tugn.1
/tʌɡ/, U.S. /təɡ/ 1. An act or the action of tugging; a forcible or violent pull; a severe strain or drag.
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the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > [noun] > pulling > pulling forcibly > an act of
ruga1500
tug?a1513
lug1897
a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) I. 58 The tarsall gaif him tug for tug.
1635 F. Quarles Emblemes iv. iii. 194 The idle vessell slides the watry lay, Without the blast, or tug, of wind, or Oare.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 486 Downward by the Feet he drew The trembling Dastard: at the Tug he falls.
1754 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 307 Lady Harriet had a tooth drawn by Rutter,..and he gave three tugs before he got it out!
1815 ‘J. Mathers’ Hist. Mr. John Decastro & Brother Bat IV. 111 The door stuck to the posts so fast that I was forced to take three or four good tugs at it before it would come open.
1886 G. M. Fenn Master of Cerem. xiv Morton felt a tug at his line.
2. †Labour, toil (obsolete rare); esp. a determined effort to accomplish or attain something; a hard try; a struggle; a ‘go’.
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the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [noun] > labour or toil
workeOE
i-swincheOE
swenchOE
swote971
swingc1000
swinkOE
swinkinga1225
travailc1275
cark1330
sweatc1380
the sweat of (one's) brow (brows), facec1380
laboura1382
swengc1400
labouragec1470
toil1495
laborationa1500
tug1504
urea1510
carp1548
turmoil1569
moil1612
praelabour1663
fatigue1669
insudation1669
till?a1800
Kaffir work1848
graft1853
workfulness1854
collar-work1871
yakka1888
swot1899
heavy lifting1934
the world > action or operation > endeavour > [noun] > an attempt > hard or vigorous
tug1673
push1746
dasher1884
1504 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 191 It ryseth on my owne mynd to give over grett tuggs of husbandry which I had, and take me to lesse charge.
1673 Ld. Conway in O. Airy Essex Papers (1890) I. 141 I shall yet have a tug for the Mr of the Ordnance place.
1764 ‘G. Psalmanazar’ Memoirs 84 I..found it a very hard tug to keep up my credit.
1853 W. C. Bryant Poems (new ed.) 113 The vain low strife That makes men mad—the tug for wealth and power.
3.
a. A strenuous contest between two forces or persons.
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society > society and the community > dissent > contention or strife > [noun] > an act or instance of
flitec1000
strifea1225
wara1300
pulla1400
lakec1420
contenta1450
stour?c1450
contentiona1500
pingle1543
agony1555
feudc1565
combat1567
skirmish1576
grapple1604
counter-scuffle1628
scuffle1641
agon1649
tug1660
tug of war1677
risse1684
struggle1692
palaver1707
hash1789
warsle1792
scrabble1794
set-to1794
go1823
bucklea1849
wrestle1850
tussle1857
head-to-head1884
scrum1905
battleground1931
shoot-out1953
mud-wrestle1986
1660 E. Gower in 5th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1876) 204/1 The only tug is between Episcopacy and Presbytery.
1830 W. Scott Lett. Demonol. & Witchcraft i. 11 Amid the mortal tug of combat.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. viii. 269 On this day..William began that career of..good fortune in the mere tug of battle.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 8 Dec. 2/3 The tug of will between the overbearing Kaiser and his hitherto subservient people.
b. tug of war. (a) The decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy. (b) An athletic contest between two teams who haul at the opposite ends of a rope, each trying to drag the other over a line marked between them. Also attributive.
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society > society and the community > dissent > contention or strife > [noun] > an act or instance of
flitec1000
strifea1225
wara1300
pulla1400
lakec1420
contenta1450
stour?c1450
contentiona1500
pingle1543
agony1555
feudc1565
combat1567
skirmish1576
grapple1604
counter-scuffle1628
scuffle1641
agon1649
tug1660
tug of war1677
risse1684
struggle1692
palaver1707
hash1789
warsle1792
scrabble1794
set-to1794
go1823
bucklea1849
wrestle1850
tussle1857
head-to-head1884
scrum1905
battleground1931
shoot-out1953
mud-wrestle1986
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > specific athletic sports other than running > tug-of-war
Sun and Moon1572
tug of war1876
1677 N. Lee Rival Queens iv. 48 When Greeks joyn'd Greeks, then was the tug of War.
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto VIII li. 136 At last [the mob] takes to weapons..Then comes ‘the tug of war’.
1876 World V. No. 108. 13 The tug of war..was the most popular item in Saturday's entertainment.
1893 E. H. Barker Wanderings by S. Waters 263 He [the devil] therefore lost no time in entering upon a tug-of-war with the saintly interloper.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 6 June 7/1 Their tug-of-war team pulled over two teams of British Tommies.
c. tug of love, a conflict of affections; spec. a contest for custody of a minor; also (with hyphens) attributive.Perhaps influenced by the title of a comedy ‘The Tug of Love’ by I. Zangwill (1907).
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society > society and the community > dissent > contention or strife > [noun] > for affections or custody
tug of love1973
1973 Times 9 Nov. 20/7 The Houghton committee was set up after some highly-publicized ‘tug of love’ cases, and recommended making it easier for long-term foster-parents..to adopt.
1977 Daily Mirror 21 Mar. 13/1 Back home in the arms of her mother, a tiny tug-of-love girl sleeps peacefully. The girl..had been taken to California after being snatched by her father.
1984 Times 12 Oct. 2/2 ‘Tug of love’ cases where a child is seized by one parent from another.
4. In harness:
a. (Chiefly plural) A pair of short chains attached to the hames, by which the collar is connected with the shafts.
b. A trace.
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c. A short strap sewn on various parts of the harness and serving to keep it in position; also (plural) the loops of the back-strap which support the shafts.
d. A metal stud or pin on the shaft to prevent it running too far forward through the loops of the back-strap.
e. See quot. 1844. Also locally applied to other parts of harness: see quot. 1888.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > traces > attachments for
norsela1300
pipe?1309
tug1417
tug-hook1417
spreadbat1775
trace-ring1795
trace-tug1795
spreader1810
cock eye1819
stretcher1828
tug-buckle1851
roller1856
piping1875
tug-carrier1877
tug-slide1877
trace-iron1902
trace-loop-
c1250 MS. Barlow 49 (2) lf. 16 In carucis..emendandis... In iugis et tuggis ad idem emptis ix. d.]
1417–18 in Archæol. Jrnl. (1881) 38 78 Item in vij Teugys, xij d.
1481–3 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer (P.R.O.: E101/496/26) Tuggis et hamis.
1497 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 96 Tugges for horsharnesse, ij baskettes.
1562 W. Bullein Dial. Sorenes f. 7v, in Bulwarke of Defence Banishe them from Chyrurgi, commende them to the Carte. To the flaile and the rake, the trace and the togge.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxiii. 229 Which word tugge..signifieth the pull or draught of the oxen or horses, and therefore the leathers that beare the chiefe stresse of the draught, the cartars call them tugges.
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 167 Thou was a noble Fittie-lan', As e'er in tug or tow was drawn!
1795 W. Felton Treat. Carriages II. 155 Tugs, to hold up the Traces.
1795 W. Felton Treat. Carriages II. 155 The Hip Strap..buckles to the Tugs of the Breeching, to hold it up.
1795 W. Felton Treat. Carriages II. 167 In the middle [of each of a pair of hames] other loops are hung, to which the tuggs for the draught are fixed.
1808–18 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Tug, raw-hide, of which formerly plough-traces were made.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 695 The pace of the old horse should be subdued..by the rein and tug; which the short reins are called, that pass from the head of one horse to the collar of the other.
1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 4708 The collars, hames, and tugs are suited to give the horse the least fatigue in drawing the vehicle.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Tug,..4. The hook or other iron on the carriage, or on the whipple-tree, to which the trace is attached... The end of the leather trace at the part where it is attached to the vehicle. 5. A loose loop buckled round the shaft, to which (when used) is fastened the kicking-strap.
f. Mining. The iron hoop of a corf or hoisting bucket.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > basket > hoop or chains of
tug-hole1797
tug1858
tackler1881
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Tug,..a hoop of iron to hold a tackle.
1877 in E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. III.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 188 Tug (Derb.), the iron hook of a hoisting bucket, to which the tacklers are attached.
g. A rope. U.S.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > rope, cord, or line
stringa900
soleOE
funela1400
tow1513
rope1720
tug1805
thews1851
jeff1854
1805 M. Lewis Jrnl. 5 May in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1987) III The white perogue..was..refitted in a few minutes with some tugs of raw hide and nales.
1841 Southern Lit. Messenger 7 531/1 He bound my hands behind me with stout tugs of deer-skin.
1852 H. C. Watson Nights in Block-house 445 They took a strong tug, made from the raw hide of the buffalo or elk.
1910 W. M. Raine Bucky O'Connor xiv. 216 He stopped as if to fasten a tug.
5. A timber-wagon. southern and eastern dialect.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > other vehicles according to specific use > [noun] > vehicle for moving timber or heavy weights
drug?a1549
drug cart?a1549
drug-carriage1665
tug1706
timber carriage1747
timber-tuga1800
janker1823
jinker1860
timber-cart1884
junker1885
lumber-carrier1928
straddle carrier1950
straddle truck1958
telehandler1982
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Tug,..a Country-Word for a Waggon to carry Timber.
1724 D. Defoe Tour Great Brit. I. ii. 59 I have seen one Tree on a Carriage, which they call here [i.e. at Lewes] a Tug, drawn by Two and Twenty Oxen.
1791 W. Gilpin Remarks Forest Scenery I. 116 A sort of wain, which in that deep country [Sussex], is expressively called a tugg.
1829 H. Smith New Forest I. i. 3 A timber-wain, in Hampshire called a tug.
6.
a. A small, stoutly built, and powerful steamer used to tow other vessels; a tug-boat.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels with other specific uses > [noun] > tug
tow-boat1815
tracker1817
tug1817
tug-boat1832
towing-vessel1834
steam-tug1835
tug-steamer1861
tow1874
pusher tug1936
1817 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 101 This vessel,..appropriately named the Tug, is meant to track ten other vessels... The utility of the Tug is not confined to tracking.
1840 Evid. Hull Docks Comm. 73 You use the tug to tow them from the harbour.
1908 E. Fowler Between Trent & Ancholme 12 The smoke of a tug drawing vessels.
b. Any other towing craft or vehicle, spec. (a) = tug aircraft n. at Compounds 2 below; (b) a tractor used to tow aircraft on the ground or unpowered road vehicles.
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society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > tractor used to tow aircraft on ground
tug1942
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > aircraft used to tow gliders
tug aircraft1931
tow-plane1940
tug1942
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > other vehicles according to specific use > [noun] > towing vehicle
prime mover1938
tug1942
1942 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 46 7 Aircraft towing as a method for launching high-performance gliders is a relatively recent development. Up till now, no specially designed aircraft ‘tug’ has become available.
1945 Amer. Speech 20 227/2 Tug, a four- or six-wheeled tractor used for towing planes on the ground or for towing warehouse trailers.
1960 Times Rev. Industry Nov. 20/3 A..tractor can be a tug for two..vans.
1981 Times 14 Dec. 22/8 Tugs could not move the big jets because of ice.
7. Phrases. †to hold tug, (also hold a tug), to hold one tug, to keep one strenuously occupied, or fully engaged; in tug, †upon a tug, in conflict or contest (with).
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the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > be occupied or busy (in or at something) [verb (intransitive)] > be fully occupied > keep fully occupied
to play at small game (also small play) rather than sit out1565
to hold tug1577
to make play1813
society > society and the community > dissent > contention or strife > contending [phrase]
to set at war1487
at (the) batea1500
in wars?1573
at wars1614
upon a tug1681
1577 J. Grange Golden Aphroditis sig. Iiv Whiche twoo pretie poyntes [for discussion] helde them tugge with hard holde vntill..aboute dinner tyme.
1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) IV. 317 The debate held such tug that it was moved to adjourn.
1667 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 113 There was work enough..that would hold him tugg for a whole yeare.
1672 Westm. Drollery ii. 94 No Tankerd, Flaggon, Bottle, nor Jugg..so well can hold Tugg.
1681 R. L'Estrange tr. Apol. Protestants iv. i. 99 The Popes were at that time upon a Tugg with the Emperor.
1700 P. Motteux Don Quixote II. i. iv. iv. 398 The Barber held tugg with her till the Curate advis'd him to return it.
1791 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) I. 355 Lafayete will hold a good tug, being as cunning as any body.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley II. ix. 218 She had seen from the window Tartar in full tug with two carrier's dogs.
8. [Perhaps a different word.] Public School slang. At Eton College, a student on the foundation, a colleger as distinguished from an oppidan. In wider use: a studious or academic type, a swot.
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society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school > types of pupil at Eton
oppidan1557
servitor1819
sextile1821
dry-bob1844
tug1864
tug-mutton1864
wet bob1865
non-nant1869
society > education > learning > learner > [noun] > diligent pupil or student
muzz1788
sap1798
sapper1825
swot1850
mug1880
mugger1883
mugster1888
groise1913
swotter1919
swotty1929
brain-box1942
mothball1944
geek1957
achiever1960
tug1976
poindexter1981
dexter1985
1864 Eton School Days ii. 21 That building on the right is Tuggery, where the Tug-Muttons live; you'll hate the Tugs like anything: all the Oppidans hate the Tugs.
1881 in C. E. Pascoe Everyday Life in our Public Schools 55 The great match of Collegers—or, as the small Oppidan would term it, ‘Tugs’—and Oppidans is to be played.
1922 S. Leslie Oppidan iv. 48 Tugs or Scholars were separated from Oppidans by the same gulf that lay between Professionals and Gentlemen in the world of sport.
1976 R. Pound A. P. Herbert i. 23 In Wykehamist parlance, he was a ‘tug’, a clever chap, whose achievement was held worthier than any playing-field victory.
1977 A. J. Ayer Part of My Life ii. 34 Traditionally, the Oppidans despised the Collegers, who tended to come from a lower social stratum, and spoke of them as Tugs, because they were believed to engage in tugs of war for the few pieces of mutton which was all that they were given to eat.
1982 A. Barr & P. York Official Sloane Ranger Handbk. 71/1 Swots are weeds (at Eton: ‘tugs don't wash’).
Compounds
C1. General attributive. In sense 6. See also tugwithe n.
a.
tug-boat n.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels with other specific uses > [noun] > tug
tow-boat1815
tracker1817
tug1817
tug-boat1832
towing-vessel1834
steam-tug1835
tug-steamer1861
tow1874
pusher tug1936
1832 C. Babbage Econ. Machinery & Manuf. vi. 34 A kind of tug-boat for all the vessels which have occasion to ascend the rapid.
1860 Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 73 One ship was..waiting to be towed out by the tugboat.
tug-boatman n.
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1891 Daily News 3 Feb. 3/5 The tug-boatmen who struck on Friday at Liverpool were still out yesterday.
tug-captain n.
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1897 Westm. Gaz. 26 May 4/3 A tug captain from Limehouse was called by the police.
tug-man n.
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1891 Sc. Leader 24 Jan. 6 Over 80 per cent. of the tugmen at Liverpool have joined the Sailors' Union.
tug-master n.
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1896 Pall Mall Mag. Nov. 386 The responsibilities and anxieties of a tug-master.
tug-owner n.
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1901 Westm. Gaz. 26 Aug. 5/2 They were tug-owners, and worked the ferry between Hobbs's Point and the Neyland Ordnance Stores.
tug-service n.
tug-steamer n.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels with other specific uses > [noun] > tug
tow-boat1815
tracker1817
tug1817
tug-boat1832
towing-vessel1834
steam-tug1835
tug-steamer1861
tow1874
pusher tug1936
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > mechanically propelled vessels > [noun] > propelled by steam engine > other steam vessels
steam dredger1801
steam barge1812
steam hopper1812
steam-launch1812
steam schooner1812
steam-yacht1812
steam-tug1835
pleasure steamer1839
tug-steamer1861
ditcher1877
alligator1884
turnabout1885
tank-steamer1889
whaleback1891
whalebacker1891
1861 Wheat & Tares 252 Tug steamers flashed hither and thither, panting and groaning with their heavy train of stone-laden barges.
tug traffic n.
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1906 Daily Tel. 1 Feb. The Thames and London Rowing Clubs..have never complained of the general, business tug-traffic.
b.
tug-like adj.
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the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > [adjective]
unwearyc893
unwearieda1240
perseverant1340
continuing1393
persevering?a1425
importunate1477
infatigable?1510
unfatigablec1550
persisting1552
unweariable1561
holdfast1567
indefatigable1586
patient1590
faintless1593
untired1597
untired1600
assidual1605
unrelenting1606
persistive1609
unwearyinga1614
hard1615
indefesse1621
constant1639
assiduous1660
dogged1700
unremitting1730
inexhaustible1762
unremitted1774
untiring1823
persistent1830
sleuth1864
tug-like1890
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 155 Energetic people have certain advantages. Their tuglike, unremitting habit of doing something keeps the machine going.
C2. † tug-mutton n. Obsolete = sense 8 above.
tug aircraft n. a powered aircraft used to tow a glider or train of gliders.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > aircraft used to tow gliders
tug aircraft1931
tow-plane1940
tug1942
1931 Flight 26 June 578/2 The tug aircraft, as it will probably be called.
1962 G. Chatterton Wings of Pegasus 32 There was a very limited number of tug aircraft and parachute aircraft.
1976 J. Colville Footprints in Time xxxiii. 185 Soon there were fleets of gliders too. As each was released over the river, its tug-aircraft turned steeply away for home.
tug-boating n. U.S. working on a tug-boat.
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society > travel > travel by water > seafaring life > [noun] > business or work of a sailor > working on specific type of craft
boatmanage1633
bumboating1773
wherrying1902
tug-boating1941
1941 E. P. O'Donnell Great Big Doorstep xxi. 310 If it wasn't for rain, I wooden have a job to hole down. You'd see me tugboatin on the river or some kinda ordinary work.
1973 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. lx. 1 The coastal fringes are ideally suited to those who make their living from the sea—fishing, whaling.., boat~building, tugboating.
tug-buckle n. a trace-buckle.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > traces > attachments for
norsela1300
pipe?1309
tug1417
tug-hook1417
spreadbat1775
trace-ring1795
trace-tug1795
spreader1810
cock eye1819
stretcher1828
tug-buckle1851
roller1856
piping1875
tug-carrier1877
tug-slide1877
trace-iron1902
trace-loop-
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 359/1 His foreman..says to me, ‘Give that tug-buckle a file’.
1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 4686 Set of carriage harness, with improved tug buckles.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
tug-carrier n. each of a pair of loops through which the tugs or traces pass (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1877).
tug-chain n. a chain trace; also a short chain by which a leather trace is attached to the splinter-bar ( Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895).
tug-hole n. cf. sense 4f.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > basket > hoop or chains of
tug-hole1797
tug1858
tackler1881
1797 J. Curr Coal Viewer 18 Should the corves be made to draw by conductors, the chains..from the center of the tug hole to the center of the ring that connects them, should measure 22½ inches.
tug-hook n. a hook on the hame to which the trace is attached.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > traces > attachments for
norsela1300
pipe?1309
tug1417
tug-hook1417
spreadbat1775
trace-ring1795
trace-tug1795
spreader1810
cock eye1819
stretcher1828
tug-buckle1851
roller1856
piping1875
tug-carrier1877
tug-slide1877
trace-iron1902
trace-loop-
1417–18 in Archæol. Jrnl. (1881) 38 78 Item in Teughookys. vij d.
tug-iron n. see quot.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > shaft(s) or pole > part to which harness is attached
tug-plate1795
tug-iron1844
hold-back1850
1844 W. Barnes Poems Rural Life in Dorset Dial. Gloss. Tugiron of shafts, an iron on the shafts [of a wagon] to hitch the traces to.
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society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school > types of pupil at Eton
oppidan1557
servitor1819
sextile1821
dry-bob1844
tug1864
tug-mutton1864
wet bob1865
non-nant1869
1864Tug-mutton [see sense 8].
tug pilot n. the pilot of a tug aircraft.
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society > travel > air or space travel > people who fly in aircraft or spacecraft > [noun] > person in control of aircraft or spacecraft > person in control of aircraft > other aeroplane pilots
test pilot1917
airline pilot1922
bush pilot1936
brown shoe1946
tug pilot1948
1948 E. Partridge et al. Dict. Forces' Slang 197 Tug pilot, the pilot of an aeroplane towing a glider. (Colloquial.)
1978 A. Welch Bk. of Airsports iii. 48/2 When experienced as a tug pilot, you will probably be given the occasional cross-country retrieve from a field or private airstrip.
tug-plate n. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > shaft(s) or pole > part to which harness is attached
tug-plate1795
tug-iron1844
hold-back1850
1795 W. Felton Treat. Carriages II. (Gloss.) 237 Tug Plate, a plate fixed on the shafts in which the tugs of a one horse harness is placed.
tug-rope n. Obsolete exc. U.S. a trace of rope.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > rope, cord, or line > trace of
tug-rope1417
1417–18 in Archæol. Jrnl. (1881) 38 78 Item in cordis vocatis Teugropis, viijd.
1852 J. Reynolds Pioneer Hist. Illinois 236 They often pack their meat..by running a tug rope through each piece.
1891 Cent. Mag. Mar. 774/2 We began by eating the rawhide tug ropes and parfleches.
tug-slide n. a tongueless trace-buckle: cf. slide n. 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > traces > attachments for
norsela1300
pipe?1309
tug1417
tug-hook1417
spreadbat1775
trace-ring1795
trace-tug1795
spreader1810
cock eye1819
stretcher1828
tug-buckle1851
roller1856
piping1875
tug-carrier1877
tug-slide1877
trace-iron1902
trace-loop-
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Tug-slide.
tug-spring n. a spring connection for traces to reduce the strain of starting a load.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > shaft(s) or pole > part to which harness is attached > spring connection for
tug-spring1877
horse-protector1887
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Tug-spring.
tug-strap n. a leather trace.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > traces
tracec1350
side rope1370
wain-rope1371
trace14..
soam1404
pintrace1440
side-trace1445
wain-string1464
theats1496
treat1611
trek-tow1822
trace-chain1844
tug-strap1882
trek-rope1883
trace-rope1900
1882 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. II. i. at Breast-strap The breast-collar..at its rear ends receives the tug-straps.
tug-whiting n. a whiting caught by a handline (Scottish).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > other edible fish
dogdrave1227
lamprey1297
lingc1300
loach1357
tench1390
carpc1440
rougetc1485
anchovy1582
pompano1598
tai1620
alewife1633
tug-whitingc1650
weakfish1686
ten-pounder1699
fire-flaira1705
tusk1707
porgy1725
katsuo1727
rockfish1731
tautog1750
sea bass1765
Albany beef1779
sable1810
Murray cod1843
paradise fish1858
spot1864
strawberry bass1867
nannygai1871
maomao1873
spotfish1875
strawberry perch1877
milkfish1880
tarwhine1880
tile-fish1881
latchett1882
tile1893
anago1895
flake1906
branzino1915
rascasse1921
lampuki1925
red fish1951
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > superorder Paracanthopterygii > order Gadiformes (cod) > [noun] > family Gadidae > merlangus or whiting
merling1289
scalpinc1400
mop1466
whiting1548
tug-whitingc1650
whitey1912
c1650 J. Spalding Memorialls Trubles Scotl. & Eng. (1851) II. 174 About this tyme [sc. 1642], sum tug quhytinges [were] takin.
Derivatives
ˈTuggery n. Eton College slang the collegers' boarding-house; the position or status of a colleger.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > educational buildings > [noun] > school > boarding house
house1821
Tuggery1864
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school > types of pupil at Eton > position of
Tuggery1864
1864 Eton School Days ii. 21 That building on the right is Tuggery, where the Tug-Muttons live; you'll hate the Tugs like anything: all the Oppidans hate the Tugs.
1883 J. Brinsley-Richards Seven Years at Eton xii. 112 [A boy] who had come from Aberdeen ‘to try for Tuggery’—that is, to try and pass on to the foundation as a King's scholar.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
tugn.2
/tʌɡ/, U.S. /təɡ/ Australian slang (now rare or Obsolete).
A rogue or sharper; also, an uncouth or rowdy fellow, a larrikin.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wickedness > roguery, knavery, or rascalry > [noun] > rogue, knave, or rascal
harlot?c1225
knavec1275
truantc1290
shreward1297
boinarda1300
boyc1300
lidderon13..
cokinc1330
pautenerc1330
bribera1387
bricouna1400
losarda1400
rascal?a1400
knapea1450
lotterela1450
limmerc1485
Tutivillus1498
knavatec1506
smy?1507
koken?a1513
swinger1513
Cock Lorel?1518
pedlar's French1530
cust1535
rabiator1535
varletc1540
Jack1548
kern1556
wild rogue1567
miligant1568
rogue1568
tutiviller1568
rascallion1582
schelm1584
scoundrel1589
rampallion1593
Scanderbeg1601
scroyle1602
canter1608
cantler1611
skelm1611
gue1612
Cathayana1616
foiterer1616
tilt1620
picaro1622
picaroon1629
sheepmanc1640
rapscallion1648
marrow1656
Algerine1671
scaramouch1677
fripon1691
shake-bag1794
badling1825
tiger1827
two-for-his-heels1837
ral1846
skeezicks1850
nut1882
gun1890
scattermouch1892
tug1896
natkhat1901
jazzbo1914
scutter1940
bar steward1945
hoor1965
1896 Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Apr. 17/4 Quite a number of bookies are migrating in view of the dull Australian winter tug-catching season.
1911 Bulletin (Sydney) 23 Nov. 13/4 Micko, from Collingwood, may be a ‘tug’ or a ‘crook’ or a ‘rough-up’.
1916 C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke (new ed.) v. 42 A tug named Tyball (cousin to the skirt).
1933 A. Reid Those were Days 55 So that chaps could know why a top-notch tug Can work ‘his’ ramps in a card-room snug.
1945 J. A. Allan Men & Manners in Australia 168 The Australian ‘larrakin’ or ‘tug’ is the counterpart of the English ‘hoodlum’ or ‘tough’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1993; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tugadj.
/tʌɡ/, U.S. /təɡ/ Public School slang.
(Esp. at Winchester College) ordinary, commonplace.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > mediocrity > [adjective]
feeblec1275
demeanc1380
unnoblec1384
coarse1424
colourlessc1425
passable1489
meana1500
indifferent1532
plain1539
so-so1542
mediocre1586
ordinary1590
fameless1611
middling1652
middle-rate1658
ornery1692
so-soish1819
nohow1828
betwixt and between1832
indifferential1836
null1847
undazzling1855
deviceless1884
uncompetitive1885
tug1890
run of the mill1919
serviceable1920
dim1958
spammy1959
comme ci, comme ça1968
vanilla1972
meh2007
1890 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang II. 378/2 Tug (Winchester College), usual, ordinary, common, stale, as tug-clothes, every-day clothes.
1907 Wykehamist Mar. 387/1 Accounts of events, ‘tug’ to the average reader, but recorded in print for the sake of the past and the future.
1951 C. P. Snow Masters vi. 53 No one on earth could call Jago tug... He's the least commonplace of men.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tugv.
/tʌɡ/, U.S. /təɡ/ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > flirt, philander, or dally [verb (intransitive)] > sport or struggle amorously
tuga1225
toyc1530
a1225 St. Marher. 14 Wið plohe speche sputte to mare, swa longe þat ha tollið togederes ant toggið.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 312 Ha ne cusse onan mon..ne toggi wið ne Pleiȝen.
2. † b. to tug it out, to decide a matter by contest or debate; to ‘have it out’; also, to go through with a thing to the end. Obsolete.
a. To contend, strive in opposition. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > contention or strife > contend [verb (intransitive)]
winc888
fightc900
flitec900
wraxlec1000
wrestlea1200
cockc1225
conteckc1290
strivec1290
struta1300
topc1305
to have, hold, make, take strifec1374
stightlea1375
debatec1386
batea1400
strugglec1412
hurlc1440
ruffle1440
warc1460
warslea1500
pingle?a1513
contend1529
repugn1529
scruggle1530
sturtc1535
tuga1550
broilc1567
threap1572
yoke1581
bustle1585
bandy1594
tilt1595
combat1597
to go (also shake, try, wrestle) a fall1597
mutiny1597
militate1598
combatizec1600
scuffle1601
to run (or ride) a-tilt1608
wage1608
contesta1618
stickle1625
conflict1628
stickle1647
dispute1656
fence1665
contrast1672
scramble1696
to battle it1715
rug1832
grabble1835
buffet1839
tussle1862
pickeer1892
passage1895
tangle1928
14.. Tourn. Tottenham 199 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. III. 91 Thus thai tuggut and thei ruggut til hit was nyȝt.
a1550 Dr. Doubble Ale 148 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. III. 311 The sexton and he truly Did tog by the eares earnestly.
1610 Mucedorus (new ed.) sig. F3 Let us tugge, till one the mastrie winne.
1657 T. Burton Diary (1828) II. 255 I..came away, and left them tugging upon that debate.
1694 J. Dryden Love Triumphant i. i. 1 Fierce Ramirez, the Castilian King, Who tugg'd for Empire, with our Warlike Son.
1701 J. Sage Vind. Cyprianic Age in Wks. (1847) II. 45 I have dared to tug a little with Gilbert Rule.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad iii. 120 Man tugs with man, and clubs with axes play.
1872 J. S. Le Fanu In a Glass Darkly III. 116 All her energies seemed strained to suppress a fit, with which she was then breathlessly tugging.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > following up, through, or prosecution > follow up, out, or through [verb (intransitive)] > to the end
to tug it outa1641
to go all the way1799
to go the route1926
a1641 T. Heywood Captives (1953) i. ii. 16 We'll tugge it out by' the teeth.
1648 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) I. 411 My Lord is resolved to go aboard this night and to tugge it out with any wind.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 94 This tough old man, being 70. yeares of age, took a Journey to Rome, there to tugg it out with his Adversaries.
1673 E. Hickeringill Gregory 319 The great courage of Cæsar reviv'd the poor spirited man and made him tug it out.
3. † b. transitive. To acquire by toil or exertion. rare.
a. intransitive. To toil, labour, struggle; to go toilsomely, advance laboriously.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > toilsomely
swinkc1175
labourc1438
toil1563
jaunt1575
strivea1586
tug1619
swog1637
hag1728
flog1925
to lame-duck it1943
trog1984
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > exert oneself or make an effort [verb (intransitive)] > toil
sweatc897
swingc1000
swinkOE
travailc1275
carka1350
tavec1350
to-swinkc1386
labourc1390
byswenke?a1400
tevelc1400
toilc1400
pingle1511
carp1522
moilc1529
turmoil1548
mucker1566
tug1619
tuggle1650
fatigue1695
hammer1755
fag1772
bullock1888
slog1888
to sweat one's guts out1890
schlep1937
slug1943
1619 Visct. Doncaster Let. in S. R. Gardiner Lett. Relations Eng. & Germany (1865) 1st Ser. 46 I came..to Cologne.. put myselfe into the boate..tugged up the river in five days to Francfort.
1635 E. Rainbow Labour 40 All for which you tugge thus diligently, shall perish.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 238 He was..deprived of all the Church lands..notwithstanding he tugged hard to keep some.
1707 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs ii. 101 The little Ants for one poor Grain Labour, and tugg, and strive.
1860 J. G. Holland Miss Gilbert's Career vi. 86 To tug and tug all their lives to get money together.
1911 E. Sidgwick Le Gentleman x He had..tugged up one great boulevard..and down another.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > acquisition > obtain or acquire [verb (transitive)] > obtain or acquire in a certain way > by care or effort > by exertion
to dig upc1400
to dig outa1425
tuga1657
rustle1844
to scare up1846
quarry1847
flog1959
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V cccxciii, in Poems (1878) IV. 199 The Soldier tumbles what the owner Tugg'd.
c. To carry or convey (something ponderous) with difficulty or exertion; to lug, drag. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by drawing along > draw along or haul [verb (transitive)] > of a person
lugger1654
lurry1664
tug1710
traipse1814
traverse1814
trudge1883
schlep1911
trascine1922
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 231. ⁋2 [He] then says to his Wife, Child, prithee take up the Saddle; which she readily did, and tugged it Home.
4. † b. To pull about roughly; to touse, to maul.† d. intransitive for passive. Obsolete. rare.† e. figurative. to tug out, to go through with a struggle to the end; to drag out. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To pull at with force; to strain or haul at.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > push and pull [verb (transitive)] > pull > exert pulling force on or pull at
pullOE
beteec1275
tug13..
tucka1400
ruga1425
pug1575
haul1743
13.. K. Alis. 2305 He hit toggid [Bodl. MS. tukked] out to habbe.
a1375 Lay Folk's Mass Bk. App. iv. 314 Wiþ his teeþ he gon hit togge.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 495/2 Toggyn, or drawyn.., tractulo.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 69/1 His here in despite torn and togged lyke a cur dogge.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1650 Those two massie Pillars..He tugg'd, he shook, till down they came. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 16 In vain the Milk-maid tugs an empty Teat.
1720 J. Gay Rural Sports i, in Poems I. 11 He greedily sucks in the twining Bait, And tugs and nibbles the fallacious meat.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xvi. 649 Each oar was tugged by five or six slaves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > treat violently [verb (transitive)] > treat violently or roughly
to lay hands (or hand) on or upon (also in, to)OE
ransacka1400
attamec1430
ruffle1489
tug1493
to shear against the wool1546
rumble1570
finger1572
to pull about1679
misguggle1814
rowdy1825
to jerk around1833
scrag1835
rough1845
hooligan1898
roughhouse1898
savage1899
to rough up1915
to treat 'em rough1918
1493 Festivall (1515) 102 b His neyghbours..all to-bette this man & drewe hym and tugged hym in the worst maner that they coude.
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1657/2 He himselfe was cruelly tugged, and cast into a diche.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. vi. xvi. 227 Suffer ye your Knight and Defender, to be thus tugged, misused, and evill entreated by his adversaries?
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xix. 725/2 The slaine body of the vsurping Tyrant, all tugged, and torne.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 113 And I..So wearie with Disasters, tugg'd with Fortune. View more context for this quotation
c. To get into some condition by tugging. rare.
ΚΠ
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Mark i. f. 15 Tugged and haled into sondrye pieces.
ΚΠ
1568 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlviii. 40 It [cloth] tuggis in hoilis, and gais abbreid.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist in [verb (transitive)]
to stand in ——a1382
maintainc1385
willc1400
to stand fortha1425
to stick to ——1525
to tug out1631
worry1727
to stick out1833
to stick at ——1845
slog1846
stay1956
to chase up1958
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 617 Hauing beene Earle of Oxford full fifty yeares; a long time to tugge out, in the troublesome raignes of so many kings.
5. To move by pulling forcibly; to pull with great exertion or difficulty; to drag, haul. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > push and pull [verb (transitive)] > pull
teea900
drawOE
tighta1000
towc1000
tirea1300
pullc1300
tugc1320
halea1393
tilla1400
tolla1400
pluckc1400
retract?a1475
hook1577
tew1600
hike1867
c1320 tr. J. Bonaventura Medit. 441 Some tugge [v.r. tugge him], sum drawe [v.r. drawe him] fro ce to ce.
1406 T. Hoccleve La Male Regle 197 Ther the bootmen took vp-on me keep..With hem was I l-tugged to and fro.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. FFviii With all abiection, haled and tugged from place to place.
1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) IV. 308 The debate was thus tugged to and again till one o'clock.
1715 J. Chappelow Right Way to be Rich 142 Often Sin tuggs him down.
1730 A. Pope Corr. 11 Sept. (1956) III. 131 I am tugg'd back to the world and its regards too often.
1843 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive in Crit. & Hist. Ess. III. 156 Fifty pieces of ordnance of the largest size, each tugged by a long team of white oxen.
1877 W. R. Cooper Short Hist. Egypt. Obelisks (1878) viii. 35 Three hundred rowers tugged the huge trireme with its ponderous burden across the waters of the Mediterranean.
6.
a. intransitive. To pull with great effort or force; to drag, haul. Often with at.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > push and pull [verb (intransitive)] > pull > forcibly
tug1303
luga1375
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (transitive)]
drinkc1000
bite?c1225
touchc1384
supc1400
neck?1518
exhaust1555
lug1577
pipe?1578
to suck at1584
slup1598
reswill1614
imbibe1621
tug1698
absorb1821
tipple1824
inhaust1848
down1869
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 9286 With hys teþe he gan to drawe, And harde for to tugge and gnawe.
a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) I. 58 And evir the tuschettis at him tuggit, The rukis him rent, the ravynis him druggit.
a1627 T. Middleton No Wit (1657) ii. 65 The streams of Fortune 'Gainst which he tugs in vain.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 51 The Men tugged stoutly at their Paddles.
a1721 M. Prior Dialogues of Dead & Other Wks. 381 If you are always tugging at your Purse Strings, you may chance to break them.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xii. 485 Sarpedon..with both hands Tugg'd, and down fell the battlement entire.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xvii. 277 Tugging at her pocket to get out the package.
b. In phrase to tug at the (an) oar, to row as a galley slave; hence figurative to toil unremittingly; to labour in a subordinate capacity; to do the drudgery. Cf. oar n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > [verb (intransitive)] > work hard or toil
workeOE
swingc1000
to the boneOE
labourc1390
toilc1400
drevyll?1518
drudge1548
droy1576
droil1591
to tug at the (an) oar1612
to stand to it1632
rudge1676
slave1707
to work like a beaver1741
to hold (also keep, bring, put) one's nose to the grindstone1828
to feague it away1829
to work like a nigger1836
delve1838
slave1852
leather1863
to sweat one's guts out1890
hunker1903
to sweat (also work) one's guts out1932
to eat (also work) like a horse1937
beaver1946
to work like a drover's dog1952
to get one's nose down (to)1962
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > exert oneself or make an effort [verb (intransitive)] > toil > steadily or dully
plod1562
to tug at the (an) oar1612
plot1621
grub1735
grind1855
plough1891
stodge1912
1612 T. Dekker If it be not Good sig. B Hels drudge, her Gally-slaue. I ha' wore, My flesh toth' bones..at the Oaer Tugging.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 295 We must sit here..and tug at the Oar, while they steer which way they please.
a1764 R. Lloyd Author's Apol. 21 Oh! 'Tis a service irksome more Than tugging at the slavish oar.
1875 A. Maclaren Serm. 2nd Ser. viii. 145 Kept him tugging away all his life at the oar, administering the affairs of a Kingdom.
c. transferred and figurative.
ΚΠ
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 103 Tugging at a large Rummer of Rhenish and Sugar.
1833 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Loire 79 How many recollections tugged at his heart as he went on!
1860 R. W. Emerson Considerations in Conduct of Life (London ed.) 241 All sensible people are selfish, and nature is tugging at every contract to make the terms of it fair.
d. The verb-stem used adverbially.
ΚΠ
1849 G. Cupples Green Hand iv, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 310/2 Tug came both Mrs Brady's hands through his hair.
7.
a. transitive. [ < tug n.1 6.] To tow by means of a steam-tug.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > propelling other than by sail or oars > propel boat other than by sail or oars [verb (transitive)] > tow > by specific method
cordelle1812
tug1839
push-tow1955
1839 J. M. W. Turner (title of painting) The Fighting Téméraire Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up.
b. To tow (a glider) by means of a powered aircraft.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > gliding and hang-gliding > [verb (transitive)] > tow glider
tug1942
1942 W. S. Churchill Second World War (1951) IV. 800 The Whitley aircraft..is unsuitable for tugging gliders.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.11417
n.21896
adj.1890v.a1225