pig-rootn.
/ˈpɪɡruːt/, U.S. /ˈpɪɡˌrut/, /ˈpɪɡˌrʊt/, Australian English /ˈpɪɡruːt/, New Zealand English /ˈpɪɡruːt/ Australian and New Zealand.
An instance of a horse kicking up its back legs. Cf. pig-rooting n. 1.
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1917 A. L. Brewer 'Gator's Euchre 30 Starlight snorted frequently, and delivered a few violent pig-roots; though these did not perturb Walsh, who had sat the horse on more than one occasion when it was fresh after a long spell.
1921 Quick March 10 Feb. 36 Pigroots, bucks and other forms of equine misdemeanour.
1936 J. J. Hardie Bridle Track vii. 72 He might do a couple of straightahead pigroots, but if you're scared take the old horse.
1983 D. A. Stewart Springtime in Taranaki (1991) 118 She could still give a gentle pig-root which failed to dislodge me.
2003 Australian (Nexis) 31 Oct. 36 He might have shown the odd stall and the odd pig-root and the odd buck and this might just be the icing on the cake.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
pig-rootv.
/ˈpɪɡruːt/, U.S. /ˈpɪɡˌrut/, /ˈpɪɡˌrʊt/, Australian English /ˈpɪɡruːt/, New Zealand English /ˈpɪɡruːt/ Australian and New Zealand.† 1. transitive. To grub or dig up (a piece of land, etc.) like a rooting pig. Obsolete. rare.
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the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > dig out or up
delvec1000
upgravea1340
undelve1340
grubc1374
to dig upc1400
to dig outa1425
unearthc1450
sprittle1585
effode1657
to cast up1660
exhume1783
moot1823
excavate1848
lift1883
spud1886
pig-root1890
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right II. xix. 138 Pig-rooting a man's very prospecting claim, as if it was ‘old ground’.
2. intransitive. Of a horse: to kick upwards with the hind legs, keeping the head down and the forelegs firmly planted.
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1912 J. Bowes Comrades 93 The protesting animal was ‘pig-rooting’ all over the stockyard.
1957 P. White Voss x. 276 This caused Turner to curse and kick, and his nag in consequence to sidle and pigroot.
2003 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 26 July (Sport section) 11 As is often the case in a juvenile event, one horse pig-rooted, kicking his hind legs out at Young Jimmy.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1917v.1890