Caning when the county court decided that an abscess that developed on his hand was the result of a caning. Caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or hand(s) (on the palm). Caning on the knuckles or shoulders is much less common. Caning can also be applied to the soles of the feet (foot whipping or bastinado). The size and flexibility of the cane and the mode of application, as
Feet of clay feet of clay.</poem> Feet of clay Feet of clay is an expression now commonly used to refer to a weakness or character flaw, especially in people of prominence. The phrase derives from the interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, by the prophet Daniel as recounted in the Book of Daniel: A well known instance of this phrase is in Byron's poem, "Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte": <poem> Thanks for that lesson—it will teach Than high Philosophy can preach, That spell upon the minds of men Breaks never to unite again, Those Pagod things of sabre sway, With fronts