scrooch

or scrootch

[skrooch]

verb (used without object) Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.

to crouch, squeeze, or huddle (usually followed by down, in, or up).

Origin of scrooch

1835–45; apparently variant of scrouge, influenced in meaning by crouch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for scrooch

Historical Examples of scrooch

He kept whispering to the others to be quiet, and to "scrooch" lower, for the Indians are proverbial for their keen sightedness.
Wyoming
Edward Sylvester Ellis
Betty can scrooch down, and I'll be the father, and put leaves on her, and then I'll be a great Injun and fire at her.
St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10.
Various

British Dictionary definitions for scrooch

scrooch

verb

Midland English dialect to scratch (the skin) to relieve itching

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012