noodling

[ nood-ling ]

verb

1. present participle of noodle ⁴( def ):

   I learned the hard way why noodling for catfish is considered dangerous.

noun

1. the act of catching fish, especially catfish, with only one’s bare hands:

   Some states have banned noodling, citing the dangers of the activity as well as concern over sustainability of the fish populations.

noodling

/ ˈnuːdlɪŋ /

noun

1. slang.
   aimless musical improvisation

Word History and Origins

Origin of noodling¹

First recorded in 1935–40; noodl(e) ⁴( def ) + -ing ¹( def )

Example Sentences

In 1998, Joel Thomas Zimmerman was 16 years old, noodling around with vintage DOS music software like Impulse Tracker.

From The Daily Beast

Scott Brusaw had been noodling with the idea since he was a kid.

From The Daily Beast

“Uh, I'm not going to be doing a lot of noodling,” Romney said.

From The Daily Beast

I enjoy fly-fishing, but noodling, I'm afraid, I'll leave to Paul.

From The Daily Beast

But doing some noodling around on my own suggests that you have to go back to 1968 to find such a result.

From The Daily Beast

She pleased their mother by trying to teach them to read and write, and they went noodling together, or gathering wild flowers.

From Project Gutenberg

Young ganders and any old ganders or geese which are to be marketed are used for noodling.

From Project Gutenberg

Noodling geese is a method of hand feeding which has for its purpose the production of the best fattened geese.

From Project Gutenberg