plodn.1
/plɒd/, U.S. /plɑd/ 1.
a. An act or spell of plodding; a laborious or tiring walk, a trudge. Frequently figurative: a dull and laborious process or experience. Also with alliterative reduplication, as plod-plod.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > [noun] > manner of walking > heavy and slow
trudging1570
plodding1820
plod-ploda1879
society > travel > aspects of travel > going on foot > [noun] > walking laboriously or aimlessly > an act of
march1692
tramp1787
trudge1835
trampoose1840
traipse1862
stram1869
ploda1879
foot-slog1900
a1879 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 69 Shéer plód makes plough down sillion Shine.
1880 Daily News 3 Nov. 5/8 We accepted an ankle-deep plod through filth indescribable and treacherous boulders.
1890 R. Bridges Shorter Poems iii. 13 Only life's common plod: still to repair The body and the thing which perisheth.
1899 B. Tarkington Gentleman from Indiana xv. 266 What was there left but the weary plod, plod, and dust of years?
1926 Blackwood's Mag. Apr. 519/2 The angles of the rungs become very painful under the slow plod-plod of the horse's movement.
1975 M. Bradbury Hist. Man ix. 148 The agenda has grown longer..a routine plod through matters of budgets..and examinations.
1991 Cycling Weekly 27 July 24/1 It [sc. the wind] swooped her down and quickly back into her stride again ready for the headwind plod back from Martlesham.
b. A sound of, or as of, a heavy dull tread; a tramping; a thud.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > repeated sound or succession of sounds > [noun] > sound of footsteps
stepa1616
tramping1660
stump1690
tit-tat1699
treading1709–10
pad1879
plod-plodding1881
heels1883
flip-flop1889
clump1891
pid-pad1900
plod1902
clomp1912
1902 Westm. Gaz. 23 June 1/3 What is the voice of London? Is it not the plod, plod, dumping plod of the horses' hoofs?
1957 J. Osborne Look Back in Anger i. i. 21 There is no sound, only the plod of Alison's iron.
1981 T. C. Boyle Water Music (1983) ii. 226 Out on the highway the stillness is broken by the slow plod of a mare's hoofs.
2003 Scotsman (Nexis) 16 Dec. 21 But for the distant plod of knackered cop feet, Merseybeat is the sound of silence.
2. British slang. More fully P.C. Plod. A policeman, a police officer, esp. a police constable. Also: the police. Frequently humorous or mildly derogatory.In quot. 1971 as the title of a play.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman
truncheon officer1708
runner1735
horny1753
nibbing-cull1775
nabbing-cull1780
police officer1784
police constable1787
policeman1788
scout1789
nabman1792
nabber1795
pig1811
Bow-street officer1812
nab1813
peeler1816
split1819
grunter1823
robin redbreast1824
bulky1828
raw (or unboiled) lobster1829
Johnny Darm1830
polis1833
crusher1835
constable1839
police1839
agent1841
johndarm1843
blue boy1844
bobby1844
bluebottle1845
copper1846
blue1848
polisman1850
blue coat1851
Johnny1851
PC1851
spot1851
Jack1854
truncheonist1854
fly1857
greycoat1857
cop1859
Cossack1859
slop1859
scuffer1860
nailerc1863
worm1864
Robert1870
reeler1879
minion of the law1882
ginger pop1887
rozzer1888
nark1890
bull1893
grasshopper1893
truncheon-bearer1896
John1898
finger1899
flatty1899
mug1903
John Dunn1904
John Hop1905
gendarme1906
Johnny Hop1908
pavement pounder1908
buttons1911
flat-foot1913
pounder1919
Hop1923
bogy1925
shamus1925
heat1928
fuzz1929
law1929
narker1932
roach1932
jonnop1938
grass1939
roller1940
Babylon1943
walloper1945
cozzer1950
Old Bill1958
cowboy1959
monaych1961
cozzpot1962
policeperson1965
woolly1965
Fed1966
wolly1970
plod1971
roz1971
Smokey Bear1974
bear1975
beast1978
woodentop1981
Five-O1983
dibble1990
Bow-street runner-
1971 Times 6 Jan. 10/4 The Scaffold [sc. a musical comedy group] in P.C. Plod.
1977 It June 6/1 Two irradiated plods sweat and struggle beneath an undeserved karmic penalty.
1978 P. O'Donnell Dragon's Claw viii. 147 They could be on their way home before P.C. Plod has got his notebook out.
1981 New Society 16 July 93/3 ‘It's the plods, chucking bricks,’ said a soul-boy, giggling in disbelief.
1986 ‘J. Gash’ Moonspender v. 44 The good old days spent..bribing the Plod in London's East End.
2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 127 Dumpy and another plod with ginger hair are eyeballing me across a table.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
plodn.2
/plɒd/, U.S. /plɑd/, Australian English /plɔd/ Australian in later use.
a. Originally English regional. A story, tale, or yarn; an excuse. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > fabrication of statement or story > a false or foolish tale > [noun]
spellc888
triflea1250
talea1325
vanity1340
a tale of waltrot1377
fablec1384
niflec1395
triflerya1400
truffc1430
jest1488
winter's talec1555
winter story1646
galley-packet1786
galley-yarn1874
cuffer1887
ploda1903
scuttlebutt yarn1918
just-so story1922
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > evasive deception, shiftiness > [noun] > double-dealing, duplicity > in speech
twispechea950
double-tonguec1386
syllogism1387
reservation1612
ploda1903
a1903 T. C. Peter in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 549/1 [Cornwall] So she came to the cap'n an' preached up some plod.
1928 Bulletin (Sydney) 5 Sept. 27/1 I 'ad to grin When 'e starts pitchin' that plod to me.
1945 G. Casey Downhill is Easier 136 ‘I suppose he told you the whole plod?’ I sneered.
1975 X. Herbert Poor Fellow my Country iii. xxi. 1126 Put in a plod for me, mate.
b. Australian slang. A worksheet recording details of an employee's (esp. a miner's) day's work.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > worksheets and record books
cost book1813
plod1935
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > portion worked by a miner
plod1935
1935 Red Star (Perth) 20 Sept. 2/1 As the day's plods had not been signed the men decided to get them at the timekeeper's office.
1948 K. S. Prichard Golden Miles 72 He had to go to the office for his plod—the card on which he filled in particulars of the work he was doing, its position in the mine, and the hours he was working.
1974 N. Phillipson As Other Men 103 He..showed them how they were supposed to fill out their plod cards, listing the number of holes drilled [etc.].
1984 S. Macintyre Militant 76 The foreman issues each man with a ‘plod’, a record of hours he has worked and the rate of pay.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
plodv.1
/plɒd/, U.S. /plɑd/ 1. † b. transitive. to plod out: to pass or spend (time) in a dull or laborious activity. Obsolete. rare.
a. intransitive. To work steadily and laboriously, or in a stolid or monotonous fashion; to drudge or toil. Frequently with along, away, on.Probably an extended use of 2, although apparently first recorded slightly earlier. The sense in quot. 1562 is unclear, however; cf. sense 2, to which it may belong; perhaps cf. also plod v.2
ΘΚΠ
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
1562 J. Heywood Fox & Mayde in Woorkes sig. Mii What thing is it Rainard in your braine ploddyng, that bringeth this busy blissing and noddyng?
1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits xi. 170 If such a one wax obstinat in plodding at the lawes, and spend much time in the schooles.
a1634 W. Austin Devotionis Augustinianæ Flamma (1635) 66 The dull Christian sitts often fruitlesly plodding on the Booke, nay heares the Prophesies often preached to no purpose.
1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour v. 55 Old George, I'm sorry to see thee still plod on alone.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Plod, to labour earnestly in Business, to have one's Head full of it.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iv. 502 It is not worth while to plod with a single talent for sake of the slender profit that may be made of it by the best management.
1807 Ld. Byron Thoughts College Exam. i Luckless fools, Unskill'd to plod in mathematic rules.
1879 G. Meredith Egoist xii There you have the secret of good work—to plod on and still keep the passion fresh.
1917 H. L. Mencken Bk. of Prefaces ii. 67 He still plods along in the laborious cheerless way he first marked out for himself.
1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse i. vi. 55 The two classes of men; on the one hand the steady goers..who, plodding and persevering, repeat the whole alphabet in order..; on the other, the gifted, the inspired.
1962 P. Mortimer Pumpkin Eater ix. 49 We plodded on with Latin only in the faint hope that we might one day be able to understand Ovid.
1986 D. W. Winnicott Ess. i. 17 In psychoanalysis proper, patient and analyst just plod away day after day until the end of the treatment.
2004 Spokesman-Rev. (Spokane, Washington) (Nexis) 1 Nov. 1 Everything else in nature takes time to recharge... Why do we continue to plod on until we are sick?
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [verb (transitive)] > perform with labour, toil at > spend (time) in steady or dull toil
to plod out1749
1749 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 16 Dec. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1465 To plod out the evenings..at home over a book.
2.
a. intransitive. To walk heavily or without elasticity; to move or progress doggedly or laboriously; to trudge (along, on, etc.). Also figurative and in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > going on foot > go on foot [verb (intransitive)] > laboriously or aimlessly
haik?a1500
harl?a1513
trudge1547
palt1560
ploda1566
traipse1593
trash1607
truck1631
tramp1643
vamp1654
trudgea1657
daggle1681
trape1706
trampoose1794
hike1809
slog1872
taigle1886
pudge1891
sludge1908
schlep1937
schlump1957
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk, tread, or step [verb (intransitive)] > heavily > and slowly
trudge1547
ploda1566
sloba1804
stog1818
slump1854
stodge1854
podge1866
a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Biv I lyke not this Soyle: for as I go ploddynge, I marke there two, there three, their heades alwayes noddinge, In close secret wise.
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall Ded. sig. A2 Plodding through Aldersgate..with a quarter Ashe staffe on my shoulder.
1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. x. 27 Wee plod-on in the common Road of habituated husbandry.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iii. iv. 6 Bare-foot plod I the cold ground vpon. View more context for this quotation
1688 To Memory of Prince George in J. Barker Poet. Recreations ii. 50 Let Care the busie Statesman over-whelm, Tugging at th' Oar, or drudging at the Helm. With lab'ring Pain so half-soul'd Pilots plod.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. i. 31 Plodding along through a tasteless existence.
1821 J. Baillie W. Wallace in Metrical Legends i If such there be still let him plod On the dull foggy paths of care.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xv. 154 Walter..was plodding homeward in the same abstracted mood, when he heard a shout.
1869 L. M. Alcott Little Women II. xxiii. 335 Never mind, I can walk, I'm used to plodding in the mud.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. vi. [Hades] 101 Corny..stepped aside from his rank and allowed the mourners to plod by.
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 31 Keyes plodding up the garden to pump water for the house.
1996 Time Out 31 July 31/1 Service can plod, but you'll eliminate some of the wait by ordering in the pub before proceeding to your table.
b. transitive. To trudge along, over, or through (a place, route, etc.); to make (one's way) by plodding. Also figurative (cf. sense 1).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > going on foot > traverse on foot [verb (transitive)] > laboriously or aimlessly
trudge1635
trollopa1745
plod1751
trampa1774
traipse1885
scuff1909
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk upon or tread [verb (transitive)] > tread heavily > tread heavily and slowly
plod1751
1751 T. Gray Elegy i. 5 The plow-man homeward plods his weary way.
1816 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III iii. 4 The journeying years Plod the last sands of life.
1849 H. Melville Redburn xliii. 371 Plodding my solitary way to the same old docks, I passed through the gates.
1903 R. D. Shaw Pauline Epist. 176 In obedience to a dream..Augustus plodded the streets of Rome and gathered coppers as a beggar.
1918 W. M. Kirkland Joys of being Woman xx. 234 When we come to church of a winter evening, we carry lanterns as we plod a drifted path in high-girt skirts and generous goloshes.
1975 Listener 6 Feb. 163/2 [The CID's] members behaving as if they could walk on water, and looking down on the ‘woollies’ who had to plod the beat in uniform.
2004 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 14 Oct. a15 Lloyd Scott has walked the length of Loch Ness underwater and plodded the London Marathon in an antique diving suit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > work done by hounds > action of hounds [verb (intransitive)] > loiter on scent
plod1575
tie1781
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xiv. 36 If there be any yong hounde whiche woulde carie or hang behind, beyng opinionate..and ploddyng by himselfe.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxxix. 240 Hounds do cal on, bawle, bable, crie, yearne, lapyse, plodde, baye, and such lyke other noyses.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 76/1 They plod, is when Hounds hang behind, and beat too much upon the scent in one place.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† plodv.2
Obsolete.
transitive. To plot, plan.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (transitive)]
forethinkc897
bethinka1225
compass1297
contrivec1330
ordain1340
conjectc1380
imaginec1380
cast1382
ordaina1387
advisec1400
forecast1413
imagec1450
ordainc1450
project1477
foreminda1535
invent1539
aimc1540
practise1550
plat1556
trive1573
meditate1582
patterna1586
plot1589
platform1592
design1594
chew1600
forelay1605
to map out1618
to cut out1619
agitate1629
laya1631
plod1631
cut1645
calculate1654
concert1702
to scheme out1716
plan1718
model1725
to rough out1738
to lay out1741
plan1755
prethink1760
shape1823
programme1834
pre-plan1847
encompass1882
target1948
1631 J. Taylor Sudden Turn Fortunes Wheel Pref. Which makes our foes complot consult and plod, How and by what means they may warr with God.
a1666 R. Blair Life (1848) (modernized text) iii. 54 Yet gave I not over plodding to obstruct my settling there.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 450. ⁋4 I fell a plodding what Advantages might be made of the ready Cash I had.
1775 J. Adair Hist. Amer. Indians 240 They were plodding mischief for twenty years before we forced them to commit hostilities.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2020).
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