sniggle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(intr) to fish for eels by dangling or thrusting a baited hook into cavities
-
(tr) to catch (eels) by sniggling
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sniggle
1645–55; snig eel ( late Middle English snigge ) + -le
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Scots wha fish wi’ salmon roe, Scots wha sniggle as ye go, Wull ye stand the Bailie?
From Introduction to the Compleat Angler by Lang, Andrew
He heard Hydeman's sniggle of laughter behind him.
From The Sin of Monsieur Pettipon and other humorous tales by Connell, Richard
Molly and Douglas did not like church; their fair heads were close together, and occasionally a faint sniggle would cause nurse to look round with stern reproval.
From Odd by Le Feuvre, Amy
A subdued sniggle followed this sally of wit, during which John took his seat with such native grace as he could command, which at the moment was not much.
From Jess by Haggard, Henry Rider
"Well," said cousin Horace, "now we've done the mine; and this evening, Dotty, you and I will go and sniggle for eels."
From Dotty Dimple Out West by May, Sophie
Mary’s face wore its usual blank stare, Barbara sniggled with obvious contempt, Nancy veiled her eyes with her thick, dark lashes, Susan flushed suddenly a brilliant red.
From Etheldreda the Ready A School Story by Horrell, Charles
"What a funny thing to say!" thought Gwen, about a mere portrait, and she sniggled a little.
From The New Warden by Ritchie, Mrs. David G.
Then the nuns at the abbey hired us to catch eels — and we’ve been sniggling ever since.
From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz
Wildrake laughed without ceremony at the gross ignorance of Desborough, and was joined by a sniggling response from behind the cupboard, which, when inquired into, proved to be produced by the serving-men.
From Woodstock; or, the Cavalier by Scott, Walter, Sir
Puts me in mind of sniggling for eels, and pushing a worm at the end of a willow-stick up an eel’s burrow in a muddy bank.
From Mass' George A Boy's Adventures in the Old Savannah by Smith, W.T.
The device still lingers in France and in a few remote parts of England in the method of catching eels which is known as "sniggling."
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1 by Various
But, in my country, it is more usual to duck that official, and go on netting, sniggling, salmon-roeing, and destroying sport in the sacred name of Liberty.
From Introduction to the Compleat Angler by Lang, Andrew
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
