jucking time

English

Alternative forms

• juking time

Etymology

First attested in 1681 as juking-time. From juke, juck (“to crow”), of onomatopoeic origin, but probably also influenced by jug, jouk (“to perch, of partridges”). Compare chuck.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʌkɪŋ ˌtaɪm/, enPR: jŭ′kĭng tīm′
• Rhymes: -aɪm

Noun

jucking time (hunting, rare)

1. Early morning or late evening, when partridges crow.

   Synonym: cockcrow

   • 1795, Encyclopædia Britannica, page 792:

     Another method of discovering them is, by going to their haunts very early in the morning, or at the close of the evening, which is called the jucking-time.

   • 1681, John Worlidge, Systema Agriculturae, page 249:

      […] some are so ingenious they can do it by the Eye, only distinguishing their colour from the Earth; others by a Call, imitating their Notes at their Juking-time, which is usually in the Morning and in the Evening.

   • 1821, Alexander Mackintosh, The Modern Fisher, or Driffield Angler, page 188:

     There is another way to discover them, and that is by going to their haunts early in the morning, or the close of the evening, which is called the juking time, and there listen for the call of the cock partridge  […]

2. The season of imitating crows to lure partridges out at such a time.

References

• The Sportsman's Dictionary, 1744, page 388