skirling

[ skur-ling ]

/ ˈskɜr lɪŋ /

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the act of shrieking.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

First recorded in 1775–85; skirl + -ing¹

He did not imagine he would hear these skirling pipers again.
Michael Daly: My Last Day With JFK|Michael Daly|November 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She played absent-mindedly, her fingers skipping and skirling on the notes.
The Black Opal|Katharine Susannah Prichard
He heard the bagpipes of the Highlanders skirling behind as he reached the opening in the forest.
French and English|Evelyn Everett-Green
But whaur Tam hung there was naething but the craig, and the sea below, and the solans skirling and flying.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 11 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson

And there would be a fiddler diddling his elbock in the chimney-side; and this thing had nae music but the skirling of the solans.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 11 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
There was more skirling of bells, another nerve-trying wait, and at last the clerk of the hotel answered.
The Grafters|Francis Lynde