Ironsides n. A cuirassier or cuirassiers; also, hardy veteran soldiers; applied specifically to Cromwell's cavalry. Old Ironsides. (U. S. Hist.) A nickname for the U.S.S. Constitution, a sailing ship which fought in the American Revolutionary war, and now functions as a floating museum in Boston harbor. It was given its nickname because cannonballs bounced off its hard wooden sides.
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