puddlen.
/ˈpʌdl/, U.S. /ˈpəd(ə)l/ 1.
a. A pool of standing water, esp. a muddy or dirty one; (in later use) spec. a small, shallow, typically temporary pool formed in a depression on the ground or another surface by rainfall, flooding, overflow, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > small body or puddle > [noun]
plashlOE
pulkc1300
pludc1325
puddlec1390
sumpa1450
flush1487
dub?a1513
plashet1575
pool1596
slab1610
pudge1671
flodge1696
pant1807
pothole1867
push1886
splashet1896
c1390 Roberd of Cisyle (Vernon) (1930) 130 (MED) Þe porter and his men in haste Kyng Robert in a podel caste.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 54 (MED) He did Harald body do drawe vp also tite & þorgh þe podels it drouh.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 411 Poyel [?a1475 Winch. Poþel], slothe, or podel, lacuna.
a1492 W. Caxton tr. Vitas Patrum (1495) i. clxiv. f. clxxiii/1 A sowe dooth laye herself in a fowle putdel.
c1535 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1905) III. Prol. to Rom. 347 That thou sulde returnne (as anne swynne) vnto thinne auld pwdyll agaynne.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xl His younger sonne in a smal puddel was strangled & drouned.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. vi. f. 122 The vyllage it selfe, is in a maryshe, and in maner a standynge puddle.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. E4v Thy sea within a puddels wombe is hersed, And not the puddle in thy sea dispersed. View more context for this quotation
1596 E. Barton in S. Purchas Pilgrimes (1625) II. viii. x. 1359 They being intrenched..neere to a long puddle or moorish ground, of some foure miles long, in breadth some seuen or eight Rods.
a1633 G. Herbert Jacula Prudentum in Wks. (1854) 308 Every path hath a puddle.
a1660 in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1880) II. 128 Preferringe the pudle before the pearle.
1669 J. Fletcher Island Princess iv. v I'le swing 'em Thus o're my head, and kick 'em into puddles.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 209 The Fall plunged me into a Puddle..and daubed me.
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy ii. v. 90 Every Puddle can..present us with living Wonders.
1768 G. White Jrnl. 10 Aug. (1970) i. 5 White butter-flies gather in flocks on the mud of puddles.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice I. vii. 70 Elizabeth continued her walk..jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity. View more context for this quotation
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. xi. 300 Ye hae had your ain time o't, Mr. Syddall; but..ilka path has its puddle.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 136 A way-side puddle which receives the muddy drainage of the road.
1895 K. Grahame Golden Age 14 I splashed diamond showers from puddles with a stick.
1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea xviii. 205 The rain ceased, the sun came out, and Diana ventured across the puddles of the yard.
1966 A. Higgins Langrishe, go Down xxxiii. 244 In December on Castletown Drive the water formed in a long irregular puddle between the grass verge and the downslope of the avenue.
1989 Living Mag. Feb. 9/1 I've got so used to wearing long gowns that it has become second nature to hold up my skirts over a muddy puddle.
2006 Washington Post (Nexis) 4 June e5 Umpire crew chief Gerry Davis chose to play through the heavy rain, even as large puddles formed behind third base, between first and second and near the batter's box.
b. In extended use: a small pool of a liquid; an area or accumulation of light, air, etc., resembling a pool of water in shape and appearance. Also spec. (colloquial): a pool of urine, esp. one made by a young child or pet animal; usually in phrase to make a puddle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > collection or accumulation of > small
puddle1640
pudder1888
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > urinary system > urinate [verb (intransitive)] > child or animal
to make a puddle1640
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > urine > [noun] > pool of
pooly1847
puddle1956
1640 ‘Ben-Arod Gad’ Wandering-Jew 19 He..so spawles, and drivells, he has almost made a puddle where he stands.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 340 Treading where the treach'rous Puddle lay, His Heels flew up; and on the grassy Floor, He fell.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 5/1 The Air for want of Motion will grow thick and muddy; such a Valley may..be call'd a Puddle, or Bog of Air.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities i. v. 18 Others..dipped in the puddles [of wine] with little mugs of..earthenware.
1883 W. M. Williams in Knowledge 20 July 35/2 Pale slices of meat spread out in a little puddle of pale, watery liquid.
1925 W. Cather Professor's House i. vi. 75 The red-gold sunlight lay in bright puddles on the thick blue carpet.
1956 M. Dickens Angel in Corner xii. 256 Baby's done a puddle again.
1972 J. Wilson Hide & Seek vi. 107 Can I have a mop to wipe up Mary's puddle?
1985 L. Blue Kitchen Blues 126 The apples should stand in puddles of sweet cider in a buttered baking tin.
2004 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 5 Dec. 23 The Queen would ring a bell if the dog made a puddle on the floor.
c. humorously. The sea, esp. the North Atlantic Ocean (cf. pond n. 2); any body of water viewed as small or insignificant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > [noun]
sea-floodc893
brimc937
streamc950
foamOE
mereOE
seaOE
sea of (the) oceanc1300
brookc1400
float1477
strand1513
breec1540
burnc1540
broth1558
Thetisie1600
fishpond1604
brine1605
pond1612
Thetisc1620
brack1627
herring-pond1686
tide1791
black water1816
lave1825
briny1831
salt water1839
blue1861
swan's bath1865
puddle1869
ditch1922
oggin1945
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > specific seas > [noun] > Atlantic Ocean
Atlantica1387
Western Ocean1576
pond1612
Great Lake1684
mid-Atlantic1804
millpond1813
Middle Atlantic1826
puddle1869
whale-poola1876
1849 H. Melville Redburn xv. 102 To them, I suppose, the great Atlantic Ocean was a puddle.]
1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xliv. 457 In Syria they curve the roads so as to make them run by the meagre little puddles they call ‘fountains’.
1882 T. G. Bowles Flotsam & Jetsam 395 As a sea the Mediterranean is a mere swindle. It is, indeed, not a sea at all, but a miserable puddle.
1889 Ally Sloper's Half Holiday 6 July 214/2 There seems to be no end to the chaff which the downy dandies across the puddle have to bear.
1902 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang V. 312 The Puddle,..the Atlantic Ocean... In Cornwall, the English Channel.
1978 SLR Camera Aug. 21/1 For many years the American company..have made fine enlarging frames (masking frames this side of the puddle)..for retail distribution.
1983 C. Ozick Cannibal Galaxy (1984) 17 It was like the Mediterranean, Europe's old puddle.
1992 C. Wilkins Wolf's Eye 191 I came [to Canada] to peel off some American gold with my wooden knife, shove it into my packsack and then head back over the puddle [to Finland].
d. Rowing (originally and chiefly British). The area of disturbed water made by the blade of an oar at each stroke.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > propelling boat by oars, paddle, or pole > [noun] > rowing > a stroke of or pull at the oars > disturbance left at end of
puddle1920
1920 Times 20 May 6/6 Mr. James, probably, is rowing the best of anyone in the Eights and undoubtedly sends down a puddle in proportion to his weight of nearly 14st.
1955 R. Bannister First Four Minutes iii. 39 I could see my oars were making some splendid ‘puddles’.
2004 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 27 Mar. (Sport section) 9 Cambridge rate lower than Oxford and tend to clear their puddles a stroke later, which suggests they are slower off the blocks.
e. A small pool of molten metal, esp. one formed during welding; a piece of metal solidified from such a pool.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > metal in specific state or form > [noun] > molten metal > pool formed during welding
puddle1935
weld pool1964
1935 C. G. Bainbridge in Symp. Welding Iron & Steel (Iron & Steel Inst.) II. 14 A large rod melts slowly and cools the molten puddle, causing rapid solidification.
1958 Man 58 64/1 The first flat celts were hammered out of natural copper, and then out of rough casts or puddles of it or of poor bronze, smooth on the lower side, rough and scabbed on the open side.
1975 G. Bram & C. Downs Manuf. Technol. ii. 47 While one hand manipulates the torch to carry a puddle across the plate, the other adds the correct amount of filler rod.
2004 Welding Design & Fabrication (Nexis) 1 Sept. 42 Because heat input is low..the weld puddle has a chance to cool and freeze slightly.
2. figurative and in figurative contexts.
a. An impure, degrading, or morally corrupting state or situation; corrupt or degraded behaviour or way of life (cf. sink n.1 2a and 2b). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > [noun] > immoral conduct or habits
vice1297
viciousness1440
puddlec1520
vitiosity1603
c1520 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1901) I. 38 (margin) Swyne are thai quhilkis wassis thair seluis in the puddill and fylthiness [of] lustes.
1533 T. More Apol. v, in Wks. 854/2 The preacher stumbleth at the same stocke, and falleth into the same puddell that Tyndall didde.
1580 H. Gifford Posie of Gilloflowers ii. sig. R.4v In the end drouning him in the puddle of al abhomination.
1616 W. Lithgow Most Delectable Disc. Peregrination 97 The two contrary natures cannot agree; the one being a filthy puddle, and the other a pure water.
1644 C. Jessop Angel Church of Ephesus 27 I will not cause the Reader to stop his nose at those putrid steemes which would arise if that puddle were stirred.
1695 Ld. Preston tr. Boethius Of Consol. Philos. iv. 170 Dost thou see then in what a Puddle of Filth Impiety doth wallow.
1787 J. Howie Plain Reasons in Reformation Princ. 179 Swimming down the impure puddle of Erastianism.
1851 N. Hawthorne House of Seven Gables i. 31 After creeping, as it were,..along the utmost verge of the opaque puddle of obscurity, they had taken that downright plunge, which..is the destiny of all families.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia VI. xx. vi. 164 He stalks loftily through this puddle of a world, on terms of his own.
1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience x. 246 Reliance on what Luther exults in calling the dung of one's merits, the filthy puddle of one's own righteousness, has come to the front again in their religion.
1997 Washington Post (Nexis) 9 Nov. g9 Whichever way we turn, we find ourselves standing in the stinking puddle of our sin.
b. A confused mixture of thoughts, emotions, habits, etc.; a state of confusion or embarrassment. In extended use: an untidy collection or heap of objects; a muddle, a mess.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > [noun] > a state of confused disorder
feery-fary1535
puddle1587
bauchle1600
vertigo1702
whemmel1817
mull1821
mix-up1841
scrimmage1852
embroilment1856
hash-up1860
brangle1865
mucker1867
unplight1876
car wreck1877
mix1882
mess-up1902
stirabout1905
pot mess1914
boorach1928
balls-up1929
muck-up1930
balls1938
box1941
Chinese fire drill1943
snafu1943
foul-up1944
screw-up1950
snarl-up1960
tiswas1960
bumble-bath1965
clusterfuck1969
headfuck1983
car crash1992
katogo1994
dumpster fire2008
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. ix. 144 Seeing that in the middes of that Puddle of humors eche liuing wight hath a Soule dwelling.
1616 Criminal Trials III. 586 So..pernicious a multitude and pudle of raskallis.
1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore iii. ii. 116 I am neuer out of one puddle or another.
1805 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 20 123 This thoughtless jumble of terms, this confused puddle of phrases.
a1871 T. Carlyle in J. W. Carlyle Lett. & Memorials (1883) II. 157 This drawing-room..without her would have been a puddle of wasteful failure.
1940 J. Noel in Oxf. Bk. Amer. Lit. Anecd. (1981) 181 There is a puddle of cigarette butts in a saucer on the table near his bed.
1991 J. Updike in W. Abrahams O. Henry Prize Stories of 1991 11 On the back porch there would be a puddle of cats and kittens mewing to be fed.
1996 Observer 29 Dec. (Life Suppl.) 44/2 We didn't actually win a major football tournament this year. But heck, why should that stop us from wallowing in a puddle of nostalgia?
3. As a mass noun.
a. Muddy or stagnant water (cf. puddle water at Compounds 1a). Also figurative and in figurative contexts. Now English regional (midlands and East Anglian) and historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > [noun] > dirty water
puddle watera1425
dishwater1484
swilling1545
puddle1555
dish-wash1592
coal water1670
bilge-water1706
bulge-water1736
dish-washings1771
kob water1930
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. iv. 137 I rather fansie..to folowe the founteines of the first Authours, then the brokes of abredgers, which often bring with them much puddle.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. v. sig. E6 A little brooke did pas Of muddie water, that like puddle stanke. View more context for this quotation
1612 W. Russell & A. Todkill Proc. Eng. Colony in Narr. Early Virginia (1907) 142 But searching their habitations for water, wee could fill but 3, and that such puddle that never til then wee ever knew the want of good water.
1681 J. Crowne Henry VI i. iv. 64 Hard Roots my only food, Foul Puddle all my drink.
1791 E. Burke Appeal New to Old Whigs 18 When that monster was obliged to fly with his wife Sporus, and to drink puddle.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi III. vii. ii. 26 One of a great house; the least drop of whose blood were worth an ocean of plebeian puddle.
1881 S. Evans Evans's Leicestershire Words (new ed.) 219 As thick as puddle.
1970 E. Bruton Diamonds iv. 79 With..the annular pan..water flowed over the inner edge, taking with it the lighter materials held in suspension in the muddy water, or ‘puddle’ as it was called.
b. A preparation of wet clay and sometimes also sand, used as a watertight covering or lining for embankments, canals, dams, etc. Cf. puddling n. 3c. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > [noun] > with water
loam1480
clama1555
slip1640
puddle1791
puddling1826
slop1844
pug1853
1791 W. Marshall Minutes in Rural Econ. W. Eng. (1796) II. 297 Stucco is analogous to the materials of a dam,..Rough Coating, to the puddle of Canal Makers.
1795 J. Phillips Gen. Hist. Inland Navigation (rev. ed.) 365 Puddle, an article of great use in completing canals where the soil is leaky, or unfavourable for holding the water.
1838 F. W. Simms Public Wks. Great Brit. 29 Water..must be excluded..by a lining of puddle.
1861 S. Smiles Lives Engineers I. 353 (note) Puddle is formed by a mixture of well-tempered clay and sand reduced to a semi-fluid state, and rendered impervious to water by manual labour, as by working and chopping it about with spades.
1968 D. D. Gladwin & J. M. White Eng. Canals ii. ii. 26 Clay puddle..used to make a watertight seal.
4. Scottish and English regional (midlands) in later use. An incompetent person, a bungler; a slow or inefficient worker. Sc. National Dict. records this sense as still in use in Angusshire in 1966.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > person of weak intellect > confused, muddled person > [noun]
mafflardc1450
juffler15..
dromedary1567
madbrain1570
batie buma1586
addle-head1592
blunderkin1596
nit1598
addle-pate1601
hash1655
blunderbuss1692
blunderhead1692
shaffles1703
fog-pate1732
blunderer1741
puzzle-pate1761
slouch1767
étourdi1768
botch1769
puddle1782
bumble1789
scatter-brain1790
addle-brain1799
puzzle-head1815
shaffler1828
chowderhead1833
muddlehead1833
muddler1833
flounderer1836
duffer1842
muddle-pate1844
plug1848
incompetent1866
schlemiel1868
dinlo1873
drumble-dore1881
hodmandod1881
dub1887
prune1895
foozler1896
bollock1916
messer1926
Pilot Officer (also P.O.) Prune1942
spaz1965
spastic1981
1782 F. Burney Cecilia IV. vii. ix. 114 I remember when I was quite a boy hearing her called a limping old puddle.
1835 T. Carlyle Jrnl. 1 Jan. in J. A. Froude T. Carlyle: Life in London (1884) I. i. 18 A foot which a puddle of a maid scalded three weeks ago.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 141 He's a poor puddle.
1881 S. Evans Evans's Leicestershire Words (new ed.) 219 Puddle..a muddler; a bungler; one who dawdles about, making believe to be at work.
a1903 T. P. Ferim in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) 638/1 [Huntingdon] Puddle, one who is slow, dirty, inefficient, or unmethodical at work, a bungler, a muddler.
Compounds
C1.
a. attributive or as adj. Found in, associated with, or likened to a puddle; (hence) dirty, muddy, thick, polluted. Also figurative. In later use chiefly in puddle water.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > [noun] > dirty water
puddle watera1425
dishwater1484
swilling1545
puddle1555
dish-wash1592
coal water1670
bilge-water1706
bulge-water1736
dish-washings1771
kob water1930
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 335 Þei grutchiden aȝens þis water, and drunken podel water of þe canel.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 978 To see Antonius..so easily to drinke puddle water, and to eate wild frutes and rootes.
1596 A. Copley Fig for Fortune 23 T'is puddle sacrilege so to disgrase The grace of God, through errors rude misprisall.
1619 R. Harris Drunkards Cup 12 Hee knowes how of puddle ale, to make a cup of English wine.
1642 J. Eaton Honey-combe Free Justific. 374 As if one, to put away one spot in his face, should wash himself in puddle mire.
1704 M. Henry Communicant's Compan. iii. 25 Let us not forsake these Living-Streams for Puddle-Water.
1785 T. Horde Nature will Prevail i. i. 15 The most sparkling, vivifying wines are but puddle water strain'd by the pressure of a vine-vat.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. iii. 48 I would fain let their puddle-blood flow an hour or two longer.
1902 W. B. Yeats in Monthly Rev. July 8 He had puddle water in his shoes.
1987 A. Dillard Amer. Childhood ii. 148 I spread a scummy drop of Frick Park puddle water on a slide.
b. Similative.
puddle deep adj.
ΚΠ
a1637 B. Jonson Timber 718 in Wks. (1640) III They write a verse, as smooth, as soft, as creame... They are Cream-bowle, or but puddle deepe.
2002 List (Glasgow & Edinb. Events Guide) 4 July 119/5 This wafer thin and puddle deep new series of documentaries looks at particularly torrid times various shamed celebrities have experienced at the hands of the fickle media.
c. In sense 3b, as puddle lining, puddle wall.
ΚΠ
1839 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 2 21/2 They are formed..with an upright ‘puddle wall’ in the centre.
1839 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 2 109/2 The want of a puddle lining.
1872 Daily News 13 July The offices of the contractors..as well as the puddle waggons and working plant, were washed away.
1908 A. J. Bowie Pract. Irrigation vii. 78 The cost of such puddle linings is as follows: Spreading by hand..8 cents per cubic yard [etc.].
1999 Times (Nexis) 18 May The top of the embankment, which is constructed of concrete, ballast, and a puddle wall, is 38ft. above ground level.
2006 Bristol Evening Post (Nexis) 18 Apr. 34 The dam, 440 yards in length, is made of earth with a clay puddle core.
C2. † Puddle dock n. Obsolete a place or state of corruption, decadence, or filth; (also attributive) designating anything associated with this.See note at etymology.† puddle-poet n. derogatory Obsolete rare a writer of bad verse.
ΚΠ
1633 Match at Mid-night iv To surprize her,..pop her in at Puddle-dock, and carry her to Gravesend in a paire of oares.]
1648 W. Jenkyn Ὁδηγος Τυϕλος i. 8 He seems to dip his pen, or rather his pia mater, in puddle-dock.
1681 Heraclitus Ridens 22 Feb. 2/2 To Libel, Calumniate and throw Puddle-Dock wit in the face of Superiors.
1699 W. Penktheman Love without Interest ii. i. 9 Why, what Puddle-dock Pettifogger gave you Advice thus to open your case!
puddle duck n. chiefly North American (a) the domestic duck (now rare); (b) a duck that feeds by dabbling, esp. in shallow water; a dabbling duck; cf. puddler n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > domestic
mallard1314
puddle duck1841
mud duck1857
puddler1945
1841 Amer. Farmer 17 Nov. 205/2 To variegate and beautify every species of domestic fowl—from the turkey down to the puddle duck.
1908 B. Potter Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck 9 Listen to the story of Jemima Puddle-duck, who was annoyed because the farmer's wife would not let her hatch her own eggs.
1932 A. H. Howell Florida Bird Life 139 Mud Teal... Resorts chiefly to freshwater ponds and marshes, feeding in shallow water with Mallards, Widgeons, and other ‘puddle ducks’.
1989 Nature Conservancy Mar. 9/2 Prairie grasses, sedges, and forbs—ideal cover for nesting puddle ducks and geese.
puddle hole n. a depression in the ground containing a puddle.
ΚΠ
1610 in Court Leet Rec. Manch. (1885) II. 252 A puddle hoale which he or his familie doth vse [as] a privye.
1732 T. Short Proposals for printing Hist. Mineral Waters ii. 211 One Robert Harwood..sunk a Draw-Well before his Door, in a Puddle-Hole where the Swine in very hot weather used to lie and wallow.
1833 Boston, Lincoln, etc. Herald 16 Apr. 4/2 Jane Hays..found drowned in a puddle-hole used for washing potatoes.
1936 I. L. Idriess Cattle King xiii. 112 The diggers came near to starvation; then typhoid in the puddle-holes nearly wiped them out.
2004 Wynnum Herald (Australia) (Nexis) 31 May The school had no playing fields and the unformed grounds were dotted with puddle holes.
puddle jump n. U.S. colloquial a short journey, esp. one made by aeroplane.
ΚΠ
1940 N.Y. Times 30 Sept. 26 Four miles..was but a puddle jump for the sleek and towering racers [sc. yachts].
1978 Newsweek (Nexis) 23 Oct. 75 Spurred by Federal deregulation and their own economics, many scheduled carriers are dropping unprofitable ‘puddle jumps’ to concentrate on the big-buck, long-haul business.
2001 K. Walker & M. Schone Son of Grifter xxviii. 287 I wasn't clear on the legalities, but what I figured Kenny was doing in his weekly puddle jumps to Havana was buying cigars at Cuban prices.
puddle-jump v. U.S. colloquial intransitive to make a short journey, esp. by aeroplane.
ΚΠ
1924 Lincoln (Nebraska) State Jrnl. 9 Dec. 10/1 He said that he ‘puddle-jumped’ on Sunday to put down-town crossings in trim.
1957 W. Dykeman & J. Stokely Neither Black nor White iv. 48 But because Olmsted..talked with anyone he met and did not merely puddle-jump from one big plantation to another,..he has met the usual castigation of ‘biased intruder.’
2000 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Feb. 106 Forced to puddle-jump for their cocktail fix during Prohibition, many flocked to the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London.
puddle-jumper n. U.S. colloquial a small vehicle typically used for short journeys or noted for manoeuvrability, esp. a small, light aeroplane.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > [noun] > swift and manoeuvrable
puddle-jumper1917
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > small or light aircraft
light aircraft1913
puddle-jumper1917
light plane1923
runabout1932
runabout plane1966
ultralight1974
microlight1980
trike1981
1917 Chicago Tribune 14 Sept. 6/3 A Wisconsin customer refers to his 4d [sc. four-door automobile] as a ‘puddle-jumper’.
1924 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 1 Aug. 17/4 The U.S. Air Mail ‘puddle-jumper’, so named because it gets in and out of pastures and other small areas.
1944 Newsweek 2 Oct. 31/2 A ‘puddle jumper’ observation plane with bazookas fixed on the wings dove down and knocked out two of the tanks.
1961 ‘A. A. Fair’ Stop at Red Light (1962) viii. 127 I had to take a puddle-jumper with stops in Chicago, Denver and Salt Lake City.
2003 L. Faderman Naked in Promised Land xvi. 310 I race to catch the seven-forty puddle-jumper to Fresno—fifty minutes in the sky.
puddle-jumping n. and adj. U.S. colloquial (a) n.the action of making short journeys, esp. by aeroplane; (b) adj.(esp. of an aeroplane) designed or used for short journeys.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [adjective] > small and light
light1909
puddle-jumping1924
ultralight1974
microlight1981
1924 Lincoln (Nebraska) State Jrnl. 4 Apr. 12/5 The street department used but 1032 gallons of gas during March. Except for puddle-jumping and snow plowing, Mr Cowgill had little need to patronize his own..station.
1941 Sun (Baltimore) 2 Aug. 7/1 Three ‘puddle-jumping’ Vultee 049 planes in which they will be able to hop up and down from even the smallest corn field.
1989 Airforce July 18/1 But will it fly, Wilbur? I wondered. The puddle-jumping Mooney's wings were twice as long, for gosh sakes.
2004 Spokane-Rev. (Washington) (Nexis) 19 Sept. b. 3 Puddle-jumping is only one piece of the revenue... Delta and other airlines want commuter flights to be feeder flights as well.
ΚΠ
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. 15 It seems the puddle-Poet did hope, that the jingling of his Rhyme would drown the sound of his false Quantity.
Derivatives
ˈpuddle-like adj. and adv.
ΚΠ
1564 A. Bacon tr. J. Jewel Apol. Churche Eng. sig. L.iii Thei haue stopped vp..al the vaines of cleere springing water, and haue digged vp for the people..puddlelike pyttes full of..filth.
1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 297 Then is there..Puddle Wharfe, a water gate into the Thames, where horses vse to be watered, and therfore being filed with their trampeling, and made puddle like,..it is (as I suppose) called Puddle Wharf.
1862 T. A. Trollope Lenten Journey xiv. 226 The almost voiceless waters of the Adriatic, in this part of the coast, lie puddle-like in a long and wide dull yellow strip, along the shore.
1931 Woodland (Ca.) Daily Democrat 19 May 5/5 Glaciers whose melting snows sends water trickling to the bottom, forming a puddle-like lake of green water.
1985 H. Brodkey Stories in Almost Classical Mode (1989) 457 He wears glasses and they shine..puddlelike, with dull glare.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
puddlev.
/ˈpʌdl/, U.S. /ˈpəd(ə)l/ 1. intransitive. To dabble, to poke around or about in shallow water, mud, or dirt; to wallow in or wade through puddles or swampy ground. In extended use: to move or conduct oneself inelegantly, or without purpose or direction; to mess about. Also occasionally transitive (reflexive) in same sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > move in or on water [verb (intransitive)] > splash or move about in (shallow) water
swalter?a1400
puddle1440
swalperc1540
swatter?1553
poss1575
soss1575
dabble1611
dibble1622
switter?a1800
plouter1808
squatter1808
slosh1844
splosh1930
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > be idle or unoccupied [verb (intransitive)] > potter or waste time in trifling activity
trifle?a1400
loiterc1400
tiffc1440
tifflec1440
to pick a salad1520
to play the wanton1529
fiddle1530
dauntc1540
piddle1545
dally?1548
pittlea1568
pingle1574
puddle1591
to thrum caps1594
maginate1623
meecha1625
pudder1624
dabble1631
fanfreluche1653
dawdlea1656
taigle17..
niff-naff1728
tiddle1747
peddle1755
gammer1788
quiddle1789
muddle1791
browse1803
niddle1808
poke1811
fal-lal1818
potter1824
footer1825
putter1827
shaffle1828
to fool about1838
mike1838
piffle1847
mess1853
to muck about1856
tinker1856
bohemianize1857
to fool around1860
frivol1866
june1869
muss1876
to muddle about (also around)1877
slummock1877
dicker1888
moodle1893
to fart about1899
to fart about (or around)1899
plouter1899
futz1907
monkey1916
to arse around1919
to play around1929
to fuck around1931
tool1932
frig1933
boondoggle1935
to muck around1935
to screw around1935
to bugger about1937
to bugger around1939
to piss about1943
to dick around1948
to jerk around1953
fart-arse1954
to fanny around1969
slop1973
dork1982
to twat around (or about)1992
to dick about1996
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 411 Poyelon, or pothelyn [?a1475 Winch. Poþlon or pothelyne], or grubbyn yn the erthe, fodito.
1591 R. Bruce Serm. Edinb. vi. sig. M8 The multitude..haue..gone to mumchances, mumries, & vnknawin language, wherein they pudled of befoir.
1597 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1841) I. 158 And thair thow pudlit be ane lang speace..in ane deip holl amongis the watter.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xvii. 109 The drosse of the riddle or searce must be cast about the edges of the pond, and also within the same, to cause them to be pudling in the mire.
1633 Fife Witch Trial in J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. (1796) XVIII. App. 654 Let honest men puddle and work as they like.
1639 R. Younge Sinne Stigmatizd Pref. sig. B3 I were very simple, if..I should pooddle in a waspes nest, and thinke to purchase ease by it.
1680 J. Bunyan Life & Death Mr. Badman (1905) To Rdr. 7 I know 'tis ill pudling in the Cockatrices den.
1709 T. Robinson Vindic. Mosaick Syst. 67 in Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland The Bills of..Ducks are broad, yet fit for rooting, for puddling in the Mud, and shearing of Herbs and Grass.
1759 Compl. Let.-writer (ed. 6) 224 Mrs. Langford..puddled herself into a minuet.
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. i. xi. 300 We may puddle about for ever without getting up a drop of ink to write with.
1791 J. Byng Jrnl. 11 July in Torrington Diaries (1934) II. 394 Off again..puddle along to Hibey-Stow.
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvi. v. 295 He puddles about, at a great rate.
1866 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 421 The little creatures pass half their day puddling about in the water in all the beauty of nakedness.
1887 W. Walker Bards of Bon-accord 455 Through dubs an' dirt he puddles o'er the e'en.
1921 E. M. Forster Let. 5 Oct. in Hill of Devi (1953) 135 For many hours we puddled about in the car, or walked from building to building.
1973 North Hills News Rec. (Warrendale, Pa.) 24 Mar. 6/4 (caption) Ducks and swans puddled around for three months while the lake was dredged.
1994 Spy (N.Y.) Aug. 12/1 The Internet..is just the latest excuse for puddling around at work.
2. † a. transitive. Scottish. To soil with or bog down in mud or filth. Chiefly in passive. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)]
sulec897
smitOE
soil1297
besoila1300
bysulpc1400
smudgec1430
dauba1450
smirch1495
smotter1513
suddle1513
smada1525
coinquinatea1529
puddle1535
moil1575
smut1587
sud1593
sully1601
coninquinate1609
smirch1615
smutcha1616
beslurry1627
besullya1645
smoot1683
besmircha1700
be-smutch1832
guggle1866
dirten1906
1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 4296 I fell into ane midding..As I was pudlit thair, God wait Bot with my club I maid debait.
1609 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) III. 6 He, falling amangis the said treyis, was pudillit in ane myre, be ȝour servandis.
1706 Mare of Collingtoun in J. Watson Choice Coll. Scots Poems i. 48 Ye wou'd have laughen well indeed, So pudled to have seen them: For Willie Tamson well I ween, Fell in a Pool o'er baith the Een, And ne'er a bit of him left clean.
b. transitive. To soak in, fill with, or stain with water; to cover with puddles. Chiefly in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > action or process of soaking or steeping > soak or steep [verb (transitive)]
imbibec1386
steepc1400
soaka1425
temper1490
delay1526
imbruea1575
seethe1599
embalm1623
imbute1657
infund1657
elixate1658
puddle1701
sug1706
sop1853
1701 B. Richmond Let. 27 Nov. in T. Brockbank Diary & Let. Bk. (1930) 215 The Col. did not Know my Spouse he was so puddled from ye rain.
1853 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1854) I. viii. 80 Table-cloths puddled with melted ice.
1885 J. H. Ewing Mary's Meadow (1886) 90 Pour water in very freely. Saturate the ground below, ‘puddle in’ your plants with plenty more.
1981 G. Boycott In Fast Lane xvii. 169 Another storm swirled in from over the hills; the covers were hastily replaced and in no time they were puddled with an inch of water as the rain beat down.
1988 Here's Health May 78/3 If the weather is dry, puddle each planting hole with a generous amount of water.
2005 Orlando (Florida) Sentinel (Nexis) 13 Mar. f4 How can you deliver a stack of plates for appetizers to the table when the plates are puddled with water?
3. † a. transitive. To pollute or contaminate (water). Chiefly figurative and in figurative contexts. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > [verb (transitive)] > stir up or render turbid
stirc1000
blend1384
trouble1579
puddle1593
mud1594
muddy1617
drummle1635
blunder1655
muddy1669
muddle1676
inturbidate1684
to shake up1753
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirty [verb (transitive)]
uncleanseOE
horyc1200
befoulc1320
behorewe1340
file1340
flobber1377
smatterc1386
foulc1400
slurryc1440
filtha1450
sowla1450
sollc1480
bawdy1495
squagea1500
arrayc1525
ray1526
bawdc1529
beray1530
filthify1545
belime1555
soss1557
embroyn1566
dirt1570
filthy1581
turpifya1586
dirty1591
muck1618
bedirt1622
bedirty1623
smooch1631
dight1632
fewma1637
snuddle1661
bepaw1684
puddle1698
nasty1707
muddify1739
scavenger1806
mucky1828
squalidize1837
mullock1861
muddy1893
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation To Rdr. sig. **2v The other..shall neuer puddle or annoy the course of the cleere running water.
1603 in Dr. Farmer Chetham MS (1873) 203 O my gracous Leige, lett never any wrye Counsells, diverte or puddle the faire streame of yor naturall goodnes.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 273 It was immediately puddled with the Mud of Heresy.
1792 D. Lloyd Voy. Life v. 94 The sacred fount That down Parnassus sides, in lucid streams, Soft gurgling flows—clear as Siloam's pool—Though puddled oft by many a driv'ling bard.
1860 A. C. Swinburne Queen-Mother iii. i. 81 So are best things puddled with ill in them, We cannot sift them through.
1870 D. G. Rossetti Jenny xxi So the life-blood of this rose, Puddled with shameful knowledge, flows.
b. transitive. In extended use: to muddle, confuse, or corrupt (a person or his or her outlook, imagination, understanding, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirty [verb (transitive)] > sully purity or clearness of
puddlea1616
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > confuse or disorder [verb (transitive)]
disparplea1400
rufflea1400
mingle-mangle1549
confound1553
jumblea1575
barbulye1588
Babelize1600
embroil1603
puddlea1616
confuse1630
jargogle1692
mishmash1694
to make a mull of1821
inturbidatea1834
bedevil1844
to ball up1884
jazz1914
scramble1927
balls1947
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iv. 141 Something sure of State,..Hath pudled his cleere spirit. View more context for this quotation
1650 H. More Observ. in Enthusiasmus Triumphatus (1656) 81 His phansie is pudled so and jumbled in the Limbus or Huddle of the Matter.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iii. 53 Such extremes, I told her, well might harm The woman's cause. ‘Not more than now,’ she said, ‘So puddled as it is with favouritism.’
1864 R. Browning in Poet. Wks. (1888) VII. 197 Doubt posed our ‘medium’, puddled his pure mind.
1974 P. Wright Lang. Brit. Industry i. 25 We also hear..of someone being puddled, with his mind, so to speak, whirled around until he goes silly.
1985 J. Howker Nature of Beast v. 76 I'd not puddle me mind with it.
4.
a. transitive. To trample, compress, or work (ground or earth) so that it becomes a plastic or impervious mass; spec. to make (clay) into puddle by kneading or working with water (see puddle n. 3b).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with clay > work with clay [verb (transitive)] > specific processes
weather1548
wedge1686
tamper1766
puddle1774
pug1843
size1889
1774 Scots Farmer 2 lxvii. 577 When it [sc. the ground] is well puddled and dunged by the feet and dung of the bestial, sow it with grass-seeds and harrow it as before directed.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 157 Rendering the surface completely puddled, to use a term employed in ground works, and thereby to retain water equally with any clay.
1861 G. M. Musgrave By-roads in Picardy 24 This layer had been levelled to receive a stratum of clay, a yard in thickness, and firmly puddled.
1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood xv. 115 The ground before the door was puddled with damp hoofs and trodden straw.
1880 I. L. Bird Unbeaten Tracks Japan I. 85 The rice crop..needs to be ‘puddled’ three times, i.e. for all the people to turn into the slush, and grub out all the weeds and tangled aquatic plants, which weave themselves from tuft to tuft, and puddle up the mud afresh round the roots.
1915 Bulletin (Sydney) 2 Sept. 26/4 A township built of ‘German bricks’, i.e. clayey loam which is first puddled then dumped into boxes.., and left in the sun to dry.
1946 G. Millar Horned Pigeon xv. 206 The warmth of my body puddled the ground into soft mud.
1977 Daily Tel. 9 Apr. 7/4 If the weather and the soil are too wet for standing on the grounds without puddling it,..stand on a board.
2005 Financial Times (Nexis) 16 Apr. (Weekend) 15 In the 15th century, this [sc. daub] would have been puddled by cattle tramping the ingredients of clay, sharp sand and straw, with manure inevitably adding to the mix.
b. transitive. To cover or line with puddle (puddle n. 3b); to make watertight by applying puddle; spec. to dip (the roots of a plant) into puddle to conserve moisture.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > clad or cover [verb (transitive)] > clad or cover with other materials
pitcheOE
lute1495
loam1600
bitume1609
wainscota1631
mud1632
putty1719
compo1809
belute1837
smear1839
puddle1844
plash1864
canvas1865
cement1886
TP1962
toilet-paper1964
1808 in Niles' Reg. 15 55/2 The embankments are well puddled, and the piers of the bridges are of hewn stone.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm I. 179 It will be necessary to puddle the seams of the rock on that side of the well in which it dips downwards.
1861 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1859–60 4 116 Mr. Bebb..planted 400 trees in 1851,..puddled them before he took them from the nursery.
1897 L. H. Bailey Princ. Fruit-growing 246 Puddling the roots [of trees]..to be shipped any distance..consists in sousing the roots in a thin mud or paste of clay.
1945 U. P. Hedrick Grapes & Wines from Home Vineyards vi. 74 One may read or be told..to puddle the roots in a pail of thin mud. All this is nonsense if the plants are in good condition.
1991 C. Lycett Green Perfect Eng. Country House (BNC) 139 One hot summer in the 1880s, he dug and puddled a large pond with the help of his two sons, which was used as the family swimming pool for years afterwards.
5. transitive. Metallurgy. To heat and stir (molten pig iron) with iron oxide in a reverbatory furnace, so as to oxidize and remove the carbon and other impurities and produce wrought iron. Cf. puddling n. 4. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > heat > melt > stir molten metal
puddle1790
rabble1823
pole1866
1790 [implied in: W. Speechly Culture Vine 23 (note) This method of tempering the soil is in general practice with engineers... It is by them termed ‘puddling’ and is deemed the best expedient..to render ground waterproof. (at puddling n. 3b)].
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 702 The fine metal obtained by the coke is puddled by a continuous operation, which calls for much care and skill.
1858 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 7 May 384/2 Pig iron..puddled in Yorkshire and rolled into rivet iron.
1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xv. 253 This iron was..puddled in some rude fashion into blooms or masses weighing about a hundred.
1923 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 25 Mar. b9 Natives of India formerly smelted or puddled iron in clay furnaces four or five feet high.
1960 R. Lister Decorative Cast Ironwork in Great Brit. i. 5 Ingots of pig iron are fed into a vessel, boiled and then ‘puddled’, that is cut and prodded and moved by a rod until the correct stage of malleability has been reached.
1994 D. Cardwell Fontana Hist. Technol. vii. 171 It has been said that puddling iron was the hardest work that men have ever done.
6.
a. intransitive. Of a liquid: to form a puddle. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1850 E. Bennett Oliver Goldfinch xxi. 112 Her own heart's blood..had run down the snowy sheets and puddled on the floor.
1891 Los Angeles Times 4 July 1/5 Blood soaked through the white cloth and puddled on the floor.
1975 S. R. Delany Dhalgren vii. 761 Foam bubbled up his bottle neck and over, puddling at the base.
1998 Harper's Mag. May 30/2 The white dress puddled at her feet on the wide-board, hardwood floor.
b. intransitive. U.S. colloquial. With up. Of a person: to (begin to) cry.
ΚΠ
1967 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 17 Aug. 61/1 Not long ago, he puddled up and spilled the tears over his team's lack of depth and speed.
1981 Time (Electronic ed.) 5 Jan. ‘I'm going to puddle up again’ is her way of warning friends that she is about to cry.
2003 C. Berlinski Loose Lips viii. 179 Despite myself, I began to puddle up. I felt self-conscious when the waiter came back with our tea. ‘Allergies,’ I said to him.
7. transitive. Mining. To mix (soil containing gold, opals, etc.) with water in a container, in order to separate out the precious substances. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (transitive)] > wash or stream > for gold
rock1825
pan1832
cradle1852
puddle1852
sluice1859
to wash up1869
yandy1937
to rock out1966
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (transitive)] > dress ore
stamp1568
shadder1582
craze1610
tye1757
spall1758
toze1758
trunk1758
concentrate1771
to griddle out1778
jig1778
puddle1963
1852 J. Bonwick Notes of Gold Digger 13 The dirtied water is gently poured off every now and then, and, with a fresh supply from the stream, you puddle away.
1881 G. C. Evans Stories 22 We dug a hole about two feet deep in hard ground, and puddled our stuff in it, instead of a tub.
1932 I. L. Idriess Lasseter's Last Ride 9 When your dish is full, carry it to the nearest water, immerse it, and ‘puddle’ the dirt with your fingers.
1963 Pix 13 July 21 Machines are used to ‘puddle’ (separate and sieve) opal dirt.
1967 S. Lloyd Lightning Ridge Bk. (1968) i. 1 Opal dirt can be brought to the surface and examined or puddled.
Compounds
In sense 5, perhaps originally in form puddled (see puddled adj. 4).† puddle steel n. Metallurgy Obsolete steel made by puddling.† puddle train n. Metallurgy Obsolete rare = puddling train n. at puddling n. Compounds 2. Obsolete.
puddle ball n. Metallurgy (now historical) a rounded mass of iron formed by puddling.
ΚΠ
1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 104/2 Improvements in rolling puddle balls or other masses of iron.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 187 The two-wheeled trolly is used in a rolling-mill to wheel the puddle-balls to the squeezer.
1985 Technol. & Culture 26 540 Even in the reverbatory puddling furnace sulfurous coal gases had time to combine with the ‘puddle ball’.
puddle bar n. Metallurgy (now historical) an iron bar formed by passing a mass of puddled iron between rollers.
ΚΠ
1852 River Times (Wisc.) 13 Dec. 2/3 Cost of 1 ton puddle bar..$17 90.
1881 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 329/1 The ‘puddle bar’ or ‘muck bar’ thus obtained in the form of elongated slabs of from 4 to 18 inches wide, and half an inch to 2 inches thick,..is then cut up into lengths of some few feet, several of which are piled one on the other, reheated, and rolled down again into another bar of slab of superior quality.
1983 Technol. & Culture 24 629 The process required a great deal of experience and judgment on the part of the workmen, who had to know just when to withdraw the puddle bar from the furnace.
puddle rolls n. Metallurgy (now historical) a pair of rollers used for shaping puddled iron into bars; cf. puddling roll n. at puddling n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1844 Penny Mag. Feb. 79/1 The bloom..is passed to the puddle-rolls.
1874 T. Dunlap Wiley's Amer. Iron Trade Man. 179 In the old mill there are two trains of puddle rolls, a rail train, and two trains for tops and bottoms.
1948 B. Still Milwaukee 336 More than 1,000 workers operated the puddle rolls, rail train.., punches, and slotters which turned out the equipment needed by the multiplying railroads of the West.
ΚΠ
1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 234 Turning out 600 tons of malleable iron and puddle steel weekly.
1870 R. H. Lamborn in J. S. Wright Chicago (ed. 2) 141 The proper development of the iron industry..demands a steady..supply of first class charcoal metal..for..cast steel, puddle steel, and, above all, for use in the Bessemer or Pneumatic converter.
ΚΠ
1872 W. C. Reichel Crown Inn 151 This mill contains..3 trains of rolls, viz., one 21-inch rail train, one 12-inch merchant train, and one 21-inch puddle train.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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