Knob-and-tube

Alternative forms

• knob and tube

Full definition of knob-and-tube

Adjective

1. Of or pertaining to a type of electrical wiring widely used in North America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, consisting of insulated conductive copper wire which was affixed by porcelain hardware and protected in vulnerable areas by insulated cloth sleeving.
• 1993 Sept. 5, John Warde, "Home Clinic: Tips From Professionals To Handle Pesky Tasks," New York Times (retrieved 29 July 2013)If living in a house with antiquated knob-and-tube wiring—individual wires, not cables, passing through porcelain insulators—live wiring can be detected with a magnetic compass whose needle deflects.