rustlern.
/ˈrʌslə/, U.S. /ˈrəslər/ 1. A person who or thing which makes a rustling sound or causes such a sound to be made.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > repeated sound or succession of sounds > [noun] > rustling > one who or that which
rustler1820
1820 W. Scott Monastery I. viii. 218 The fairy hopes of my youth I have trodden under foot like those neglected rustlers [sc. leaves].
1838 Fraser's Mag. 18 559 Not a rustler in the thicket moved, But he could name it.
1870 R. Broughton Red as Rose II. xii. 137 Esther bolts the door—a weakly defensive measure..utterly impotent against..the rustlers along the passage, the rattlers of the lock.
1982 Times 6 Nov. (Leisure section) 1/1 Not any common-or-garden wind, a mere rustler of tree tops, but a wind that rolls in ocean-like waves across the Scottish Highlands.
2009 Daily Tel. 15 July 19/1 Coughers and rustlers are curse enough at concerts; incontinent clappers should be clapped in irons.
2.
a. chiefly U.S. regional. A person who works with energy, determination, or initiative to achieve something, realize a commercial ambition, etc., sometimes implying the use of unorthodox or risky means; a resourceful, enterprising, and energetic person. Cf. rustle v. 3a. Now rare.
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the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > energy or enterprise > one who is enterprising
rusher1839
rustler1865
go-getter1901
self-starter1913
thruster1925
minuteman1961
1865 Weekly Trinity Jrnl. (Weaverville, Calif.) 4 Mar. The ladies there are pretty good ‘rustlers’, and numerous were the little devices resorted to to swell the Sanitary purse.
1885 Milnor (Dakota Territory) Teller 24 Apr. 2/6 One of the Lisbon rustlers lately sold one of his farms..for $18 an acre.
1887 M. Roberts Western Avernus 183 He does not know much about saw-mills, but I just tell you he is a rustler.
1914 Pop. Sci. Monthly May 454 Our president wants ‘rustlers’—men who are ready at a day's notice to leave their classes and go out on a financial campaign or a student canvass, men who are continually in the lime-light,..rushing officiously from place to place, [etc.].
1935 M. Sandoz Old Jules 37 He's a rustler—works hard scratching souls together for Kingdom Come.
1967 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 681/1 A very able and energetic person who gets things done... Rustler.
b. Originally U.S. regional (western). A person who rounds up and steals livestock, esp. (in early use) cattle. Now frequently in extended use, chiefly with preceding modifying word.Cf. cattle-rustler n. at cattle n. Compounds 1a.
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the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > stealers of animals > [noun] > of cattle
dunaker1668
cattle-stealer1803
duffer1844
cattle-lifter1860
cattle-thief1862
rustler1878
planter1890
waddy1897
cattle-rustler1903
1878 in Amer. Speech (1954) 29 15 [They] came up to Ft. Stanton..where they could get protection from the military, while the Rustlers, as they called themselves robbed the citizens.
1885 Harper's Mag. May 826/1 We could hear the stealthy tread of rustlers and Indians and murderous Mexicans.
1921 ‘L. Allan’ Blue Pete xxvii. 269 The first real evidence that the rustlers were in the Hills came from a cowboy who had seen four of them emerge and retire in the early morning light.
1964 Wall St. Jrnl 9 Jan. 1/4 He covered the orange rustlers with a double-barreled shotgun.
1971 Daily Tel. 19 Apr. 2/1 East Anglian farmers were warned to beware of pig rustlers after 15 sows and five pigs..were stolen.
2009 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) May 43/2 In several provinces of Thailand the predations of ‘rice rustlers’ have forced villagers to guard their rice fields at night with loaded shotguns.
c. U.S. An animal, esp. a domesticated one, that finds food for itself by foraging. Frequently with good or other modifying word.
ΚΠ
1881 G. W. Romspert Western Echo 190 He is a good rustler and will find enough to live on.
1920 Poultry Herald Jan. 37/1 A good layer is a hustler, a rustler and hearty eater, she goes to roost late with a full crop.
1929 E. C. Jaeger Denizens of Mountains xiii. 109 He [sc. the gray fox] is a rustler in the matter of supplying himself with food. He never lies around waiting for something to turn up.
1962 Montana Standard-Post 21 Dec. 6/6 I read..that the country spends about $25 million a year for dog food. This proves that the dog is a poor rustler.
1994 R. W. Slatta Cowboy Encycl. (1996) 297/2 A good rustler (capable of finding grass to eat), the quarter horse is easy to keep.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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