| 释义 |
▪ I. trot, n.1|trɒt|
Also 3–7 trott, 5–6 trotte, 5–7 trote.
[a. F. trot (12th c. in Godef. Compl.), verbal n. of trotter to trot.]
I.
1. a. A gait of a quadruped, originally of a horse, between walking and running, in which the legs move in diagonal pairs almost together, so that in a slow trot there is always one foot at least on the ground, but in a fast trot one pair leaves the ground before the other reaches it, all four feet being thus momentarily off the ground at once; hence applied to a similar gait of a man (or other biped), between a walk and a run.
a1300Cursor M. 15872 (Cott.) His [Christ's] hend þai band and ledd him forth, A-trott and noght þe pas [2 MSS. a-pas, a pas]. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 976 Trynande ay a hyȝe trot þat torne neuer dorsten. c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 22 His hat heeng at his bak doun by a laas For he hadde riden moore than trot [v.rr. trote, trotte] or paas. c1425Cast. Persev. 3100 in Marco Plays 169 Now dagge we hens a dogge trot. a1547Surrey æneid iv. 957 Redouble gan her nurse Her steppes, forth on an aged womans trot. 1590Barwick Disc. Weapons 9 b, They retired a soft trote: their enemies..made after them with more speed. 1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 35 Our Chariot drawn by 2 Buffolls who by practise are nimble in their trot. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. Index s.v., A good Trot may be judged of by the Ear. 1755Johnson, Trot, The jolting high pace of a horse. 1780Mirror No. 92 A smart young man..passed by in his carriage at a brisk trot. 1818Scott Rob Roy v, His [a fox's] drooping brush, his soiled appearance, and jaded trot, proclaimed his fate impending. 1835Alison Hist. Europe (1849–50) V. xxviii. §3. 124 The pontoons arrived at a quick trot, from Dietikon. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. 52 Their pace is the peculiar ‘paso Castellano’, which is something more than a walk and less than a trot.
†b. An action of trotting; a journey or expedition on horseback. Obs.
a1670Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1850) I. 186 The barronis..rydis fra Turreff to New Abirdein,..Thay plunder the laird of Kermok... The covenanteris, heiring of this trot of Turref..began to hyde thair goodis. 1676Cotton Angler ii. ii. 22 I'le make as bold with your meat; for the Trot has got me a good stomach.
c. The sound of a horse, etc., trotting.
1858E. Capern Ball. & Songs (1859) 138 The lime-team's trot, And milkmaid's carol..Are the chief sounds. 1882‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 6 The trot of the chargers and the clash of the steel had passed into silence.
d. transf. and fig. Freq. in phr. on the trot, (a) continually moving without intervals for rest; on the go; (b) in uninterrupted sequence, in succession; (c) on the run, escaping from confinement, etc.
a1625Fletcher & Mass. Custom of Country iv. iv, Nor am I able to endure it longer,..I am at my trot already. 1646W. Jenkyn Remora 28 Shall we go a dull Asses trot heavenward? 1697Dryden Virg. Ded. (1721) I. 20 The Virtuoso's Saddle, which will be sure to amble, when the World is upon the hardest Trott. 1822W. Irving Braceb. Hall (1823) I. xiv. 103 One of those who eat and growl, and keep the waiter on the trot. 1892G. Meredith Poet. Wks. (1912) 454 Away on the trot of thy servitude start. 1952M. Tripp Faith is Windsock vii. 106 Two kites on the trot with crook engines. 1956People 13 May 13/5, I want to be between those posts again when Manchester City reach Wembley next year for the third time on the trot! 1958M. Pugh Wilderness of Monkeys 176, I eloped with one of the boys and we went on the trot from the approved school. Then it came time for his National Service and he went on the trot from the Army. 1973Times 12 Apr. 12/6 Bookmakers lost money for five weeks on the trot. 1982G. Lyall Conduct Major Maxim ii. 16 ‘He's on the trot,’ Maxim guessed. ‘Oh Christ, Jim, you can get a district court for that, aiding a deserter.’
e. the trots († trot), diarrhœa; also fig. colloq. Cf. run n.1 14 f.
1808E. Weeton Let. 10 June in Jrnl. of Governess (1969) I. 94, I should perhaps be running over to Mr. Ridyard's so very often, that ten to one my brother would be..asking what was the matter with me that I was so often hastily taken; saying he was sure I was ill of the trot. 1904in P. Fleming Bayonets to Lhasa (1961) xv. 205 He suffers continually from the trots (diarrhoea) which have completely shattered his nerves. 1936J. G. Cozzens Men & Brethren ii. 181, I often used to have to hot-foot it over to chapel—a kind of spiritual trots—and pray fervently. 1977C. McCullough Thorn Birds xi. 249 ‘Go easy on the water at first,’ he advised. ‘Beer won't give you the trots.’
2. A trotting-race. In pl. (colloq., orig. Austral. and N.Z.), a series of trotting-races held at a fixed time on a regular course.
1856Porter's Spirit of Times 25 Oct. 128/2 Nothing would have given the lovers of the trotting turf more pleasure than to witness a trot of three miles. 1891Auckland Star 1 Oct. 8/6 Spring Meeting... Handicap Maiden Trot, of 40 sovs; second horse to receive 5 sovs from stakes... Selling Trot... Pony Trot Handicap. 1893Scott. Leader 12 June 1 Grand Handicap Trot—First, {pstlg}10; Second, {pstlg}3; Third, {pstlg}2. 1899Bulletin (Sydney) 21 Jan. 24/2 At the recent big M.L. trots horses well-known this side carried off their full share of prize-money. 1905A. C. Rice Sandy 215 Nelson wants the fellow to drive for him at the fall trots. 1934T. Wood Cobbers ii. 19 We're proud of the Trots in Perth. It's the best course in the world. 1959N.Z. Listener 16 Jan. 14/4 An oddball like myself, wholly uninterested in racing, even night trots. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 43 Sixth race—Trot, mile. Purse $3,000. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 2 Oct. 7/1 He won the Empire Trot at Syracuse two weeks ago. 1977New Yorker 19 Sept. 131/1 No doubt remembering the crush of more than forty thousand when the trots opened at Meadowlands a year ago, many people stayed away.
3. † Irish trot (obs.), Turkey trot, names of dances. Also † shake a trot (Sc. Obs.).
1549Compl. Scot. vi. 66 In the fyrst, thai dancit al cristyn mennis dance, the northt of scotland, huntis vp,..schaik a trot. 1652News fr. Lowe-Countr. 7 The Scottish Jigg, the Irish Trot.
4. A toddling child; also, a small or young animal. colloq. Hence ˈtrottie, a little toddling child.
1854Thackeray Newcomes x, Ethel romped with the little children—the rosy little trots—and took them on her knees, and told them a thousand stories. 1895Skelton Table-Talk iv. 72 Black, hairy little trots..with their big bills and their big feet. 1905Contemp. Rev. July 62 A practising school is maintained, partly of grave little trots from outside and partly of little boarders. 1924‘L. Malet’ Dogs of Want vii. §6 Darling girls, from the time when they were the tiniest trotties till now.
5. U.S. A literal translation of a text used by students; a ‘crib’. Cf. horse n. 13, pony n. 3. (College slang.)
1891in Cent. Dict. 1924P. Marks Plastic Age 299 I'm talking about the copying of math problems and the using of trots. 1975B. Meggs Matter of Paradise (1976) vii. v. 173 Somebody suggested..that he get a trot. An absolutely forbidden interlinear translation. The Latin on one line; the English right below it. 1984Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Apr. 44/2 The translations are rarely better than lame trots.
6. Austral. colloq. A sequence, a succession, esp. in a game of chance; a run of luck of a specified kind. See 1 d above.
1911L. Stone Jonah 216 A trot or succession of seven tails followed, and the kip changed hands rapidly. 1919W. H. Downing Digger Dialects 51 Trot, an experience (e.g. ‘a rough trot’; ‘a bad time’). 1937J. A. Lee Civilian into Soldier 99 Sometimes a man would succeed daringly, doubling up and breaking the ring with a long run of heads, ‘throwing a trot’. 1949L. Glassop Lucky Palmer 177 He was ‘Lucky’ Palmer, having a bad trot at the moment, admittedly, but still ‘Lucky’ Palmer. 1966P. Mathers Trot 90 He..had had a tough trot, humped the bluey, been through it all. 1974D. R. Stuart Prince of my Country v. 33 He's had a damn good trot, old Marney.
II.
7. a. Fishing. (Perhaps a different word: cf. trat.) A long-line lightly anchored or buoyed, with baited hooks hung by short lines or snoods a few feet apart; a trawl-line; also called a trot-line; also, each of the short lines attached to this.
1858[see trot-line in 8]. 1883Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 10 Floating Trots and Spillers. 1884St. James's Gaz. 18 Jan. 6/2 A ‘trot’ is a line some twenty yards long. 1886R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log x. 199 Much longer lines than the trots just described are used for flounders.
b. Naut. (See quot. 1976.)
1923Man. Seamanship (Admiralty) II. 107 When several targets are secured in line to a trot, only the ends of the trot need be marked by lights. 1950G. Hackforth-Jones Worst Enemy iii. 202 The old ship parted her moorings and drifted down on to a destroyer trot. I had to let go two Admiralty-pattern anchors that were last used in the Crimean War. 1976Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 893/1 Trot, a multiple mooring for small boats or yachts. The base mooring is laid in a straight line and from it individual moorings rise at intervals spaced to allow the boats room to swing with the tide.
III. 8. attrib. and Comb. trot-boat (see quot. 1955); trot-line = sense 7; trot-rope, a rope securely pegged down at each end, on which runs a sliding ring to which a horse is tethered, enabling him to graze a strip the length of the rope (Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1909).
1945‘N. Shute’ Most Secret vi. 124, I can get the *trot boat down each evening. 1955N. & Q. Sept. 402/2 A ‘trot-boat’ is a boat of any size which makes routine visits to discharge or embark passengers, stores, etc., at ships secured to the buoys.
1826‘Nonius Nondescript’ The ― 18 Feb. 10 As full of noozes and strings as a fisherman's *trot line. 1858in A. E. Lee Hist. Columbus, Ohio (1892) I. 146 Father went down to the river to examine a trotline.
▪ II. trot, n.2|trɒt|
Forms: α. 4 trate, 4–6 trat, tratte; β. 6 trott, trotte, trote, (8 trout), 6– trot.
[AF. trote occurs twice in Gower's French Mirour de l'Omme, ll. 8713 and 17900 (‘la viele trote q'est jolie’), but the ME. instances have all trat(e, tratte, and the word has not been found in Continental French either as trote or tratte, so that the derivation is uncertain. It can hardly be connected with trot n.1, or with OF. baudetrot, bawdstrot.]
An old woman; usually disparaging: an old beldame, a hag.
αc1350Will. Palerne 4769 Þat þo tvo trattes þat William wold haue traysted. c1380Sir Ferumb. 1370 Þan ful doun þat olde trate in-to þe salte see. c1460Towneley Myst. xvi. 394 Gett out of thise wonys! ye trattys, all at onys. 1513Douglas æneis iv. xi. 114 Thus said Dido; and the tother, with that, Hichit on furth with slaw pase lyke ane trat. 1570Levins Manip. 37/14 A tratte, anus.
β1530Palsgr. 642/1 Se yonder olde trot howe she mumbleth, auisez ceste vielle [etc.]. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. ii. 79 Marrie him to a Puppet or an Aglet babie, or an old trot with ne're a tooth in her head. 1598Drayton Heroic. Ep. xiii. 105 And call me, Beldam, Gib, Witch, Night-mare, Trot, With all despight that may a Woman spot. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 78 An old Trot (that boasted of her Giftishnesse in Waterology). 1719D'Urfey Pills V. 74 You are..A fulsome Trot and good for nought. a1845Hood Forget-me-nots ii, Some strange, neglectful, gossiping old Trot. 1906E. V. Lucas Listener's Lure (1910) 282 Miss Graham got an old trot after a good deal of messing about.
▪ III. trot, v.|trɒt|
Forms: see trot n.1; also 5 tret.
[ME. a. OF. troter (12th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), F. trotter (Prov., Sp., Pg. trotar, It. trottare) to trot. A med.L. deriv. trottare appears c 1150 in Thesaurus of Thomas.]
I.
1. intr. Of a horse, and occasionally other quadrupeds: To go at the gait called the trot (see trot n.1 1). Also said of a man.
to trot all (see all C. 4), trot altogether (altogether B. 2), trot high (high adv. 1 b), trot large (large B. 6), trot rough (rough adv. 1), trot short (short C. 4); to trot out, to trot with extended action (opposed to trot short).
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 135 Fauuel fette forþ Foles of þe beste, And sette..fals on a sysoures backe þat softly trotted. c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 294 No man fynden shal Noon in this world, that trotteth [v.r. (Petw. MS.) treteþ] hool in al Ne man ne beest. c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) iv, Somtyme þei [roe-deer] trotteth and goth a paas. 14..Beryn 939 As hors þat evir trottid..It were hard to make hym aftir to ambill well. c1450Merlin 279 A Curroure trottynge on foote. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. 61 Trotte sire and trotte damme, how should the fole amble? c1566Merie Tales of Skelton in S.'s Wks. (1843) I. p. lx, Hee was a litell olde fellowe, and woulde lye as fast as a horse woulde trotte. 1633Marmion Antiquary 1, You'll hardly find..beast that trots sound of all four: There will be some defect. 1674Lond. Gaz. No. 882/4 A light gray Mare about fourteen hands high, five years old, trots altogether. 1675Ibid. No. 959/4 A Brown Bay Nag,..Trots all. 1676Ibid. No. 1107/4 Gray Mare,..trots rough. 1677Ibid. No. 1222/4 A Sorrel Chesnut Gelding.., paces little, but trotteth high. 1706Trot out [see short C. 4]. 1856Miss Mulock J. Halifax ii, He took me on his back..and fairly trotted with me down the garden-walk. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede i. i, Gyp with his basket, trotting at his master's heels. 1883H. Craig in Harper's Mag. Aug. 346/1 She trotted a mile in the unparalleled time of 2.101/4. 1897Daily Chron. 23 Aug. 8/2, I trotted down the wicket very slowly.
b. transf. Of a rider, etc., or of a vehicle.
c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 838 Amble, or trotte [v.r. trote], or pees, or go sit doun, Thou lettest oure disport. a1450Le Morte Arth. 3339 Arthur with knyghtis fully xiiij..With helme, sheld, And hauberke shene; Ryght so they trotted vppon þe grownde. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. vii. 86, I will trot to morrow a mile. c1682Claverhouse in 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. viii. 270 The smith at Menegaff,..after whom the forces has troted so often. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. xix. (Roxb.) 186/2 Words of command about wheelings of Horsmen... Trot large, and wheele to the left. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 487 Who trots to market on a steed so fine. 1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 66 ‘Trot Out’—Increase gradually to the trot of manœuvre, 8½ miles per hour. When steady, ‘Trot Short’—Collect the horses to the school pace again. 1833T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. iii, At Windsor..a royal coach may be often seen trotting about the town. 1913Times 14 May 6/2 The Brigade was an imposing picture as it trotted past the King.
c. transf. and fig.
c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iii. xl. (1869) 157 Alwey j muste make the chyn trotte, and the throte gaape. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 331 Time..trots hard with a yong maid, between the contract of her marriage, and the day it is solemnizd. 1612Dekker If it be not good Wks. 1873 III. 275 Vncle write that. Oct. Fast as my pen can trot. 1671R. MacWard True Nonconf. 273 Your loftie Pindarick..doth trote more rudely, and lamely, then our hobling meeter. a1758Ramsay Generous Gentl. iii, She lean'd upon a flow'ry brae, By which a burnie trotted. 1852Thackeray Esmond ii. xi, We college poets trot..on very easy nags. 1893Saltus Madam Sapphira 31 A woman is never led astray. She trots, or gallops or bolts astray, but never is she led.
†d. In the alliterative phrases trot and tremble, tremble and trot. Obs. rare.
c1425Cast. Persev. 459 in Macro Plays 91 Now I sytte in my semly sale; I trotte & tremle in my trew trone. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 555 A! how I tremyl and trott for ȝese tydynges!
2. intr. To go or move quickly; to go briskly or busily; to bustle; to run. Also refl., and with it. Now colloq., implying short, quick motion in a limited area. Freq. with specifying adv. or advb. phr.; absol. also (contextually) to depart, to leave. Cf. toddle v. 2 b.
Also trans. in to trot one's terms, at Durham University, to keep one's terms as a day-student: cf. trotter 2. (N.E.D.)
c1416Hoccleve Balade to Henry V 8 The scantnesse [of gold] Wole arte vs three to trotte vn-to Newgate. c1440York Myst. xxviii. 204 Do trottes on for that traytoure apas. 1530Palsgr. 763/1, I have doone naught sythe syxe of the clocke in the mornyng but trotte aboute from place to place. a1553C. Bansley Treat. xii. (Percy Soc.) 5 Sponge up your vysage, olde bounsynge trotte, and tricke it wyth the beste, Tyll you tricke and trotte youre selfe to the devyls trounsynge neste. 1581T. Howell Deuises E ij b, Wante makes the olde wyfe trot. c1645Howell Lett. (1753) 126 Som..find the Table ready laid; but som Must for their commons trot. a1704T. Brown Alsop's State of Conform. Wks. 1711 IV. 116 If you'd have me trot it to the East-Indies,..'tis no sooner said, than done. 1774C. Keith Farmer's Ha! lx, Now lasses round the ingle trot, To make the brose. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Man of Many Fr. (Colburn) 125, I will trot myself off for the moment, and be back immediately. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre II. viii. 203 In case I married Miss Ingram, both you and little Adèle had better trot forthwith. 1862in N. Longmate Hungry Mills (1978) viii. 108, I..trot down to a butcher in a better neighbourhood. 1863Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. xvi. 402 She..will keep her husband trotting. 1883Durham Univ. Jrnl. 17 Dec. 141 ‘To trot one's terms’ was, we believe originally, a Dublin phrase. 1899O. Wilde Importance of being Earnest ii. 74 Chasuble... At what hour would you wish the ceremony performed? Jack. Oh, I might trot round about five if that would suit you. 1954J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring i. ix. 166 No time for talking. I must be trotting. 1960Cambr. Rev. 7 May 506/2 It is not true to suppose that the setting-up of machinery for psychiatric consultation merely encourages the ‘neurotic’ to trot along to the psychiatrist at the least excuse. 1984Your Computer May 25/2 You can..trot up to the Registry with that reference number and get a copy of his death certificate very quickly.
†3. trans.
a. To trot upon (something) (rare).
b. To make, describe, or execute by trotting; to go through at a trot.
c. To follow, traverse (a path) as if by trotting (rare). Obs.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. vii. 16 My horse..boundes from the Earth..he trots the ayre. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. iii. i. Wks. 1856 I. 104 The black jades of swart night trot foggy rings Bout heavens browe. 1612Two Noble K. v. iv. 68 On this horse is Arcite Trotting the stones of Athens. 1633Ford 'Tis Pity i. ii, I have seen an ass and a mule trot the Spanish pavin with a better grace. 1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. 58 He..was..compell'd to trot the knotty path of inevitable destinie.
4. trans. To cause to trot; to lead or ride at the trot. Also fig.
1592Warner Alb. Eng. viii. xxxviii. (1612) 189 Whether that he trots, or turnes, or bounds his barded Steede. a1628G. Carleton Life B. Gilpin (1636) 66 He commanded William Airy..to trott the horses up and downe. 1684R. H. School Recreat. 21 Trot him about in your hand a good while; Then offer to mount. 1884Daily Chron. 25 Oct. (Cassell's) The whips trotted the pack to Gravel-hill. 1886Sat. Rev. 6 Mar. 315/1 The public..is being trotted up and down in front of Home Rule in the belief that, like a nervous horse, it can be familiarized with the alarming object.
b. to trot out: To lead out and show off the paces of (a horse); hence fig. to bring forward (a person, an opinion, etc.) for or as for inspection or approval; to exhibit, show off. colloq.
1838Lytton Alice vii. iii, His guest, to be shown off..and trotted out before all the rest of the company. 1841Sir G. Stephen Adv. Search Horse (ed. 6) p. xxiv, A little cross-bred, vicious beast..was ‘trotted out’ before a circle of ladies and gentlemen, to be admired. Ibid. ii. 46 He is trotted out, admired, and purchased. 1848Thackeray Bk. Snobs xxv, She began to trot out scraps of French. 1884Manch. Exam. 20 Aug. 5/1 The fine old historical commonplaces were trotted out.
c. To draw out (a person) in conversation so that he appears ridiculous; to make game of, make a butt of. Chiefly with out.
1818Blackw. Mag. III. 527 Menippus, accordingly, would fain trot Dr. Chalmers. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxiv, You want to trot me out, but it's no go. 1888Burgon Lives 12 Gd. Men II. x. 298 [He] trotted out his neighbour to his heart's content.
d. To conduct or escort (a person) to or round a place. to trot out (a woman), to walk out with, as a lover; also (N.Z.) simply trot. slang.
1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. xiv, I've trotted 'em out, all sorts of girls—but I never could..tie myself to any one of 'em. 1898‘Merriman’ Roden's Corner vi. 60 Perhaps you'll trot us round the works. 1902Daily Chron. 23 Aug. 6/7 He gave religious instruction..in his school, and on saints' days ‘trotted’ the children to church. 1946F. Sargeson That Summer 33 I've got a job in a grocer's shop and I'm trotting a sheila. 1964B. Crump in Weekly News (Auckland) 21 Oct. 46/6, I didn't know she was going steady with you... If I'd known you were trotting her [etc.].
e. To jog (a child) on one's knee; to ‘give a ride’ to.
1853Hawthorne Tanglewood Tales (Chandos) 193 He had trotted him on his knee when a baby. 1887A. J. Wilson At Mercy of Tiberius 79, I trotted her on my knee.
f. To bid against at an auction in order to force up the price; to make or accept a spurious bid for (an item at auction) in order to force up the price. Also with up. slang.
1864Hotten Slang Dict. 262 Trot, to ‘run up’, to oppose, to bid against at an auction. Ibid., ‘We trotted him up nicely, didn't we?’ i.e., we made him (the private buyer) pay dearly for what he bought. 1955W. Mankowitz Make me an Offer viii. 64 ‘But it's no good to you?’.. ‘Only if it goes reasonable—not if the reserve is high. And not..if it's trotted.’ ‘We don't do that sort of thing in the country, you know.’
g. to be able to trot a mouse on it and varr.: said of particularly strong or thick liquid food or drink. dial.
1936‘N. Blake’ Thou Shell of Death xiii. 229 A cup of tea, sir, after your journey... It's nice strong tea, so it is. Ye could trot a mouse on it. 1970H. McLeave Question of Negligence i. 3 That's the way they make it [sc. tea] in Scotland... Sweet as a sheep's eye and strong enough to trot a mouse on. 1975Times 17 May 10/8 A bowl of parsnip soup—‘so thick you could trot a mouse on it’, as the country saying goes.
II.
5. intr. To fish with a trot-line. (Perhaps a different word: cf. trot n.1 7.) dial.
1864Daily Tel. 18 May, They are trawlers, trotters, dredgers, and shrimpers, and their fathers have trawled, trotted, dredged, and shrimped ever since Earl Godwin. 1884St. James's Gaz. 18 Jan. 6/2 The eel-spearer..digging himself a good supply of bait, goes ‘trotting’ for flounders.
Add:[II.] [5.] b. trans. To allow (a trot-line) to be taken downstream by the current, with the bait held just above the river-bed; also const. down. Hence, to fish (a body of water) in this way.
1953H. G. C. Claypoole Introd. Art of Coarse Fishing i. 14 Whereas the punt rod may largely be used for ‘trotting down’ a bait (or allowing the float and bait to move downstream with the current), the bank rod may be more often used for ‘laying on’. 1972R. Forsberg Coarse Fishing xiii. 153 It is generally useless to consider ‘trotting’ a river when it is in full, roaring flood. 1978Oxford Times 8 Dec. 43/6 Andy's fish were caught the hard way with casters trotted on float tackle against the far bank. 1987Angler's Mail 7 Mar. 4/3 With a pilot float, the rig was dropped into the water and he began to trot it down. |