crosshead

cross +‎ head

crosshead (plural crossheads)

Steam engine crosshead

1. (mechanical engineering) A metal beam that connects a piston to a connecting rod in an engine.
   • 1945 January and February, “Notes and News: An Early Caledonian 2-4-0”, in Railway Magazine, page 47:

     All the Connor characteristics are seen in this locomotive: sharply inclined cylinders let into the side framing, which was slotted to expose the crosshead; […] .

2. (journalism) Large text, like a headline but typically drawn from the article, placed partway through the article to break it up visually.

   Synonym: crossheading

   • 2023 January 31, Elisabeth Ribbans, “The perils of using journalist jargon outside the newsroom”, in The Guardian‎:

     Other bits of furniture include [...] the crosshead, a short heading between paragraphs that breaks up a long piece.

3. A screw with a cross-shaped indentation for gripping and turning, as opposed to a flathead.
   • 2015, Graham Masterton, Buried:

     The screws were crossheads and the screwdriver was slightly too large for them, so he had to hold it at an angle.