lask (2)

i. [Etym. doubtful.] 2475 cavalry, ten men per troop are furnished with a la o, not as a weapon, but that they may aid in drawing a load on emergencies. "The lazo consists of a very strong, but thin, well. plaited rope, make of raw-hide. One end is attached to the broad surcingle, which fastens together the complicated gear of the recado, or saddle, used in the Pampas; the other is terminated by a small ring of iron or bra , by which a noose can be formed. The Gaucho, when he is going to use the lazo , keeps a small coil in his bridle hand, and in the other holds the running noose, which is made very large generally, having a diameter of about eight feet. This he whirls round his head, and by the dexterous movement of his wrist keeps the noose open, then throwing it, he causes it to fall on any particular spot he chooses. The lazo , when not used, is tied up in a small coil to the after part of the recado." -Darwin: Voyage round the World (ed. 1870), ch. iii., p. 44. IMG:content-0381.png:[blocks in formation] 1. The last time or occasion; for the last time. "Since I saw you last .- Shakesp .: Tempest , v. 2. After all others. "Do not leave me last . " -Shakesp .: Sonnet 90. *3. Lately. "Yet I was last chidden for being too slow." Shakesp.: Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 1. (1) At last , * at the last : At or in the end; ultimately; in the conclusion. (2) To the last : To the end. (3) On one's last legs : In an extreme stage of exhaustion; on verge of ruin; ruined in health. (4) Last resort : A court of last resort is one from abaft the beam. [LARGE, 2.]