hen-scratchingn.

Brit.

/ˈhɛnˌskratʃɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈhɛnˌskrætʃɪŋ/, Australian English

/ˈhenˌskrætʃɪŋ/, New Zealand English /ˈhenˌskrɛtʃɪŋ/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: hen n.¹, scratching n.²

Etymology: < hen n.¹ + scratching n.² With sense 1 compare hen-scratched adj. 1 and later hen-scratch v.

1. North American, Australian, and New Zealand slang. The action or an act of digging in a cursory manner and to insufficient depth, esp. in ploughing, mining, or prospecting for minerals. Also: the result of this. Cf. hen-scratch v. Now somewhat rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > [noun] > light ploughing

spitting1594

stirree1733

skirting1796

hen-scratching1844

1844 Trans. N.-Y. State Agric. Soc. 1843 3 680 The only way to account for the failure of the seed in the field, is to suppose that the ordinary process of harrowing is insufficient, and a little better than hen-scratching.

1851 Bathurst (New S. Wales) Free Press & Mining Jrnl. 29 Nov. 4/3 The truth is, the work performed at the Abercrombie [gold field] is mere hen-scratching when compared with the herculean labours at the Turon.

1910 J. London Burning Daylight ix. 90 And I can see my corner lots selling out for more than your hen-scratching ever turned up on Birch Creek.

1971 G. Nelson Let. 5 Nov. in Surface Mining: Hearings before Subcomm. on Minerals, Materials, & Fuels of U.S. Senate Comm. Interior & Insular Affairs (92nd Congr., 1st Sess.) (1972) 159 Vast portions of the region are about to become a mammoth strip mine that could make the ravaged coal mined areas of the Appalachians look like hen-scratchings.

2. Chiefly U.S. colloquial. A scratch-like mark or series of marks; spec. cramped, untidy, or illegible handwriting. Cf. hen scratch n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [noun] > bad handwriting > untidy or illegible

scribbling1536

scribble-scrabble1602

scrawling1612

scrawl1710

scrawls1728

hieroglyphic1742

scoteinography1779

scratch1785

pot-hookery1795

hen scrat1825

cryptogram1827

scribble1828

griffonage1832

hen-scratching1851

chicken scratches1863

hieroglyph1875

1851 L. E. Stuart Let. 26 Dec. in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) I. 243 You will now know why my writing looks so much like ‘hen-scratching’—and you will know how to excuse it.

1881 Cootamundra (New S. Wales) Herald 3 Dec. 6/4 We have had an opportunity of judging between the handwriting of that clerk and that of his Honor himself; and the contrast is as copperplate to hen-scratching.

1957 V. J. Kehoe Technique Film & Television Make-up vii. 86 Facial lining for old age and other character make-ups should not look like ‘hen scratchings’.

2013 Telegraph-Jrnl. (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 2 Mar. f3 I then approached..a graphic designer..to take my hen-scratchings on paper napkins and create the logo and design elements I wanted throughout the bar.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	hen-scratching
释义	hen-scratchingn. Brit. /ˈhɛnˌskratʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈhɛnˌskrætʃɪŋ/, Australian English /ˈhenˌskrætʃɪŋ/, New Zealand English /ˈhenˌskrɛtʃɪŋ/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: hen n.¹, scratching n.² Etymology: < hen n.¹ + scratching n.² With sense 1 compare hen-scratched adj. 1 and later hen-scratch v. 1. North American, Australian, and New Zealand slang. The action or an act of digging in a cursory manner and to insufficient depth, esp. in ploughing, mining, or prospecting for minerals. Also: the result of this. Cf. hen-scratch v. Now somewhat rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > [noun] > light ploughing spitting1594 stirree1733 skirting1796 hen-scratching1844 1844 Trans. N.-Y. State Agric. Soc. 1843 3 680 The only way to account for the failure of the seed in the field, is to suppose that the ordinary process of harrowing is insufficient, and a little better than hen-scratching. 1851 Bathurst (New S. Wales) Free Press & Mining Jrnl. 29 Nov. 4/3 The truth is, the work performed at the Abercrombie [gold field] is mere hen-scratching when compared with the herculean labours at the Turon. 1910 J. London Burning Daylight ix. 90 And I can see my corner lots selling out for more than your hen-scratching ever turned up on Birch Creek. 1971 G. Nelson Let. 5 Nov. in Surface Mining: Hearings before Subcomm. on Minerals, Materials, & Fuels of U.S. Senate Comm. Interior & Insular Affairs (92nd Congr., 1st Sess.) (1972) 159 Vast portions of the region are about to become a mammoth strip mine that could make the ravaged coal mined areas of the Appalachians look like hen-scratchings. 2. Chiefly U.S. colloquial. A scratch-like mark or series of marks; spec. cramped, untidy, or illegible handwriting. Cf. hen scratch n. 3. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [noun] > bad handwriting > untidy or illegible scribbling1536 scribble-scrabble1602 scrawling1612 scrawl1710 scrawls1728 hieroglyphic1742 scoteinography1779 scratch1785 pot-hookery1795 hen scrat1825 cryptogram1827 scribble1828 griffonage1832 hen-scratching1851 chicken scratches1863 hieroglyph1875 1851 L. E. Stuart Let. 26 Dec. in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) I. 243 You will now know why my writing looks so much like ‘hen-scratching’—and you will know how to excuse it. 1881 Cootamundra (New S. Wales) Herald 3 Dec. 6/4 We have had an opportunity of judging between the handwriting of that clerk and that of his Honor himself; and the contrast is as copperplate to hen-scratching. 1957 V. J. Kehoe Technique Film & Television Make-up vii. 86 Facial lining for old age and other character make-ups should not look like ‘hen scratchings’. 2013 Telegraph-Jrnl. (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 2 Mar. f3 I then approached..a graphic designer..to take my hen-scratchings on paper napkins and create the logo and design elements I wanted throughout the bar. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1844
随便看	nontheism nontheist nontheistic nontheistically nontheists nonthematic nontheological nontheologically nontheorem nontheoretical nontheoretically nonthoroughfare nonthreatening nontitle nontonal nontotalitarian nontouristy nontoxic nontoxics nontraditional nontraditionally nontransferability nontransferable nontransferrable nontransgenic