A pipe or whistle for imitating the call of the quail (Coturnix coturnix), formerly used for luring the birds into a net; also allusively and figurative. Now chiefly historical.
Origin
Late Middle English; earliest use found in Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340–1400), poet and administrator. From quail + pipe.
Definition of quail-pipe in US English:
quail-pipe
nounˈkweɪlpʌɪp
A pipe or whistle for imitating the call of the quail (Coturnix coturnix), formerly used for luring the birds into a net; also allusively and figurative. Now chiefly historical.
Origin
Late Middle English; earliest use found in Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340–1400), poet and administrator. From quail + pipe.