▪ I. tug, n.
(tʌg)
Forms: see tug v.; also 5 teug.
[f. tug v.]
1. An act or the action of tugging; a forcible or violent pull; a severe strain or drag.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxiii. 81 The tarsall gaif him tug for tug. 1635 Quarles Embl. iv. iii. 28 The idle vessell slides that watry lay, Without the blast, or tug, of wind, or Oare. 1697 Dryden æneid ix. 759 Downward by the feet he drew The trembling dastard: at the tug he falls. 1754 Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. (1861) III. 307 Lady Harriet had a tooth drawn by Rutter,..and he gave three tugs before he got it out! 1815 Hist. J. Decastro IV. 111 The door stuck to the posts so fast that I was forced to take three or four good tugs at it before it would come open. 1886 Fenn Master of Cerem. xiv, Morton felt a tug at his line. |
2. † Labour, toil (
obs. rare);
esp. a determined effort to accomplish or attain something; a hard try; a struggle; a ‘go’.
| 1504 Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 191 It ryseth on my owne mynd to give over grett tuggs of husbandry which I had, and take me to lesse charge. 1673 Ld. Conway in Essex Papers (Camden) I. 141, I shall yet have a tug for the M{supr} of the Ordnance place. 1764 Mem. G. Psalmanazar 84, I..found it a very hard tug to keep up my credit. 1856 Bryant Autumn Woods xii, The vain low strife That makes men mad—the tug for wealth and power. |
3. a. A strenuous contest between two forces or persons.
| 1660 Gower in 5th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. (1876) 204/1 The only tug is between Episcopacy and Presbytery. 1830 Scott Demonol. i. 11 Amid the mortal tug of combat. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. viii. 269 On this day..William began that career of..good fortune in the mere tug of battle. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 8 Dec. 2/3 The tug of will between the overbearing Kaiser and his hitherto subservient people. |
b. tug of war. (
a) The decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy. (
b) An athletic contest between two teams who haul at the opposite ends of a rope, each trying to drag the other over a line marked between them. Also
attrib.| 1677 N. Lee Alex. Gt. iv. ii, When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war. 1822 Byron Juan viii. li, At last [the mob] takes to weapons..Then comes ‘the tug of war’. 1876 World V. No. 108. 13 The tug of war..was the most popular item in Saturday's entertainment. 1893 E. H. Barker Wand. Southern Waters 263 He [the devil] therefore lost no time in entering upon a tug-of-war with the saintly interloper. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 6 June 7/1 Their tug-of-war team pulled over two teams of British Tommies. |
c. tug of love, a conflict of affections;
spec. a contest for custody of a minor; also (with hyphens)
attrib. Perh.
infl. by the title of a comedy ‘The Tug of Love’ by I. Zangwill (1907).
| 1973 Times 9 Nov. 20/7 The Houghton committee was set up after some highly-publicized ‘tug of love’ cases, and recommended making it easier for long-term foster-parents..to adopt. 1977 Daily Mirror 21 Mar. 13/1 Back home in the arms of her mother, a tiny tug-of-love girl sleeps peacefully. The girl..had been taken to California after being snatched by her father. 1984 Times 12 Oct. 2/2 ‘Tug of love’ cases where a child is seized by one parent from another. |
4. In harness:
a. (Chiefly
pl.) A pair of short chains attached to the hames, by which the collar is connected with the shafts.
b. A trace.
c. A short strap sewn on various parts of the harness and serving to keep it in position; also (
pl.) the loops of the back-strap which support the shafts.
d. A metal stud or pin on the shaft to prevent it running too far forward through the loops of the back-strap.
e. See
quot. 1844. Also
locally applied to other parts of harness: see
quot. 1888.
| [c 1250 MS. Barlow 49 (2) lf. 16 In carucis..emendandis... In iugis et tuggis ad idem emptis ix. d.] 1417–18 in Archæol. Jrnl. (1881) XXXVIII. 78 Item in vij Teugys, xij d. 1481–3 Acc. Exch. K.R. File 496 No. 26 Tuggis et hamis. 1497 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 96 Tugges for horsharnesse, ij baskettes. 1562 W. Bullein Bulwark, Dial. Soarnes & Chir. 7 b, Banishe them from Chyrurgi, commende them to the Carte. To the flaile and the rake, the trace and the togge. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiii. (Arb.) 281 Which word tugge..signifieth the pull or draught of the oxen or horses, and therefore the leathers that beare the chiefe stresse of the draught, the cartars call them tugges. 1786 Burns To Auld Mare xi, Thou was a noble fittie-lan’, As e'er in tug or tow was drawn! 1794 W. Felton Carriages (1801) II. x. 134 Tugs to hold up the traces. Ibid. 135 The hipstrap..buckles to the tugs of the breeching to hold it up. Ibid. 147 In the middle [of each of a pair of hames] other loops are hung, to which the tugs for the draught are fixed. 1808–18 Jamieson, Tug, raw-hide, of which formerly plough-traces were made. 1844 Stephens Bk. Farm II. 695 The pace of the old horse should be subdued..by the rein and tug; which the short reins are called, that pass from the head of one horse to the collar of the other. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 4708, The collars, hames, and tugs are suited to give the horse the least fatigue in drawing the vehicle. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Tug,..the hook or other iron on the carriage, or on the whipple-tree, to which the trace is attached... The end of the leather trace at the part where it is attached to the vehicle... A loose loop buckled round the shaft, to which (when used) is fastened the kicking-strap. |
f. Mining. The iron hoop of a corf or hoisting bucket.
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Tug,..a hoop of iron to hold a tackle. 1877 in Knight Dict. Mech. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Tug (Derb.), the iron hook of a hoisting bucket, to which the tacklers are attached. |
g. A rope.
U.S.| 1805 M. Lewis Jrnl. in Lewis & Clark Exped. (1904) I. 369 The white perogue..[was] refitted in a few minutes with some tugs of raw hides and nales. 1852 H. C. Watson Nights in Block-House 445 They took a strong tug, made from the raw hide of the buffalo or elk. 1910 W. M. Raine B. O'Connor xiv. 216 He stopped as if to fasten a tug. |
5. A timber-wagon.
south. and
east. dial.| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Tug,..a Country-Word for a Waggon to carry Timber. 1724 De Foe Tour Gt. Brit. I. 59, I have seen one tree on a carriage which they call here [Lewes] a tug, drawn by two and twenty oxen. 1791 Gilpin Forest Scenery i. 116 A sort of wain, which in that deep country [Sussex], is expressively called a tugg. 1829 Hor. Smith New Forest I. i. 3 A timber-wain, in Hampshire called a tug. |
6. a. A small, stoutly built, and powerful steamer used to tow other vessels; a tug-boat.
| 1817 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 101 This vessel,..appropriately named the Tug, is meant to track ten other vessels... The utility of the Tug is not confined to tracking. 1840 Evid. Hull Docks Comm. 73 You use the tug to tow them from the harbour. 1908 [Miss Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 12 The smoke of a tug drawing vessels. |
b. Any other towing craft or vehicle,
spec. (
a)
= tug aircraft below; (
b) a tractor used to tow aircraft on the ground or unpowered road vehicles.
| 1942 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLVI. 7 Aircraft towing as a method for launching high-performance gliders is a relatively recent development. Up till now, no specially designed aircraft ‘tug’ has become available. 1945 Amer. Speech XX. 227/2 Tug, a four- or six-wheeled tractor used for towing planes on the ground or for towing warehouse trailers. 1960 Times Rev. Industry Nov. 20/3 A..tractor can be a tug for two..vans. 1981 Times 14 Dec. 22/8 Tugs could not move the big jets because of ice. |
7. Phrases.
† to hold tug, (also
hold a tug),
to hold one tug, to keep one strenuously occupied, or fully engaged;
in tug,
† upon a tug, in conflict or contest (
with).
| 1577 Grange Golden Aphrod. I iv, Whiche twoo pretie poyntes [for discussion] helde them tugge with hard holde vntill..aboute dinner tyme. 1659 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 317 The debate held such tug that it was moved to adjourn. 1667 Wood Life 18 July (O.H.S.) II. 113 There was work enough..that would hold him tugg for a whole yeare. 1672 Westminster Drollery ii. 94 No Tankerd, Flaggon, Bottle, nor Jugg..so well can hold Tugg. 1681 R. L'Estrange Apol. Prot. iv. i. 99 The Popes were at that time upon a Tugg with the Emperor. 1700 Motteux Quix. i. iv. iv. II. 398 The Barber held tugg with her till the Curate advis'd him to return it. 1791 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) I. 355 Lafayete will hold a good tug, being as cunning as any body. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley xx, She had seen from the window Tartar in full tug with two carriers' dogs. |
8. [Perh. a different word.]
Public School slang. At Eton College, a student on the foundation, a colleger as distinguished from an oppidan. In wider use, a studious or academic type, a swot.
| 1864 Eton School Days ii. 21 That building on the right is Tuggery, where the Tug-Muttons live; you'll hate the Tugs like anything: all the Oppidans hate the Tugs. 1922 S. Leslie Oppidan iv. 48 Tugs or Scholars were separated from Oppidans by the same gulf that lay between Professionals and Gentlemen in the world of sport. 1976 R. Pound A. P. Herbert i. 23 In Wykehamist parlance, he was a ‘tug’, a clever chap, whose achievement was held worthier than any playing-field victory. 1977 A. J. Ayer Part of My Life ii. 34 Traditionally, the Oppidans despised the Collegers, who tended to come from a lower social stratum, and spoke of them as Tugs, because they were believed to engage in tugs of war for the few pieces of mutton which was all that they were given to eat. 1982 Barr & York Official Sloane Ranger Handbk. 71/1 Swots are weeds (at Eton: ‘tugs don't wash’). |
9. attrib. and
Comb.: in sense 6, as
tug-boat (whence
tug-boatman),
tug-captain,
tug-man,
tug-master,
tug-owner,
tug-service,
tug-steamer,
tug traffic; also
tug-like adj.;
tug aircraft, a powered aircraft used to tow a glider or train of gliders;
tug-boating U.S., working on a tug-boat;
tug-buckle, a trace-buckle;
tug-carrier, each of a pair of loops through which the tugs or traces pass (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1877);
tug-chain, a chain trace; also a short chain by which a leather trace is attached to the splinter-bar (
Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895);
tug-hole:
cf. sense 4 f;
tug-hook, a hook on the hame to which the trace is attached;
tug-iron: see
quot.;
† tug-mutton = sense 8 above;
tug pilot, the pilot of a tug aircraft;
tug-plate: see
quot.;
tug-rope Obs. exc. U.S., a trace of rope;
tug-slide, a tongueless trace-buckle:
cf. slide n. 6;
tug-spring, a spring connexion for traces to reduce the strain of starting a load;
tug-strap, a leather trace;
tug-whiting, a whiting caught by a handline (
Sc.). See also
tugwithe.
| 1931 Flight 26 June 578/2 The *tug aircraft, as it will probably be called. 1962 [see parachute aircraft s.v. parachute n. 5]. 1976 J. Colville Footprints in Time xxxiii. 185 Soon there were fleets of gliders too. As each was released over the river, its tug-aircraft turned steeply away for home. |
| 1832 Babbage Econ. Manuf. vi. (ed. 3) 44 A kind of *tug-boat for vessels which have occasion to ascend the rapid. 1860 Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 73 One ship was..waiting to be towed out by the tugboat. |
| 1941 E. P. O'Donnell Great Big Doorstep xxi. 310 If it wasn't for rain, I wooden have a job to hole down. You'd see me *tugboatin on the river or some kinda ordinary work. 1973 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. lx. 1 The coastal fringes are ideally suited to those who make their living from the sea—fishing, whaling.., boat⁓building, tugboating. |
| 1891 Daily News 3 Feb. 3/5 The *tug-boatmen who struck on Friday at Liverpool were still out yesterday. |
| 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 359 His foreman..says to me, ‘Give that *tug-buckle a file’. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 4686 Set of carriage harness, with improved tug buckles. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 26 May 4/3 A *tug captain from Limehouse was called by the police. |
| 1797 J. Curr Coal Viewer 18 Should the corves be made to draw by conductors, the chains..from the center of the *tug hole to the center of the ring that connects them, should measure 22½ inches. |
| 1417–18 in Archæol. Jrnl. (1881) XXXVIII. 78 Item in *Teughookys. vij d. |
| 1844 W. Barnes Poems Rur. Life Gloss., *Tugiron of shafts, an iron on the shafts [of a wagon] to hitch the traces to. |
| 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 155 Energetic people have certain advantages. Their *tuglike, unremitting habit of doing something keeps the machine going. |
| 1891 Scott. Leader 24 Jan. 6 Over 80 per cent. of the *tugmen at Liverpool have joined the Sailors' Union. |
| 1896 Pall Mall Mag. Nov. 386 The responsibilities and anxieties of a *tug-master. |
| 1864 *Tug-mutton [see sense 8 above]. |
| 1901 Westm. Gaz. 26 Aug. 5/2 They were *tug-owners, and worked the ferry between Hobbs's Point and the Neyland Ordnance Stores. |
| 1948 Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 197 *Tug pilot, the pilot of an aeroplane towing a glider. (Colloquial.) 1978 A. Welch Bk. of Airsports iii. 48/2 When experienced as a tug pilot, you will probably be given the occasional cross-country retrieve from a field or private airstrip. |
| 1794 W. Felton Carriages (1801) II. Gloss., *Tug Plate, a plate, fixed on the shafts, in which the tugs of a one horse harness is placed. |
| 1417–18 in Archæol. Jrnl. (1881) XXXVIII. 78 Item in cordis vocatis *Teugropis, viij{supd}. 1852 J. Reynolds Pioneer Hist. Illinois 236 They often pack their meat..by running a tug rope through each piece. 1891 Century Mag. Mar. 774/2 We began by eating the rawhide tug ropes and parfleches. |
| 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., *Tug-slide..*Tug-spring. |
| 1861 Wheat & Tares 252 *Tug steamers flashed hither and thither, panting and groaning with their heavy train of stone-laden barges. |
| 1882 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. s.v. Breast-strap, The breast-collar..at its rear ends receives the *tug-straps. |
| 1906 Daily Tel. 1 Feb., The Thames and London Rowing Clubs..have never complained of the general, business *tug-traffic. |
| a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1851) II. 174 About this tyme [1642], sum *tug-quhytinges [were] takin. |
Hence
ˈTuggery Eton College slang, the collegers' boarding-house; the position or status of a colleger.
| 1864 [see tug n. 8]. 1883 J. Brinsley-Richards Seven Yrs. at Eton xii. 112 [A boy] who had come from Aberdeen ‘to try for Tuggery’—that is, to try and pass on to the foundation as a King's scholar. |
▪ II. tug, n.2 Austral. slang (now
rare or
Obs.).
(
tʌg)
[Of unknown origin; perh. f. tug v.] A rogue or sharper; also, an uncouth or rowdy fellow, a larrikin.
| 1896 Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Apr. 17/4 Quite a number of bookies are migrating in view of the dull Australian winter tug-catching season. 1911 Ibid. 23 Nov. 13/4 Micko, from Collingwood, may be a ‘tug’ or a ‘crook’ or a ‘rough-up’. 1916 C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke v. 42 A tug named Tyball (cousin to the skirt). 1933 A. Reid Those were Days 55 So that chaps could know why a top-notch tug Can work ‘his’ ramps in a card-room snug. 1945 J. A. Allan Men & Manners in Australia 168 The Australian ‘larrakin’ or ‘tug’ is the counterpart of the English ‘hoodlum’ or ‘tough’. |
▪ III. tug, v. (
tʌg)
Forms: 3
toggen, 4–6
togge; (6
tog,
toug), 4–7
tugge, 5–8 (9
dial.)
tugg; 5–
tug.
[Early ME. togg-en, intensive from weak grade of *teuhan, tauh, tuᵹum, OE. téo(ha)n, téah, tuᵹon, toᵹen: see tee v.1] † 1. intr. To pull sportively, struggle amorously.
Obs. rare.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 424 Heo ne schulen cussen nenne mon,..ne toggen mid him, ne pleien. a 1225 St. Marher. 14 Wið plohe speche sputte to mare, swa longe þat ha tollið togederes ant toggið. |
2. To contend, strive in opposition. Now
rare.
| 14.. Tourn. Tottenham 199 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 91 Thus thai tuggut and thei ruggut til hit was nyȝt. a 1550 Dr. Doubble Ale 148 ibid. III. 311 The sexton and he truly Did tog by the eares earnestly. 1598 Mucedorus Epil. 28 Let us tugge, till one the mastrie winne. 1657 Burton's Diary (1828) II. 255, I..came away, and left them tugging upon that debate. 1693 Dryden Love Triumph. i. i, Fierce Ramirez, the Castilian king, Who tugged for empire with our warlike son. 1701 J. Sage Vind. Cyprianic Age Wks. 1847 II. 45, I have dared to tug a little with Gilbert Rule. 1807 J. Barlow Columb. iii. 602 Man tugs with man, and clubs with axes play. 1872 Le Fanu In a Glass Darkly III. 116 All her energies seemed strained to suppress a fit, with which she was then breathlessly tugging. |
† b. tug it out, to decide a matter by contest or debate; to ‘have it out’; also, to go through with a thing to the end.
Obs.| 1624 Heywood Captives i. ii. in Bullen O. Pl. IV, We'll tugge it out by the teeth. 1648 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 411 My Lord is resolved to go aboard this night and to tugge it out with any wind. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. iii. §1 This tough old man, being 70. yeares of age, took a Journey to Rome, there to tugg it out with his Adversaries. 1673 Hickeringill Greg. F. Greyb. 319 The great courage of Cæsar reviv'd the poor spirited man and made him tug it out. |
3. intr. To toil, labour, struggle; to go toilsomely, advance laboriously.
| 1619 Visct. Doncaster in Eng. & Germ. (Camden) 46, I came..to Cologne.. put myselfe into the boate..tugged up the river in five days to Francfort. 1634 Rainbow Labour 40 All for which you tugge thus diligently, shall perish. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 238 He was..deprived of all the Church lands..notwithstanding he tugged hard to keep some. 1719 Watts Hymn, ‘My drowsy pow'rs, why sleep ye so’ ii, The little ants for one poor grain Labour, and tug, and strive. 1860 Holland Miss Gilbert vi, To tug and tug all their lives to get money together. 1911 E. Sidgwick Le Gentleman x, He had..tugged up one great boulevard..and down another. |
† b. trans. To acquire by toil or exertion.
rare.
| 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. V cccxciii, The Soldier tumbles what the owner Tugg'd. |
c. To carry or convey (something ponderous) with difficulty or exertion; to lug, drag.
colloq.| 1710 Steele Tatler No. 231 ¶2 [He] then says to his Wife, Child, prithee take up the Saddle; which she readily did, and tugged it Home. |
4. trans. To pull at with force; to strain or haul at.
| 13.. K. Alis. 2305 He hit toggid [Bodl. MS. tukked] out to habbe. a 1375 Lay Folk's Mass Bk. App. iv. 314 Wiþ his teeþ he gon hit togge. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 495/2 Toggyn, or drawyn.., tractulo. 1513 More Rich. III (1883) 85 His here in despite torn and togged lyke a cur dogge. 1671 Milton Samson 1650 Those two massie Pillars..He tugg'd, he shook, till down they came. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 153 In vain the Milk-maid tugs an empty Teat. 1711 Gay Rural Sports i. 154 He greedily sucks in the twining bait, And tugs and nibbles the fallacious meat. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvi. III. 649 Each oar was tugged by five or six slaves. |
† b. To pull about roughly; to touse, to maul.
| 1493 Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 102 b, His neyghbours..all to-bette this man & drewe hym and tugged hym in the worst maner that they coude. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 1029/1 He himselfe was cruellie tugged and cast into a dich. 1600 Holland Livy vi. xvi. 227 Suffer ye your Knight and Defender, to be thus tugged, misused, and evill entreated by his adversaries? 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. i. 112 And I..So wearie with Disasters, tugg'd with Fortune. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xix. §59 The slaine body of the vsurping Tyrant, all tugged, and torne. |
c. To get into some condition by tugging.
rare.
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark i. 15 Tugged and haled into sondrye pieces. |
† d. intr. for pass. Obs. rare.
| 1568 Satir. Poems Reform. xlviii. 40 It [cloth] tuggis in hoilis, and gais abbreid. |
† e. fig. tug out, to go through with a struggle to the end; to drag out.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 617 Hauing beene Earle of Oxford full fifty yeares; a long time to tugge out, in the troublesome raignes of so many kings. |
5. To move by pulling forcibly; to pull with great exertion or difficulty; to drag, haul. Also
fig.| c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 441 Some tugge [v.r. tugge him], sum drawe [v.r. drawe him] fro ce to ce. 1406 Hoccleve Misrule 197 Ther the bootmen took vp-on me keep..With hem was I l-tugged to and fro. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 97 b, With all abieccyon haled and tugged from place to place. 1659 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 308 The debate was thus tugged to and again till one o'clock. 1715 J. Chappelow Rt. way Rich (1717) 142 Often sin tuggs him down. 1730 Pope Let. to Gay 11 Sept., I am tugg'd back to the world and its regards too often. 1840 Macaulay Ess., Clive (1887) 547 Fifty pieces of ordnance of the largest size, each tugged by a long team of white oxen. 1877 W. R. Cooper Egypt. Obelisks viii. (1878) 35 Three hundred rowers tugged the huge trireme with its ponderous burden across the waters of the Mediterranean. |
6. intr. To pull with great effort or force; to drag, haul. Often with
at.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 9286 With hys teþe he gan to drawe, And harde for to tugge and gnawe. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxiii. 69 And evir the cuschettis at him tuggit, The rukis him rent, the ravynis him druggit. c 1613 Middleton No Wit like Woman's ii. iii, The streams of fortune, 'gainst which he tugs in vain. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 51 The Men tugged stoutly at their Paddles. a 1721 Prior Dial. betw. Locke & Montaigne 381 If you are always tugging at your Purse Strings, you may chance to break them. 1791 Cowper Iliad xii. 485 Sarpedon..with both hands Tugg'd, and down fell the battlement entire. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xvii, Tugging at her pocket to get out the package. |
b. In phrase
to tug at the (an) oar, to row as a galley-slave; hence
fig. to toil unremittingly; to labour in a subordinate capacity; to do the drudgery.
Cf. oar n. 1 b.
| 1612 Dekker If it be not good Wks. 1873 III. 265 Hels drudge, her Gally-slaue. I ha' wore My flesh to th' bones..at the Oare Tugging. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 295 We must sit here..and tug at the Oar, while they steer which way they please. a 1764 Lloyd Author's Apol. 21 Oh! 'Tis a service irksome more Than tugging at the slavish oar. 1875 M{supc}Laren Serm. Ser. ii. viii. 145 Kept him tugging away all his life at the oar, administering the affairs of a Kingdom. |
c. transf. and
fig.| 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 103 Tugging at a large Rummer of Rhenish and Sugar. 1833 L. Ritchie Wand. by Loire 79 How many recollections tugged at his heart as he went on! 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Consid. Wks. (Bohn) II. 426 All sensible people are selfish, and nature is tugging at every contract to make the terms of it fair. |
d. The verb-stem used adverbially.
| 1849 Cupples Green Hand viii, Tug came both Mrs. Brady's hands through the hair. |
7. trans. [
f. tug n. 6.] To tow by means of a steam-tug.
| 1839 J. M. W. Turner (title of painting), The Fighting Téméraire Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up. |
b. To tow (a glider) by means of a powered aircraft.
| 1942 W. S. Churchill Second World War (1951) IV. 800 The Whitley aircraft..is unsuitable for tugging gliders. |
▪ IV. tug, a. Public School slang.
(
tʌg)
[Origin uncertain: cf. tug n. 8.] (Esp. at Winchester College) ordinary, commonplace.
| 1890 Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang II. 378/2 Tug (Winchester College), usual, ordinary, common, stale, as tug-clothes, every-day clothes. 1907 Wykehamist Mar. 387/1 Accounts of events, ‘tug’ to the average reader, but recorded in print for the sake of the past and the future. 1951 C. P. Snow Masters vi. 53 No one on earth could call Jago tug... He's the least commonplace of men. |