poodlen.
/ˈpuːdl/, U.S. /ˈpud(ə)l/ 1.
a. A breed of dog, of which there are several varieties, with tightly curling hair, usually black or white and often ornamentally clipped or shaved; a dog of this breed.Recorded earliest compounds (see poodle dog, Compounds 1a and quot. 1773).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > poodle
water dogc1400
shock1638
shock-dog1673
poodle1773
barbet1780
poodle dog1805
1773 R. Morris Diary 29 Sept. in Radical Adventurer (1971) 87 Bought a poodle Black Dog.
1810 Sporting Mag. 36 61/1 Portraits of a poodle and Scotch terrier.
1823 S. T. Coleridge Marginalia (2000) V. 293 The Greyhound compared with the man-minded Pudel.
1858 W. Whewell Hist. Sci. Ideas II. 133 The Poodle and the Greyhound are well marked varieties of the species dog.
1866 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighbourhood xxv A fat asthmatic poodle lay at her feet upon the hearth-rug.
1904 St. Nicholas July 853/2 I don't know of what breed he is, but he is some kind of big, fat, woolly poodle, tan-colored, with flapping black ears—not at all heroic-looking.
1950 H. Dowd Night Air xxxii. 294 Lizzie Graces came to town yestiddy with six poodles on a leash and ast me to sell 'em for her no questions ast can you tie that?
2003 New Yorker 26 May 8/3 All the actors are strong: it's a testament to their powers that the apricot poodle, Sassy, doesn't steal the show.
b. figurative. derogatory. Esp. in political contexts: a person who is obsequiously or unquestioningly willing to follow or obey another; a lackey.
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the mind > emotion > humility > servility > [noun] > servile person
clienta1393
snivelard1398
a dog for (also to) the bowc1405
fawnerc1440
snivellerc1450
slave1521
footstool1531
minion1560
footman1567
cringer1582
earthworm1583
yea-sayer1584
croucher1587
creeper1589
sneak-up1598
spaniel1598
sneak-cupa1616
servile1632
puppy dog1651
clientelary1655
lackey1692
groveling1708
prostite1721
prostitute1721
toad-eater1742
groveller1779
cringeling1798
creeping Jesusc1818
toady1826
truckler1827
crawler1847
flunkey1854
doormat1861
dog robber1863
heeler1875
slaveling1884
bootlicker1890
fetch-and-carry1905
poodle1907
yes-woman1927
ass-licker1939
ass-kisser1951
chamcha1966
fart-catcher1971
1907 D. Lloyd George in Hansard Commons 26 June 1429 The House of Lords consented... It is the right hon. Gentleman's poodle. It fetches and carries for him. It barks for him. It bites anybody that he sets it on to.
1944 J. Jones Man David vii. 144 There were certain barriers to progress, the greatest being ‘that Tory poodle’, the House of Lords.
1967 Daily Tel. 10 Feb. 30/2 Labour MPs did not appear to find the speech objectionable. One comment was that Prince Philip had shown himself to be ‘nobody's poodle’.
1974 Ld. Aldington Advising BBC 13 The suspicious will say that such a close link between the advisors and the advised..ensures that at least the Chairman of GAC, if not all its members, become the poodle of the BBC.
2003 New Yorker 3 Mar. 54/1 There was much grumbling in the international press that he was Washington's poodle.
2. A kind of shaggy or curly (originally woollen) cloth resembling the coat of a poodle; a garment made of this cloth. Cf. poodle cloth n. at Compounds 3. Now rare.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > other
grisette1700
mesh1725
poodle1827
albatross1877
momie1880
velvet-cloth1882
mummy cloth1886
poodle cloth1896
thorn-proof1908
blackout1941
wash-and-wear1959
breathable1961
Pertex1982
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > made from specific material > with specific qualities > article of
shag1634
poodle1827
lightweight1919
1827 Sporting Mag. 20 167 A good drab surtout—if not a poodle.
1854 G. A. Sala in Househ. Words 1 July 470/1 A short green cloak, adorned with a collar of the woolly texture, generally denominated poodle.
1952 N.Y. Times 22 Aug. 24/8 Of thick, red nubby poodle was a hip-length jacket.
1969 Washington Court House Rec. Herald 22 Oct. 17/1 (advt.) Pert poodle and braid enhance these wearable suit dresses.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. (In sense 1.)
poodle-barber n.
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1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl xv. 174 I shaved him just as well as the most experienced and highpriced poodle barber in London.
1945 H. Nonne Let. 16 Apr. in A. M. Graves Both Deeper than & above Mêleé (1945) 101 They had just been clipped by the poodle barber, to whom the 8 poodles were a very serious matter.
1966 A. D. Haas Profitable Hobbies Handbk. 20/2 This fanatical devotion and love for poodles has..kept Tom's unique traveling poodle barber service much in demand in and around the New York City area.
2000 V. P. Guidry Your Poodle's Life i. 4 The Poodle-grooming business took off in nineteenth-century France, with Poodle barbers creating trims and clips on dogs that belonged to stylish Parisians.
poodle clipper n. (usually in plural).
ΚΠ
1893 Times 3 Oct. 2/4 (advt.) W. Clark's patent poodle clipper. Works with one hand. Cuts equal to shaving.
1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl 169 Having purchased a pair of poodle clippers..I myself became his barber.
1994 Toronto Star (Nexis) 31 Mar. a4 Using our poodle clippers, I gave myself a Kojak cut.
poodle clipping n.
ΚΠ
1849 Littell's Living Age 7 July 23/2 Lead perfidious Albion as he may in cookery, poodle-clipping and civilization, after hounds he is ‘nowhere’.
1902 Turf, Field & Farm 18 Apr. 372/3 Some time ago at a Poodle-clipping competition in the East End, Mr. Jackson clipped against time, for a wager and a silver medal.
1999 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 30 Oct. (Business section) 119 If the sole justification for doing it is that you're good at something, be it poodle clipping or accounting, you're setting yourself up for failure.
poodle dog n.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > poodle
water dogc1400
shock1638
shock-dog1673
poodle1773
barbet1780
poodle dog1805
1805 H. Reeve Jrnl. 13 Oct. in Resid. Vienna & Berlin (1877) 23 They are the barbers and shavers to the poudel dogs.
1898 Boston Transcript 19 Nov. 24/4 Sometimes a poodle-dog is employed to run along the shore..and ‘tole’ them within range by exciting their curiosity.
2002 J. Thompson Wide Blue Yonder ii. 168 An old lady in a pink bathrobe was walking an even older poodle dog.
poodle head n.
ΚΠ
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Feb. 3/2 ‘Dog scene on in ten minutes,’ cries the voice of the call boy... Mr. Charles Lauri hastily resumes his poodle head.
2003 Denver Post (Nexis) 24 Dec. f1 I used the phrase ‘gay mafia’ last week and I woke up and there was a poodle head in my bed.
b. (In sense 2.)
poodle collar n.
ΚΠ
1832 Morning Chron. 25 Sept. The Captain lends him a coat, surmounted by a poodle collar.
1852 W. M. Thomas in Househ. Words 27 Mar. 42/2 Doesn't he know that his camlet roquelaire [sic], with a poodle collar, has been superseded?
1969 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 8 Oct. 5/1 (advt.) This darling suit dress boasts grey poodle collar and cuffs..fully lined for shape retention.
poodle-collared adj.
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1838 C. Dickens in Bentley's Misc. 4 Aug. 205 An old brown poodle-collared great coat.
2003 Internat. Herald Trib. (Nexis) 7 Mar. 16 The entire collection seemed larger in range, with its poodle collared knits and egg-shaped purses.
C2. attributive. Designating hair or a hairstyle that resembles the coat of a poodle in its curliness, length, etc. Cf. poodle cut n. at Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1938 Los Angeles Times 11 Sept. (Mag.) 15/1 (advt.) Do you get ‘poodle permanents’? Hair all frizzy?
1951 Newark (Ohio) Advocate & Amer. Tribune 29 Dec. 6/3 You'll be able to see the hats next spring, no matter how high the poodle hairdo goes.
1998 Melody Maker 4 Apr. 21/3 It was only when the boys in their poodle perms and spandex came along that heavy metal became an insult.
C3.
poodle cloth n. = sense 2.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > other
grisette1700
mesh1725
poodle1827
albatross1877
momie1880
velvet-cloth1882
mummy cloth1886
poodle cloth1896
thorn-proof1908
blackout1941
wash-and-wear1959
breathable1961
Pertex1982
1896 Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate 22 Sept. 8/2 (advt.) 100 pieces in fall blacks, Scotch novelties, Cabuchons, Noppe, Poodle Cloth 75C yd.
1952 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 228/2 (advt.) Frankly frivolous little padabout of fluffy nylon poodle cloth in pale grey with a red faille lining.
2002 Home Textiles Today (Nexis) 27 May 10 There was even loopy stuff like mid-century poodle cloth bringing new interest to textures.
poodle coat n. a coat made of poodle cloth.
ΚΠ
1829 P. Egan Boxiana New Ser. II. 511 Robinson, in a poodle coat and mother-of-pearl buttons,..threw his topper into the ring.
1950 Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier 12 July 10/2 The ‘poodle’ coat which is a sensation of the season.
2000 People 18 Sept. 74 Stepping out in L.A. last December in a poodle coat, Aniston was pure pedigree.
poodle cut n. a hairstyle in which the hair is cut short and curled all over; cf. Compounds 2.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > cut or cropped > and curled
poodle cut1951
1951 E. Liverpool (Ohio) Rev. 9 Aug. 9/4 (advt.) Short chopped—engagingly curled, preciously young! Turn your pretty head to a saucy ‘Poodle Cut’.
2002 Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minnesota) 28 Aug. 1 e That awful bleached-blond poodle cut on the woman walking toward Sears.
poodle fashion n. and adv. (a) n. †the fashion for poodles (obsolete rare); the style or manner of a poodle; (b) adv. in the style or manner of a poodle.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping dogs or cats > [noun] > keeping or affinity with dogs > clip or pluck dog
poodle fashion1822
1822 M. Edgeworth Let. 27 Jan. (1971) 336 A new poodle dog..milk white silken curls all over except the poor shorn half that is sacrificed to poodle-fashion.
1860 F. T. Buckland Curiosities Nat. Hist. 2nd Ser. 51 Their hair seems to have been cut poodle-fashion.
1909 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 15 Aug. 21/3 The careless habit of letting side hairs fall down poodle fashion over one's ears.
1954 M. Henrey Month in Paris x. 80 The pretty girl who takes my envelope, her hair dressed in the inevitable poodle fashion.
1998 Baltimore Sun (Nexis) 5 Feb. 3 In standard poodle fashion, her jacket is kept heavy around the joints..while other parts of the coat are shorn.
poodle parlour n. (the name of) an establishment offering a dog-grooming service, esp. with the implication of fussiness and pampering.
ΚΠ
1952 Los Angeles Times 7 Feb. ii. 24/3 (advt.) Poodle Parlor, 3205 E. Foothill Bl., Pasa.
1971 Times 13 Oct. 3/1 In London too the most exclusive..poodle parlours and canine cosmeticians can be found performing functions as absurd and extravagant as anything done in human hairdressers.
1991 What Dog? 62/3 Poodles and Bedlingtons require clipping and..you will need to make regular appointments with a poodle parlour if your dog is to look its best.
poodle skirt n. originally U.S. a full, flared skirt decorated with an image of a poodle, fashionable in the 1950s and later regarded as emblematic of that time.
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1952 Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil 28 Apr. 4 (advt.) The popular dog figure is done in applique, in three sizes... Send 25c for the poodle skirt (Pattern No. 472).
2001 Mod. Maturity July–Aug. 35 I grew up in the era of tail fins and Elvis Presley and cute girls with poodle skirts.
Derivatives
ˈpoodledom n. the realm of poodles; (chiefly figurative) the state or condition of being a poodle (cf. sense 1b).
ΚΠ
1883 E. Lynn Linton Girl of Period I. 263 Many a fine stalwart fellow..sinks into mere poodledom at home.
1900 Atlanta Constit. 20 Jan. 2/2 From pampered poodledom to the rabbit runners of the ruster resident.
2003 Guardian (Nexis) 12 Feb. 20 For Britain, joining the euro will be the first hard test. Otherwise permanent US poodledom beckons.
ˈpoodle-like adj. resembling or suggestive of a poodle.
ΚΠ
1891 Sandusky (Ohio) Daily Reg. 20 May He looked at her out of his bush of white hair. His black eyes and black nose more poodle like than before.
1916 A. Repplier Counter-currents 226 A poodlelike attitude which ought to disarm criticism.
1989 C. Hiaasen Skin Tight (1990) xxvii. 294 It was a cowering, poodle-like expression, amplified by trembling lips and liquid eyes.
ΚΠ
1860 J. H. Ingraham Sunny South xli. 330 As if his poodleship were not sufficiently decorated..it had a nice bow of red satin ribbon tied about each of its four ancles.
1888 H. W. Parker Spirit of Beauty (1894) 118 His owner should have been able to tell fifty like anecdotes of his poodleship.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
poodlev.
/ˈpuːdl/, U.S. /ˈpud(ə)l/ 1. transitive. To clip or shave so as to resemble a poodle. Also with up: to curl (hair) so as to resemble the coat of a poodle; (occasionally) to overdress.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping dogs or cats > [verb (transitive)] > clip or pluck dog
poodle1902
strip1930
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > providing with clothing > provide with clothing [verb (transitive)] > in specific way > dress up or dress elaborately > overdress
overdress1706
overclothe1819
poodle1962
1828 Lancet 16 Feb. 725/2 Simply twisting it up, without the present fashion of poodling the head.
1902 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. July 45/2 I thought it as well to ‘poodle’ him [sc. a dog] occasionally.
1962 N. Streatfeild Apple Bough iii. 39 Why do they want to poodle the poor kid up?
1999 Evening News (Edinb.) (Nexis) 28 July 21 All poodled up in her tight ‘A Star Is Born’ perm.
2004 Commerc. Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 17 Jan. g6 Some [conifers] can be pruned into spirals or ‘poodled’ into globular shapes.
2. intransitive. colloquial. To move or travel in a leisurely, indirect, or aimless manner; to potter. Usually with about, along, etc. Cf. pootle v.
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society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > in leisurely manner
wandera1616
whig1689
slope1851
tool1862
poodle1938
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad i. 10 The long, low cars poodle through the streets.
1960 M. Cecil Something in Common xii. 131 She tells the patrons which gangway and then they poodle off the opposite way.
1976 J. O'Connor Eleventh Commandment i. 24 I went indoors, messed around, poodled about for quite a while.
2004 Essex Chron. (Nexis) 18 Nov. 14 It was frustrating to poodle along but those wipers only worked well at speed when it was dry.
Derivatives
ˈpoodled adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dog > [adjective] > having specific type coat
burry1568
wiry-haired1791
wavy-coated1867
pily1878
wavy1884
feathery1889
poodled1905
1905 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 816/1 The poodled Spitz, in Germany apparently a favourite animal, I avoid.
2003 Dallas (Texas) Morning News 7 Dec. 1 g Shrubs with ‘poodled’ or ‘fungiform’ shapes, and bushes a la Edward Scissorhands.
ˈpoodler n. colloquial (now rare) a small motor vehicle.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > small or light
voiturette1897
light car1901
baby1920
minicar1948
poodler1951
micromotor1953
compact1960
subcompact1960
roller skate1961
super-compact1962
micro-car1980
1951 Brit. Road Services Mag. Dec. 94/2 Poodler, small vehicle.
1968 Drive Spring 113/1 A poodler [is] a small vehicle, a roller skate a small, light wagon, and Billy Bunter is a shunter.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1773
v.1828