squail

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪl

Verb

squail (third-person singular simple present squails, present participle squailing, simple past and past participle squailed)

1. (intransitive, historical) To throw weighted sticks at small animals, usually cockerels, played as a game.
2. To throw anything about awkwardly or irregularly.
   • December 28 1821, Robert Southey, letter VIII - Recollections of Corston Continued

     The boys were employed also to squail at the bannets

Related terms

• cocksquailing, squailing
• squailer

Noun

squail (plural squails)

1. A disc or counter used in the game of squails.

References

• “squail”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• quails