[f. CANT v.2 + HOOK.]
† 1. pl. north. dial. ‘The fingers’ (Halliwell).
2. U.S. A form of lever for canting over or turning timber, etc., consisting of a wooden bar with an iron catch or hooked arm near its lower end which passes over the log, grips it, and so affords a hold by which it may be pulled over; called also cant-dog.
a. 1848. in Bartlett, Dict. Amer.
1883. E. Ingersoll, in Harper’s Mag., Jan., 206/2. Chinese laborers easily roll them down upon the cars, aiding themselves with cant-hooks, jack-screws [etc.].
