon the plate was full of wingless bats and batless wings. He covered the plate of broken bats and quickly unwrapped the plate of cat cookies. Snap, snap, snap went their tails. Snap, snap, snap went their legs.

2. (rare) Without a bat (club used for striking the ball in sports).
   • 2018 January 30, Ryan Divish, “Mariners plan for repairs to Ken Griffey Jr. statue this weekend”, in The Seattle Times‎^[1]:

     On the early evening of Oct. 17, the massive statue, which sits at the front of the home plate entrance, was damaged when an intoxicated man broke the bat out of the right hand of the statue and ran off with the intention of keeping it. […] Griffey’s statue, which was crafted by artist Lou Cella, has remained batless since that day.

Anagrams

• basslet, bastles, stables, tabless