Talk:scruffle

Tea room discussion

Note: the below discussion was moved from the Wiktionary:Tea room.

While i was reading an English book, i couldn't understand the word 'scruffling' in the following sentence.

'I burrowed upwards again, reaching the surface after twenty minutes of snuffling, scruffling and turning my beady nose up at the juicy worms i uncovered every couple of scrapes.'

I can't find the word 'scruffling' in any dictionary. Can anyone help me? Thanks. Vin 08:18, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

I believe this is a nonce word that the author made up to fit the situation. From context it means to push dirt away and aside when tunnelling. From curiousity, what book were you reading? RJFJR 14:17, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

The book is The Amulet of Samarkand. But it isn't a nonce word, it is used at least in Yorkshire, meaning to push soil away whilst weeding. And in several other senses. Should have an entry scruffle, scruffling. Robert Ullmann 14:24, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

How come i couldn't find the word in any other dictionary? Thanks for the information! Vin 15:03, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Would this be tagged as dialect or slang? RJFJR 16:00, 24 July 2008 (UTC)