mullock

American  

[muhl-uhk] / ˈmʌl ək /

noun

1. (in Australasia) refuse or rubbish, as rock or earth, from a mine; muck.

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idioms

1. poke mullock at, to ridicule.

mullock British  

/ ˈmʌlək /

noun

1. waste material from a mine

2. dialect a mess or muddle

3. informal to ridicule

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Other Word Forms

• mullocky
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mullock

1350–1400; originally dialectal English; Middle English mullok, equivalent to mul dust, mold, rubbish (compare Old English myl dust; vowel perhaps from Middle English mullen; see mull ⁴) + -ok -ock

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mullock

Too busy shiftin' mullock to know what's goin' on.

From Such Is Life by Furphy, Joseph

But her needeth care, or her may all goo away in mullock.

From Erema — My Father's Sin by Blackmore, R. D. (Richard Doddridge)

There was nothing the matter with Rum-Enough but a dislike of shifting mullock if he could get anyone to shift it for him.

From The Black Opal by Prichard, Katharine Susannah

On crossing the holes, up to the knees in mullock, and loaded like a dromedary, "Got your licence?" was again the cheer-up from a third trooper or trap.

From The Eureka Stockade by Carboni, Raffaello

But when they saw awr Mary,    They made a mullock on it, For they thowt 'at all them flaars    Had been put on Mary's bonnet.

From Yorkshire Lyrics Poems written in the Dialect as Spoken in the West Riding of Yorkshire. To which are added a Selection of Fugitive Verses not in the Dialect by Hartley, John