scuffle

English

Etymology

Possibly of Scandinavian origin. Compare Swedish skuff (“a push”) and skuffa (“to push”), from the Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ʌfəl

Noun

Bauernrauferei beim Kartenspiel (Smallholders Playing Cards, c. 1630–1640) by Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer

scuffle (plural scuffles)

1. A rough disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters
   • L'Estrange

     The dog leaps upon the serpent, and tears it to pieces; but in the scuffle the cradle happened to be overturned.

2. A Dutch hoe, manipulated by both pushing and pulling
3. (archaic) A child's pinafore or bib.

Synonyms

• (Dutch hoe): scuffle hoe

Translations

rough disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters

• Dutch: handgemeen (nl) n, scheldpartij f, schermutseling (nl) f, schermutselingen (nl) pl
• Finnish: käsirysy, nujakka, kahakka (fi), kahina
• French: rixe (fr) f, échauffourée (fr) f
• German: Handgemenge n, Rauferei f

• Italian: zuffa (it), rissa (it), baruffa f
• Jèrriais: freûlée f
• Russian: стычка (ru) f (stýčka), драка (ru) f (dráka)
• Spanish: riña (es) f
• Swedish: slagsmål (sv) n, handgemäng (sv) n

Dutch hoe

• Dutch: schoffel (nl) m, f
• French: binette (fr) f

• Spanish: azada holandesa f

Verb

scuffle (third-person singular simple present scuffles, present participle scuffling, simple past and past participle scuffled)

1. (intransitive) To fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters.
   • Eikon Basilike

     A gallant man had rather fight to great disadvantage in the field, in an orderly way, than scuffle with an undisciplined rabble.

2. (intransitive) To walk with a shuffling gait.
3. (slang) To make a living with difficulty, getting by on a low income, to struggle financially.

Translations

to fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters

• Dutch: roepen (nl), schelden (nl)
• Finnish: nujakoida, kahakoida, kahista
• German: raufen (de), balgen (de)

• Jèrriais: s'freûler
• Russian: драться (ru) (drátʹsja)
• Spanish: reñir (es)

to walk with a shuffling gait

• Finnish: laahustaa (fi)
• German: schlurfen (de)

• Hungarian: csoszog (hu)
• Russian: шаркать (ru) (šárkatʹ)

to get by (financially)

• Finnish: kitkuttaa, kituuttaa, kitkutella
• Russian: влачить (vlačitʹ) нищенское (niščenskoje) существование (suščestvovanije) (vlačítʼ níščenskoje suščestvovánije)