moosecall

English

Etymology

moose +‎ call

Noun

moosecall (plural moosecalls)

1. A horn, for example of birchbark, which imitates the bellow of a moose.
   • 1948, George W. Stimpson, Information Roundup, page 408:

     A moosecall is a horn of birch bark used by hunters to imitate the roar and bellow of the bull moose. Hunters themselves disagree as to whether the moose is ever fooled by a moosecall.

   • 1958, Corey Ford, You Can Always Tell a Fisherman...: The Minutes of the Lower Forty Shooting, Angling and Inside Straight Club, page 55:

     Mister MacNab said he had just the thing in mind for his own wife. “'Tis a moosecall,” he announced happily, "which gives an excellent rendition of a female cow in the th-r-roes of r-r-romantic ecstacy."

   • 1995, Annabel Lee, P.I.: And Other Mystery Stories, Highlights for Children, →ISBN:

     I'm in danger of losing my mind, listening to Larry blow on that moosecall. I'm sorry I ever let him have it. He is my nephew, by the way.

2. The noise made by this device.
   • 2012, Gordon Korman, No More Dead Dogs, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN:

     First of all, I could hear the handful of boos and moosecalls underneath the cheers as I took my place among the other Giants.

   • 2014, Jerry Spinelli, Space Station Seventh Grade: The Newbery Award-Winning Author of Maniac Magee, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN:

     Once I was just walking along innocently with Richie when all of a sudden, from down the hallway and around the corner, I hear this moosecall. I didn't even think. I just moosecalled back.

Verb

moosecall (third-person singular simple present moosecalls, present participle moosecalling, simple past and past participle moosecalled)

1. (intransitive) To produce such a sound.
   • 2014, Jerry Spinelli, Space Station Seventh Grade: The Newbery Award-Winning Author of Maniac Magee, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN:

     Once I was just walking along innocently with Richie when all of a sudden, from down the hallway and around the corner, I hear this moosecall. I didn't even think. I just moosecalled back.