▪ I. tuck, n.1
(tʌk)
Forms: 4–7 tucke, 9 Sc. towk, 6– tuck.
[f. tuck v.1, in various senses.]
1. A fold or pleat in drapery; † in quot. 1613, a plait of the hair (obs.); now spec. a flattened fold (or one of several parallel folds) in a garment, secured by stitching, either to shorten the article or for ornamentation. Also fig.
| 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. v. (Skeat) l. 132 That no iangling may greue the lest tucke of thy hemmes. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Alforza de vestido, a plaite in a garment, a tucke. 1613 Chapman Maske Inns Court A iv, Her tresses in tucks, braided with siluer. 1824 Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl., Towk, a take up in ladies' clothing. 1861 Gloucestershire Chron. 21 Sept., ‘What do you do when you have outgrown your clothes? You throw them aside, don't you?’ ‘Oh, no’, replied the little girl, ‘we let out the tucks’. 1878 ‘Mark Twain’ in Atlantic Jan. 17/2 We had an iron-clad chicken... He ought to have been put through a quartz mill until the ‘tuck’ was taken out of him. 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework, Tucks..are parallel folds of material, lying.. on any article of dress,..either for shortening a garment, or for the purpose of ornamentation. 1910 N.Y. Evening Post 10 Nov. 1 The sight of a wounded man lying on the pavement seemed to take the tuck out of the mob. |
2. The gathering of the ends of the bottom planks of a ship under the stern; that part of the hull where the bottom planks are collected and terminated by the tuck-rail (see 9).
| a 1625 Nomenclator Navalis (Harl. MS. 2301), Ye Tuck, the word is significant for it is (as you would saie) the verie gathering vp of the Ships quarter, vnder water. a 1687 Petty Treat. Naval Philos. i. i, The..Stern-post, and Dead-rising up the Tuck. 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4510/7 The Hoy Burthen 9 or 10 Tun,..Moon shap'd in her Sleir, with a square Tuck. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xxvii, He's built like a Dutch schuyt, great breadth of beam, and very square tuck. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 157 The tuck, the aft-part of the ship where the ends of the planks of the bottom are terminated by the tuck-rail. |
3. Fishing. Short for tuck-net.
| 1602 Carew Cornwall i. 30 The Tucke..is narrower meashed, and..with a long bunt in the midst. 1865 Couch Fishes Brit. Islands IV. 91 To take up the fish [pilchards]..the principal sean is left undisturbed, while the volyer passes within the enclosure and lays its sean, termed the Tuck, round the former on the inner side; and then the latter is drawn together so as gradually to contract the space and raise the fish to the surface. |
4. A pluck, twitch, pull, tug; in quot. 1648 referring to the ‘tucking’ of freshmen at Oxford: see tuck v.1 4 b. Now only dial.
| 1648 Wood Life 15 Feb. (O.H.S) I. 139 Nothing was given him but salted drink..with tucks to boot. 1805 A. Scott Poems 105 (Jam.) Whan thou had fairly pass'd the clips, An' a' the taylor's tukes an' nips. 1887 Suppl. to Jamieson, Took, touk, towk, a tug, pluck, pull: ‘He gied her sleeve a bit took’. |
5. a. The thrusting in of the ends or edges of anything so as to secure them in position. Also with in.
| 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiii, She ever and anon came to the bedside, and smoothed and arranged something about the bed-clothes, and gave a tuck here and there. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. ii, The sentinel smartly giving his rolled shirt-sleeves an extra tuck on the shoulders. 1900 Daily Mail 5 Feb. 7/1 The guimpe or tiny tuck-in chemisette. |
b. A flap on one cover of a book, which folds over and is tucked in a band or the like on the other cover, serving to keep the book closed.
| 1880 Print. Trades Jrnl. No. 32. 30 A double tuck, rendering a clasp of any description unnecessary. 1893 [see tuck-cover in 9]. |
6. a. slang. Usually tuck-out (also tuck-in): A hearty meal; esp. in school use, a feast of delicacies, a ‘blow-out’.
| 1823 in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. 232 He, being inclined for a tuck out, repaired where he was likely to meet with oysters. 1836 E. Howard R. Reefer xxxviii, Tell my steward to give them a good tuck-out and a glass of grog. 1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. xv, We meant to save all our money for the tuck. 1856 F. E. Paget Owlet Owlst. 172, I was at the dessert; and a jolly good tuck I had, besides. 1886 T. Hardy Mayor Casterbr. ix, We will have a solid, staunch tuck-in. |
b. Food, eatables; esp. delicacies, as sweet-stuff, pastry, jam, etc. (School slang). Cf. tucker n.1 6.
| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown ii. v, The Slogger looks rather sodden, as if he didn't take much exercise and ate too much tuck. 1860 Tylor Anahuac viii. (1861) 210 Ten or twelve of these little bowls on the table, each with a different kind of ‘tuck’ in it. 1899 E. Phillpotts Human Boy iv. ii. 93 [He spoke] regretfully, as though he was being robbed of tuck. |
c. A hearty appetite for food. dial.
| 1838 Holloway Dict. Provincialisms s.v., ‘He has a pretty good Tuck of his own’, means that a man is a great eater. Hants. Sussex. 1847–78 Halliwell, Tuck (1) to eat. Also, an appetite. |
7. Phrases. † a. ducks and tucks (of uncertain meaning). Obs.
| 1598 R. Barckley Felic. Man (1631) 621 Covet not to win estimation..by..Frierly ducks, and such like Italian and Spanish tricks and tuckes. 1609 E. Hoby Let. to T. H[iggons] 106 margin, Leaue your ducks and your tuckes, and your apish toies, and serue God in spirit and truth. |
b. nip and tuck: see nip n.1 6.
8. In diving, gymnastics, etc., (the adoption of) a tuck position (see sense 9 below). Also, in downhill skiing, a squatting position (see quot. 1976).
| 1951 Swimming (Eng. Schools Swimming Assoc.) v. 81 The seat is drawn up and the head dropped slightly forward on the tuck, causing the body to spin. 1956 Kunzle & Thomas Freestanding vi. 81 The tuck and open out, as in the backward somersault, should be sharp and distinct movements. 1964 Trampolining (‘Know the Game’ Series) 31/1 It is better to learn the action slowly and then the tuck can be added later for effect and for faster rotation. 1976 Webster's Sports Dict. 464/1 Tuck.., a position in which the skier squats forward and holds his ski poles under his arms and parallel to the ground that is usually used to minimize wind resistance in downhill racing. 1981 ‘E. Lathen’ Going for Gold xvii. 186 There was..no discontinuity between being earthborne and airborne, no jerking resolution of the hunched-over tuck into the aerial float high over the heads of the spectators. Ibid. xxi. 232 Tilly..hunched into the tightest tuck that Dick had ever seen, increased her speed to flat-out downhill velocity. |
9. attrib. and Comb. (some f. the verb-stem): tuck-basket, a basket used in dipping the fish from the tuck-net; tuck-boat, in seine-fishing, a boat which carries the tuck-net; tuck box, a box for storing eatables etc., esp. at a boarding-school (see sense 6); tuck-comb U.S. = tucking-comb s.v. tucking vbl. n.1 5; tuck-cover (see 5 b); tuck-creaser, tuck-folder, an attachment in a sewing-machine which marks the line of, or folds down, the next tuck in readiness for stitching (Knight Dict. Mech. 1877); † tuck-hole, a hole in a ploughshare by means of which it is hooked to the beam (cf. tuck v.1 8, quot. 1733); tuck-hunter, one in search of a feast; tuck-joint, a joint in tuck-pointing (see tuck-point); tuck-marker = tuck-creaser; tuck-plate, in an iron ship, a curved plate of the hull at the point where the stern-post is bolted to the transom-frame: cf. sense 2; tuck position, in diving, gymnastics, etc., a position in which the thighs are pulled close to the chest, the knees bent, and the hands clasped round the shins; tuck-rail: see quot.; tuck-seine = tuck-net; tuck-stitch, a stitch used in making a tuck; also attrib.; so tuck-stitched a. Also tuck-mill, -net, -point, -shop.
| 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. (ed. 4) 127 *Tuck basket for taking fish out of seine. |
| 1855 J. R. Leifchild Cornwall Mines 15 The ‘*tuck boat then makes the inner circuit of the ‘seine’, the smaller net being dropped overboard as she goes. |
| 1934 I. W. Hutchison North to Rime-Ringed Sun xviii. 207 *Tuck-boxes were then opened and supper cooked and demolished. 1978 G. Greene Human Factor ii. ii. 70, I used to steal out at night from my dormitory and take him tins of sardines from my tuck-box. |
| 1824 *Tuck comb [see side-comb]. 1870 E. Eggleston Queer Stories viii. 63 Sukey's way of doing up her hair in a great knot, behind, with an old-fashioned tuck comb. |
| 1893 Westm. Gaz. 24 June 7/2 With *tuck cover (like pocket-book), and flap and pencil. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. Pl. v. 40 Heel to *tuck hole of share—2 ft. 6½ in... Tuck hole to point of share—81/3 in. |
| 1840 A. Bunn Stage I. xii. 295 Nothing can stop the mouth of a *tuck-hunter. |
| 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. iv. 226 Rough arches..finished off with..a ‘*tuck joint’. This consists in marking the divisions by a neatly raised line of fine white plaster. |
| 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., *Tuck-marker,..also known as a tuck-creaser, for making a crease on goods as a guide for width in making the next fold. |
| 1931 Morning Post 7 Aug. 14/2 All you have to do is hang on to your ‘*tuck’, or ‘balled-up’ position a little longer. 1964 Trampolining (‘Know the Game’ Series) 32/2 Allow knees to bend to give a loose tuck position here and this helps to speed rotation. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XVII. 864/1 In the tuck position, the body is gathered tightly into a ball with the hands grasping the shins firmly. |
| c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 157 *Tuck-rail, the rail which..forms a rabbet for the purpose of caulking the butt ends of the planks of the bottom [see sense 2]. |
| 1825 Encycl. Lond. XX. 435/1 [In pilchard fishing] three boats belong to each sean; the first and largest is called the sean⁓boat... The next boat is called the vollier (follower).., and carries another sean, called the *tuck-sean, which is about 100 fathoms long, and 18 deep... The third boat is called the lurker. 1874 [see seine n.1 β]. |
| 1926 J. Chamberlain Hosiery, Yarns & Fabrics vi. 121 The *tuck-stitch is a defect in the plain fabric, but if produced systematically, forms many classes of designs. 1971 Guardian 7 Sept. 9/1 Tuck-stitch slipover vest in lambswool. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 171 In *tuckstitched shirt sleeves. |
▪ II. tuck, n.2 arch. and dial. Chiefly Sc. (tuk).
(tʌk)
Forms: 5 tuk, 6 tuicke, 6–9 touk, 8 tuke, 8–9 took, 6– tuck.
[f. tuck v.2: cf. Pr. toco, It. tocco ‘a stroke or knock, also a stroke of a bell or clocke’, f. toccare ‘to touch, hit, to smite, strike’ (Florio).]
† 1. A blast of a trumpet. Obs. rare—1.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 7107 With the tuk of a trump, all his tore knightes He assemblit full sone. |
2. A blow, a stroke, a tap; esp. in tuck of drum.
| a 1500 Battle of Harlaw xv. in Sel. Coll. Sc. Ballads (1790) III. 17 With trumpets and with tuicke of drum. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. iv. 119 Hercules it smyttis wyth a mychty touk Apon the richt half, for to mak it jouk. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 23 Within eight days efter intimatione be maid thairof, aither at the severall merkat crocess, or by touk of drume, or by advertisement. 1710 Ruddiman Douglas' æneis Gloss., Touk, stroak, blow,..a touch, pull; as to take a touk of any thing, i.e. have a touch at it. 1761 in St. Andrews Citizen 21 Mar. (1903), Published through the city by took of drum. 1818 Scott Hrt Midl. xii, An open convocating of the king's lieges..by touk of drum. 1891 N.W. Devon Gloss., Tuck, a blow. |
b. fig. or allusively.
| 1825 Carlyle Schiller App. (1845) 259 Schubart was happy to evacuate Munich without tuck of drum. 1878 Stevenson Inland Voy. 85 Wherever death..sounds his own potent tuck upon the cannons. |
† 3. (?) A kiss. Obs. rare.
| 1611 Cotgr., Bouquer, to take, or giue a tucke, or kisse. |
▪ III. tuck, n.3 arch.
(tʌk)
Forms: 6 toke, tocke, touke, Sc. towk, 6–7 tucke, (7 took, touk, tuke), 7– tuck.
[app. ad. F. estoc in same sense, in OF. and Norm. dial. étoc = Pr. estoc, It. stocco, ad. Ger. stock stick.]
A slender, pointed, straight, thrusting sword; a rapier. Also transf. and fig.
| 1508 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. IV. 122 Item for gilting and grathing of the lang towk,..iiij li. 1525 Rutland MSS. (1905) IV. 267 For the delyverance of a toke to my Lorde, xxd. c 1526 Harl. MS. 4217 lf. 10 A longe Tocke iij square, the hafte of siluer. 1553 Will of H. Cornish (MS.), A gilte saddell..a touke, a dagger, stirropes spurres and a handgoune. 1566 Drant Horace, Sat. i. A j b, The Tucke, the targe, the sheilde. 1625 Darcie Hist. Eliz. iii. 223 To fight..in Duels, with a Rapier called a Tucke, onely for the thrust. 1647–8 Sir C. Cotterell Davila's Hist. Fr. (1678) 25 Running him into the Visor with his Tuck. 1683 Sir J. Turner Pallas Armata 176 Long Rapiers and Touks. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 91/2 A Tuck [is] a four square Blade. a 1699 A. Halkett Autobiog. (1875) 63 Run through the body with a tuke. 1707 J. Stevens tr. Quevedo's Com. Wks. (1709) 176 My Sword..was a stiff Tuck. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) II. 880/1 He appeared with a tuck, such as is used by robbers. 1826 Scott Woodst. i, He wore..a tuck, as it was then called, or rapier. 1885 Harper's Mag. Mar. 656/1 The..‘tuck’ or ‘rapier’ has been refined into the épée or duelling sword. |
b. attrib. and Comb., as tuck-sheath; tuck-cane, a cane in which a tuck or rapier is carried, serving as a sheath; a sword-cane; tuck-fish: see quot.; tuck-stick = tuck-cane.
| 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 160, I had a *tuck Cane in my hand. 1785 J. Trusler Mod. Times II. 18, I..never went out afterwards, but with a tuck cane and a brace of pistols loaded. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. v. i. 86 The Head of the *Tuck-Fish... The Snout is not so flat as in the Rapier-fish, but thicker and rounder, more like a Tuck, from whence I take leave to name it. |
| 1506–7 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. III. 250 Tua *towk schethis. |
| 1765 Lond. Chron. 19 Dec. 588 The master run the apprentice through the body with a *tuck-stick, which killed him. |
▪ IV. tuck, v.1
(tʌk)
Forms: α. 1 t{uacu}cian, t{uacu}ciᵹan; 3–5 tuke, 4 touk, 5 touke, 5–6 toke, 7 Sc. towk. β. 5 tokke, 5–6 tukke, tuk, 6–7 tucke, 5– tuck.
[The forms of this verb fall into two distinct groups; the development of the senses also offers difficulties. The α-forms (with long vowel or diphthong) belong to senses 1 and 2 and the earlier quots. under 3; the β-forms (with short vowel) to the rest of sense 3 and all the other senses, beginning in 14th c. in senses 4, 7, and occurring in 15th c. in sense 6 (and in one or two later instances in sense 2). The latter appear to correspond to MLG. tucken, tocken to draw, pull sharply or forcibly, MDu. tocken, tucken, OHG. zocchôn, zucchen to move or remove with a jerk, snatch away, pluck, pull, mod.Ger. zucken to jerk, tuck, tug, das schwert zücken, to draw the sword. The shortening of the ū in OE. t{uacu}cian, early ME. tuke, etc. to u (ʌ) in tuck is notable, but is paralleled by that of OE. s{uacu}can to suck; cf. also duck v. from ME. dūke(n.]
† 1. a. trans. To afflict by way of punishment; to punish, chastise; to ill-treat, torment. Obs.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxviii. §7 Lustlice hi woldon lætan þa rican hi tucian æfter hiora aᵹnum willan. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xxiv. 60 Unrihtwise eorðan cyningas..ðe þis weriᵹe folc wyrst tuciað. c 1000 ælfric Judg. xv. 8 He..heora fela ofsloh and to sceame tucode. c 1000 ― Saints' Lives xxiii. 715 Swingan and to ealre sorᵹe tuciᵹan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 21 His heued [was] heled mid þornene crune and on fele wise [he was] rewliche tuked. a 1225 Ancr. R. 366 He..was..so scheomeliche ituked. c 1230 Hali Meid. 17 Leccherie..tukeð hire [maidenhood] al to wundre & þreat to done hire schome. |
b. intr. Obs.
| a 1250 Owl & Night. 63 Þu tukest wroþe & vuele Hwar þu myht ouer smale vowele. |
† 2. fig. To reprove, check, rebuke, find fault with; to upbraid, reproach. Obs.
In quot. 1584 with up (but sense doubtful).
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 550 He tukeð ure godes to balewe & to bismere. a 1225 Ancr. R. 316 Þet is tocne of hatunge þet men tukeð to wundre þet þing þet me hateð swuðe. 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus ii. 99 The vassals hauing ended their speeche, Protheus turned hymselfe to Alexander, and tucked hym vp with thys rounde tale. 1600 in Maitland Club Misc. (1843) III. 102 Towking outragious countenance. 1616 Orkney Witch Trial in Rogers Soc. Life Scot. (1886) III. 298 She haid tuckit him and given him mony injurious wordis. 1651 R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1841) III. 163 His brother Adam Wilson towks him, calling him a fool and bidding him desist. |
3. To dress or finish (cloth) after it comes from the weaver, esp. to stretch on tenters; cf. tucker n.1 1; also intr. to work as a tucker. Now local.
| α [1273: implied in tucker n.1 1.] 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 447 Cloth þat cometh fro þe weuyng is nouȝt comly to were, Tyl it is fulled vnder fote or in fullyng stokkes, Wasshen wel with water and with taseles cracched, Ytouked, and ytented. 1459 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 300 It was ordayned that no woman sholde touke in no manere place aforstrete within the saide citie. 1467–8 Rolls of Parlt. V. 621/2 Yef..the seid Cloth [were] toked and fulled within this your Reame, your Highnes shuld have the Custume and Awnage for the same. 1513–14 Act 5 Hen. VIII, c. 2 Noo person make noo such Clothys..to sell without that he be whan he is rawe redy to be tokyd of the brede of a yerde and half quarter. |
| β 1621 in Harding Hist. Tiverton (1817) II. 181 Not..white weavers or tuckers that make white kersies, but..such as weave and tuck upon coloured mixed kerseys. 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. II. 34 A mill for milling, tucking, &c. broad cloths. 1837 Whittock, etc. Bk. Trades (1842) 255 After the process of fulling and dyeing, the dressed cloths are..pricked on the tenter hooks and stretched to their utmost bearing... This is considered as tucking, in the west of England. 1882 Jago Cornw. Gloss., Tucking, working in a fulling-mill. |
4. a. † To tug at; to snatch, pluck, pull; to gather (herbs, fruit, etc.) (obs.); now spec. to pluck or pull the loose hay from the sides of (a new rick) (dial.).
| 13.. K. Alis. 2305 (Bodl. MS.), Als he hit [his weapon] tukked [v.r. toggid], out to habbe, Philot hym ȝaf anothere dabbe. 1625 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron iii. iii. 125 They held it unlawfull, to roste an apple, to tucke an herbe, to climbe a tree, to kill or catch a flea. 1658 tr. Porta's Nat. Magic iv. xi. 136 You must tuck them off the Tree with your hand. 1658 [see tucker n.1 2]. 1794 P. Foot Agric. Middlesex 57 The hay-farmer pays great attention to have the stack well tucked and thatched. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v., Now, Bob, don't bethink thy vingers, tuck'n in tight, mind—i.e. pull it out until you get to the solid mass. |
† b. See quot. 1647. Obs.
| c 1640 Shaftesbury in Remin. Oxford (O.H.S.) 37, I caused that ill custom of tucking freshmen [at Oxford] to be left off. 1647 Wood Life Dec. (O.H.S.) I. 134 If any of the freshmen came off dull, or not cleverly, some of the forward or pragmatical seniors would ‘tuck’ them, that is, set the nail of their thumb to their chin, just under the lower lipp, and by the help of their other fingers under the chin, they would give him a mark, which sometimes would produce blood. |
5. Fishing. To take the fish from (the seine) by means of a tuck-net; also with the fish as object.
| 1785 Act 26 Geo. III, c. 26 §11 (Cod fishing) It shall not be lawful.. to use..any Sean or Net..for the Purpose of catching Cod Fish by hauling such Sean or Net on Shore, or tucking such Sean or Net into any Boat or Boats, the Scale or Mesh of which said Sean or Net shall be less in Dimension than Four Inches. 1857 Morning Chron. 28 Aug. (Cassell's), 185 hogsheads [of pilchards] were tucked on Sunday. 1866 Standard 3 Oct. 3/4 All these [i.e. seines] have enclosed fish, which are being tucked, and many thousands of hogsheads are expected to be landed. 1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 254/2 ‘Tucking’ the fish..is performed with the tuck-sean,..and as it is hauled in, the foot of the bunt is raised so as to bring the fish to the surface, whence they are dipped out in large baskets and put into attendant boats to be carried on shore. |
6. a. To pull or gather up in a fold or folds; to fold or turn up; esp. to gird up (a garment, etc.). Usually const. up.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 504/2 Tukkyn vp, or stykkyn vp (K. tuckyn or stychyn up clothis),..suffarcino. 1513 Douglas æneis v. x. 21 Thair haris all war tukkit wp on thar croun. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §151 Theyr cotes be so syde [= long] that they be fayne to tucke them vp whan they ryde. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. ix. 21 Her well-plighted frock, which she did won To tucke about her short when she did ryde. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 156 They are tuck'd aside, that the Diamonds may not be covered. 1756 M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Cl.) 218 All the Capucines..were marching in sixes and sevens with their gowns tucked up, great fat carles. 1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 479/1 The intestines are..tucked up into folds and sacs. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop iii, He tucked up his sleeves and squared his elbows. 1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths I. 77 The stout north countrywoman tucked up her petticoats, and began to climb up the steep path with a will. 1885 Cornh. Mag. Mar. 283 Priests sitting with their legs tucked up tailor-wise, in the attitude of Buddha. |
b. To put a tuck or tucks in; to shorten or ornament with tucks.
| 1626 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 181 Item for tuckeinge up the surples, xij d. 1709 [see tucked ppl. a. 1]. 1873 E. S. Phelps Trotty's Wedding Tour 126 She tucked the pantalets, darned the stockings. |
7. a. To pull or gather up and confine the loose garments of; to gird (a person) up. Chiefly in pa. pple. Now rare.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 982 (Dido) Saw ȝe..Onye of myne susteryn..I-tukkid [v.r. Itucked] vp with arwis in hire cas? c 1386 ― Sompn. T. 29 With scrippe and tipped staf, ytukked [v.rr. tucked, tukked, tokked] hye In euery hous, he gan to poure and prye. c 1440 Generydes 4397 Tokkyd vppe she [the queen] was well fro the grounde. c 1450 in Aungier Syon (1840) 342 Some of the brethren tukke the mynysters..in the begynnyng of masse, and also tuk the confessour whan he taketh the cope aboute the ende of the same masse. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 160/2 A pylgrym tucked and made redy for to goo hastely ouer see. 1558 T. Phaer æneid i. B j, Tukt she was that naked was her knee. 1566 Drant Horace, Sat. viii. D viij b, Bare foote, hyr lockes about her heade, ytuckde in pukishe frocke. 1727 [see tucked ppl. a. 1]. a 1801 Bloomfield Rural T., Rich. & Kate xi, Who, snug tuck't up, walk'd slow behind. 1841 J. W. Orderson Creol. ix. 96 She was..‘tucked up’, in the indecorous manner of those days. |
b. To shorten or short-coat (an infant). Usually with up. dial.
| 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v., I was a⁓frightened to zee the cheel a-tuck'd up a' ready. 1901 E. Phillpotts Striking Hours 135 Afore I was tucked-up, or, as you might say, ‘short-coated’, her went..down to Cornwall. a 1905 in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., Tuck it in May, Tuck it away. |
c. fig. To cramp or hamper by lack of space, time, or means. See also tucked ppl. a. 2 c.
| 1886 Field 13 Feb. 179/3 They [fox-hunters] have been playing the old game of skirting, eventually to find them⁓selves fairly tucked up by wire-fencing. 1887 [see tucked ppl. a. 2 c]. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer xxvii, In England you have your bad seasons..; and the poor man..gets tucked up a bit. |
8. To thrust or put away (an object) into a close place where it is snugly held or concealed. Freq. with away; also fig., esp. to hit (a ball) to the desired place.
| 1587 Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 195 Shee tuckt it [the head] in her apron close. 1621–3 Middleton & Rowley Changeling iv. i, Folio forty-five, here 'tis, The leaf tuck'd down upon it. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 164 ¶6, To carry Pistols about me, which I have always tuck'd within my Girdle. 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 321 The Sharr also is tuck'd up to the Beam by an Iron-hook. 1781 Cowper Truth 147 The shivering urchin..Carries her Bible tucked beneath his arm. 1861 Geo. Eliot Silas M. i, Finding the well-known bag, empty, tucked behind the chest of drawers. 1874 Burnand My time xxxii. 329 He tucked his wife's arm under his own. 1912 W. B. Selbie Nonconformity xii. 225 The little old meeting-houses tucked away in back streets gave place to large and commodious buildings. 1936 J. Buchan Island of Sheep v. 99 My first business must be to tuck him away comfortably somewhere out of the road. 1958 Observer 6 July 24/4 There was greater punch in Miss Gibson's game once she had the first set safely tucked away. 1959 Times 29 May 4/6 His low forehand, as he tucks the ball away, is a special weapon of execution. 1966 Listener 12 May 702/3 What a pity that it should be tucked away into that most unlikely of all listening hours, the end of a Saturday evening. 1977 Times 7 Feb. 7/3 Tueart..outpaced a scattered defence and efficiently tucked away a rebound after Shilton had superbly blocked his first attempt. |
9. a. To thrust in the edge or end of (anything pendent or loose) so as to retain or confine it; now esp. to turn in the edges of (bed-coverings or the like) under the bed or its occupant. With various advbs., esp. in, up.
| 1635 Quarles Embl. iii. ix. 37 Snares tuck thy bed. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. xii. 327 They gather it in their Hands,..tucking in the twisted part between their Waste and the edge of the Petticoat, which keeps it close. 1746 Jameson in A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (1880) 83 Tucking his shirt under the waistcoat, that it might not obstruct the blow. 1843 Sir C. Scudamore Med. Visit Gräfenberg 102 Early in the morning, the bed-clothes were tucked up tight about him, so as to retain the animal heat. 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. iii, A nymph that can tuck my bed-clothes up. 1905 E. Glyn Viciss. Evang. 169 Mr. Carruthers..tucked his sable rug round me. |
b. With the person as object. Also fig.
| 1692 Locke Educ. §22 To have his Maid tuck him in warm. 1739 ‘R. Bull’ tr. Dedekindus' Grobianus 225 The Muse would willingly..tuck you in, and then put out the Light. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas vii. xvi. ¶4 The nurse forced me under the bedclothes again, and tucked me up. 1854 Emerson Lett. & Soc. Aims, Resources Wks. (Bohn) III. 199 Nature keeps the lakes warm by tucking them up under a blanket of ice. |
c. intr. To draw together, contract, pucker.
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVIII. 102/2 When an ulcer becomes foul,..the edges of it, in process of time, tuck in. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 834 Another symptom..is a tucking-up of one or both of the upper lids. |
10. slang. a. trans. To consume, swallow (food or drink); to ‘put away’, ‘put out of sight’.
| 1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 191 We will dine together; tuck up a bottle or two of claret. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xi, Now that I've cured you, you'll be tucking all that into your own little breadbasket. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg., House-warming, The strawberries..Which our Grandmother's Uncle tuck'd in like a pig. 1861 Holland Less. Life xii. 144 Let's go over and see if we can't tuck away some of that grub. |
b. intr. To feed heartily or greedily; esp. with in, into.
| 1810 [see tucking vbl. n.1 4]. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxxix, If you'll just let little Wackford tuck into something fat. 1860 Thackeray Round. Papers vii, There is Rasherwell ‘tucking’ away in the coffee-room. 1887 Edna Lyall Knight-Errant xv. (1889) 129 Always in at dinner-time and to be found at odd hours tucking in. |
† c. trans. To distend with food; to fill out. Obs. rare—1.
| 1824 in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1825) 304 He had been ‘Taking his ease in his inn’,..and feeling himself comfortably tucked out, he wished to bolt. |
11. a. slang. To hang (a criminal); usually with up.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Tuck't, Hang'd. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art Conversation 231, I expect..to see him tucked up to a Gibbet. 1755 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) III. 142 Poor Fanny! I always thought she would play till she would be forced to tuck herself up! 1825–9 Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor V. xxix. 100, I wish some one had tucked him up before he had made acquaintance with this house. |
b. To hang (a bell) high in the stock.
| 1860 Beckett Clocks, Watches, etc. (ed. 4) 424 A large bell may be tolled easily by one man, if it is properly hung, though not if it is ‘tucked up in the stock’. |
12. = tuck-point v.
| 1803 Usef. Proj. in Ann. Reg. 829/2 Tucking and pointing all stone and brick works that require proof against water and damp. |
▪ V. tuck, v.2 Now dial. Chiefly Sc. (tuk).
(tʌk)
Forms: 4–5 tukke, 5 tuke, 5–7 touk, 6 tuik, 7 touck, -e, towke, 9 took, towk, 7– tuck.
[a. ONF. toker, toquer, touker (a 1400 in Godef. Compl.) to touch, strike, northern form of toucher to touch, = Prov., Sp., Pg. tocar, It. toccare ‘to touch, hit, to smite, strike’ (Florio): cf. also tocsin.]
1. trans. and intr. To touch (rare); to beat the drum; also intr. of a drum: To sound.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1414, & ay þe nakeryn noyse, notes of pipes, Tymbres & tabornes, tukket [MS. tulket] among. a 1400–50 Alexander 2427 Þe Tebies tukkid [MSS. tulkid, -yd] vs with tene, a-tired þam in armes. a 1500 Battle of Harlaw xviii. in Sel. Coll. Sc. Ballads (1790) III. 17 The trumpet sounds, The dandring drums aloud did tuik. 1629 Reg. Privy Council Scot. Ser. ii. III. 5 The said James..caused ring the kirk bell and towke thair drwm. 1642 Burgh Rec. Glasgow 12 Feb. (1876) 437 Ordains the drummers to touk throughe the toun. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1850) I. 202 Trvmpettis soundis and drumis tovkis. 1887 Suppl. to Jamieson, Took, touk, towk, to strike, beat, blow, tuck; as, ‘to took the drum’. |
† 2. trans. To sound a blast on (a trumpet); to blow up. Obs. rare.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 773 With þat þai tuke vp [v.r. tukkyn vp] þaire trompes. |
3. intr. Of the wind: To blow in gusts. dial.
| 1833 D. M'Kay in Rec. & Bards Angus & Mearns (1897) 301, I have wondered full oft as it [the hurricane] tookit and blew, If ever its sughin was leerie to you. 1893 Wiltshire Gloss. s.v., ‘The wind is so tucking to-day’, i.e. gusty, veering. |
▪ VI. † tuck, tucka, tucke
obs. ff. toque, in sense of ‘a kerchief worn on the head’, or ‘a turban’.
| 1505 in Facsimiles Nat. MSS. i. (1865) 92 And as to hir forehed, the heighte or the breid therof, we cowde not perfectly diserne, for the maner of the wereynge of the kerches or tuckas in that contry ys suche that a man can nott welle Iuge hit. 1553 A. Jenkinson Voy. & Trav. (Hakl. Soc.) I. 3 Vpon his head a goodly white tuck, containing in length by estimation fifteene yards. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. iv. 14 Vpon their heads they weare a certeine kinde of tucks or kerchiefe somewhat wrought with silke and gold thrid. |