Running the gauntlet
Videos
"Running the gauntlet" is a form of corporal punishment in which one or more individuals are forced to run between two rows of people who attack them with weapons. Metaphorically, the term is also use
Gauntlet in Russia, 1845
Spiessgasse (pike-alley), Jost Amman illustration, Kriegs Ordnung, 1564
A captive runs the gauntlet between Shawnee warriors.
New belt promotion being celebrated by running the gauntlet of belts
Line-crossing ceremony
Videos
The line-crossing ceremony, also known as Crossing the Line, is an initiation rite in some English-speaking countries that commemorates a person's first crossing of the equator. The tradition may have
Running the gauntlet
…Waldemar Michalski, Similar practices are used in other initiations and rites of passage, as on pollywogs (those passing the equator for the first time includes a paddling version) In one Tailhook Association convention for Navy and Marine Corps pilots…
The line-crossing ceremony aboard the French frigate Méduse on 1 July 1816
Neptune and his entourage during a Polish line-crossing ceremony (Chrzest równikowy)
Line-crossing ceremony on Empress of Australia, August 1941
Shellback certificate awarded to Charles Cameron, aboard USS Utah, commemorating his first crossing of the equator, December 1, 1928. This is typical of certificates awarded in the pre-World War II period.