hurkle-durkle

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots hurkle-durkle (“to lounge in bed”), from hurkle.^[1]^[2] The term was revived from obscurity by lexicographer Susie Dent in 2015, and was popularized on TikTok in 2024.^[3]^[4]

Pronunciation

Audio (US): (file)

Verb

hurkle-durkle (third-person singular simple present hurkle-durkles, present participle hurkle-durkling, simple past and past participle hurkle-durkled)

(Internet slang, intransitive) To lounge in bed for an excessive period of time; to bed rot.
- 2024 January 31, Carolyn Steber, “On TikTok, Bed Rotting Is Out & Hurkle-Durkling Is In”, in Bustle‎^[3], archived from the original on 2024-02-05:
  She [Devrie Brynn] went on to note that she isn't being "lazy" or "wasting her day" when she hurkle-durkles. Instead, she sees it as practicing an "ancestral rite of passage" while "connecting with her culture and heritage." And honestly, her speech is inspiring.
- 2024 February 14, Brooke Steinberg, “Why Scottish people love to ’hurkle-durkle’ — and how this sleep habit is good for your health”, in New York Post‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-03-02:
  The study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, found that people who snoozed regularly got additional sleep and were more cognitively alert upon waking, despite the disturbed sleep.
  So hurkle-durkle to your heart's desire — it's self-care, after all.
- 2024 February 17, Elizabeth Passarella, “’Bed Rotting’ and ’Hurkle Durkle’: Can You Stay In Bed Too Long?”, in The New York Times‎^[5], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-03-13:
  Whether you want to huddle under the blankets and hurkle-durkle — or, like some TikTok users, you just seem to enjoy gleefully saying the phrase — the trend is a reminder that it's OK to reclaim a bit of leisure time.

References

^ John Jamieson (1825) “To Hurkle-durkle”, in Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language: […], volumes I (A–J), Edinburgh: […] University Press; for W[illiam] & C[harles] Tait, […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC, page 605, column 2: “To lie in bed, or to lounge, after it is time to get up or to go to work. Fife.”.
^ “hurkle, n.¹, v.¹”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
^ @susie_dent [Susie Dent] (2015 January 23) Twitter‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-02-16
^ Susie Dent (2020) “HURKLE-DURKLE”, in Word Perfect‎^[2], Hachette, →ISBN

[1] John Jamieson (1825) “To Hurkle-durkle”, in Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language: […], volumes I (A–J), Edinburgh: […] University Press; for W[illiam] & C[harles] Tait, […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC, page 605, column 2: “To lie in bed, or to lounge, after it is time to get up or to go to work. Fife.”.

[2] “hurkle, n.¹, v.¹”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

[3] @susie_dent [Susie Dent] (2015 January 23) Twitter‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-02-16

[4] Susie Dent (2020) “HURKLE-DURKLE”, in Word Perfect‎^[2], Hachette, →ISBN

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