MANY years ago in the 1960s, a middle-aged friend of mine from England, used the expression that he'd muckled on to something. Meaning that he'd grabbed it like a bulldog. Anyone have any idea of where that came from?
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The usage you mention is illustrated in UD: urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Muckle – user 66974 Feb 22 '18 at 20:16
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He’d grabbed it like a bulldog? So, with his teeth, then? Bulldogs don’t have opposable thumbs to grab things with… – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 22 '18 at 20:17
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Related: What is the meaning of “Many a mickle makes a muckle”? – Mari-Lou A Feb 22 '18 at 20:18
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"Muckle" has a variety of meanings, mainly in Scotland and the north of England. See urban dictionary – WS2 Feb 22 '18 at 20:20
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It looks like one of the common usages of the word in Scots is as "muckle-moued" (muckle-mouthed), or mickle-mouthed, meaning "big-mouthed". dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/muckle – kfinity Feb 22 '18 at 20:44
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It appears to be a regional, AmE usage:
To grab on to an object, usually with a great deal of force. May also be used figuratively to indicate a strong attraction for an object or person. Ex: "When I saw her down the bar, I muckled right on to her." Origin: Downeast Maine.
(Online slang dictionary)
(US, dialectal) To latch onto something with the mouth.
From: 1954, Elizabeth Ogilvie, The Dawning of the Day, page 199:
- And how'd she get such a holt on you, Terence Campion, let alone the way she's muckled onto those Bennetts?
(Wiktionary)
answered Feb 22 '18 at 20:20
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1There are some attestations on the Wiktionary entry, too. en.wiktionary.org/wiki/muckle – kfinity Feb 22 '18 at 20:21
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Despite Wiktionary’s categorisation, it would appear not to be exclusively American, given that the person whose usage of the word apparently triggered the question was English. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 22 '18 at 21:20
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1@JanusBahsJacquet - OP sludge probably give more details about who used the term, in any case the scottish usage doesn’t have this connotation, which appears to have evolved in America. alphadictionary.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6578 – user 66974 Feb 22 '18 at 21:22
