scourge cat o' nine tails http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2001000464 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_o%27_nine_tails https://lgbt.wikia.org/wiki/Cat_o%27_nine_tails https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1048914 A type of multi-tailed whip that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and British Army, and also as a judicial punishment in Britain and some other countries. It has nine knotted lashes at the end of the nine ropes. cat-o'-nine-tails