Maine, The

A second-cla battleship of the United States navy, blown up through Spanish treachery in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on the night of Feb. 15, 1898, causing the death of 266 of its officers and crew. It was this catastrophe that turned the tide of popular opinion in America towards favoring a war with Spain, Maine Liquor-law, s. A law of the State of Maine vesting the sale of intoxicating liquors in maintenance *māin-priz-er, *main-priş-er, s. [Eng. main pris(e); -er.] A surety. "Found main prisers or sureties to answer the writs of law."- Holland : Camden, ii. 176.