▪ I. shambling, vbl. n. rare.
(ˈʃæmblɪŋ)
[f. shamble v.2 + -ing1.]
An awkward motion in walking or progression.
| 1681 Dryden Span. Friar i. ii, By that shambling in his walk, it should be my rich old banker Gomez. 1862 F. W. Robinson Owen iv. ix, Presently he heard the rustling of her dress, and the shambling of her feet across the narrow landing⁓place. 1887 Jessopp Arcady iv. 116 Think of the weary shambling through the mud and rain. |
▪ II. shambling, ppl. a.
(ˈʃæmblɪŋ)
[f. shamble v.2 + -ing2.]
1. That shambles or is characterized by an awkward, irregular gait or motion.
| 1690 Dryden Amphitryon ii. i, One pair of shambling legs, with two splay feet. 1697 Vanbrugh Relapse v. v. 67 A long, loose, shambling sort of a Horse. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 15 July (1815) 249 Mounted on a tall, meagre, raw-boned, shambling grey gelding. 1798 M. Pilkington Dict. Painters (new ed.) 791 [Francis Heyman is] easily distinguishable by the large noses and shambling legs of his figures. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xx, A shambling pot-boy. 1838 ― Nich. Nick. xxxiv, Who..made a great many shambling bows. 1880 A. H. Huth Buckle II. 72 His gait was stooping, and his walk rather shambling. |
b. transf. and fig. Often of metre and style, etc.
| 1802 M. Edgeworth Rosanna iii, Upon the profits of this place, Simon contrived to live in a shambling sort of way. 1875 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. 283 The slippery style and shambling license which we pardon in Decker. 1882 Stevenson in Longman's Mag. I. 78 He crams all this matter, tail foremost, into a single shambling sentence. 1887 Saintsbury Elizab. Lit. iv. 151 A third [characteristic]..makes them..tedious reading, independently of their shambling metre. |
2. Of jointed tools: Rickety in action.
| 1829 Hogg Sheph. Cal. I. 45 A pair o' shambling shears. 1833 J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 204 The brass articles [tongs]..are liable to get loose and shambling. |
Hence ˈshamblingly adv.
| 1872 Daily News 2 Oct. 5 A grimy miner..slouched shamblingly homeward. 1894 Sala London up to date vi. 73 On rare occasions I do contrive to crawl shamblingly through the streets for half an hour or so. |