Widowmaker (forestry)

In forestry, a widowmaker or fool killer is a detached or broken limb or tree top. The name indicates that such objects can kill forest workers by falling on them, thus "making widows" of their spouses. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration describes widowmakers as "broken off limbs that are hanging freely in the tree to be felled or in the trees close by."^[1]