huntaway, n.
(ˈhʌntəweɪ)
[f. vbl. phr. to hunt away (hunt v. 4), which is further illustrated below.]
a. Austral. and N.Z. (See quot. 1933.)
| 1913 [see heading vbl. n. 4 b]. 1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 28 Oct. 17/7 Huntaway, a dog whose work is to drive sheep forward when mustering. As a verb the word is used in two senses, illustrated in the sentences: ‘That dog hunts away well’ and ‘I hunt away with that dog’. 1934 Bulletin (Sydney) 16 May 38/3 Rock, the kelpie leading-dog, and Bruce, the nondescript little hunt-away, had never possessed any aspirations towards leadership. |
| 1954 Landfall VIII. 221 Couple of times someone offered him big money for two good huntaways. 1961 B. Crump Hang on a Minute 74 They sold..two huntaway pups. 1966 Baker Austral. Lang. (ed. 2) iii. 73 A huntaway is sometimes known as a forcing dog. 1968 N.Z. News 28 Aug. 16/1 The huntaway barks loudly to shift sheep. |
b. Nelson huntaway (see
quots.).
N.Z.| 1941 Baker N.Z. Slang vi. 59 Nelson huntaway, a stone rolled down a hillside to move stock below instead of sending a dog out. 1949 P. Newton High Country Days 29 Brownie sent a boulder hurtling down the face—a ‘Nelson huntaway’. |
Also as
v. (
huntaway or
hunt away).
| 1931 T. A. Harper Windy Island (1934) iii. iii. 217 Vixen had turned her mob neatly over to Rough, who was hunting them away down the mountainside. 1933 [see sense a of the n.]. 1934 J. Lilico Sheep Dog Mem. 27 The dogs would head, lead, huntaway, force and back. |