▪ I. wrestle, n.
(ˈrɛs(ə)l)
[f. next. Cf. warsle n.]
1. Without article. The action of wrestling or struggling; the fact of having wrestled. Also fig.
| 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boeth. iv. pr. vii. 99 So ought not a wise man beare with greefe, fortunes wrestell [L. certamen fortunæ]. 1796 Burns Poem on Life vii, His pangs, And murd'ring wrestle, As..he hangs A gibbet's tassel. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. vi. ix. II. 118 War in Italy, universal spasm of wrestle there, being now the expectation of foolish mankind. 1883 Century Mag. Oct. 819/1 Their limbs gnarled and twisted as if they had won their places by splendid wrestle. 1915 ‘Q’ Nicky-Nan, Reservist xvii, He paused, seemingly in wrestle with an inward reluctance. |
2. A struggle between two persons, each trying to throw the other by grasping his body or limbs; also, a wrestling-bout according to rules; a wrestling-match. Also with
over,
up.
| 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. i. 13 Corineus,..Whom in a Wrestle the Giant catching aloft, with a terrible hugg broke three of his Ribs. 1849 Lytton K. Arthur i. lxxvi, Beyond the tilt-yard spread the larger space, For the strong wrestle and the breathless race. 1854 W. Waterworth Orig. Anglicanism 196 Fondness for the wrestle and the race prevailed. 1893 Robinson & Gilpin Wrestling 54 On the following day, the loser in the wrestle up proved victorious. Ibid. 85 Owing to some oversight on the part of the umpires, they decided it must be a wrestle over. |
b. fig. A struggle or contest.
| 1850 Carlyle Latter-d. Pamph. iii. 4 Both parties in the wrestle professing earnest wishes of peace to us. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xi. III. 62 The body politic..straining every nerve in a wrestle for life or death. 1893 Horton Gospel Entering Europe 27 [Paul's] long wrestle with spiritual realities in the desert of Arabia. |
▪ II. wrestle, v. (
ˈrɛs(ə)l)
Forms: α. (1
wræstlian), 3
wræstlen,
wreastlen,
wreastlin,
wrestilen, 3–4
wrestlen, 5
-lyn,
wrestelon, 4–6
wrestel,
wrestil, 5
wrestele,
wrestell,
-tyll, 5–
wrestle (6
wressell). β. 3
wrastlen, 3, 5
wrastelen, 5
wrastel(l)yn,
-tlyn, 4–6
wrastel, 4–5
-tele,
-til, 5
-till,
-tule,
-tyl, 6
-tyll(e,
-tell, 4– (latterly
Sc.,
Eng. dial., or
U.S. dial.)
wrastle (6
wrasle, 8–
rassle, chiefly
U.S. dial. rastle,
wrassle, 9
dial. wrostle,
wros(s)le); 4
wrastli,
-tly, 9
s.w. dial. wrastly,
wrassly. γ. 4–5
wristele,
-tle,
wrystille,
-tel, 9
dial. wrustle,
wrus(s)le,
russel.
[OE. *wrǽstlian, frequentative of wrǽstan to wrest, represented in the cognate languages by NFris. wrassele, wrûstle, MLG. worstelen, wrostelen, LG. wrösseln, frösseln, MDu. worstelen (also Du.), werstelen, wrastelen. Cf. warsle v., wraxle v.] I. 1. a. intr. To strive with strength and skill to throw a person to the ground by grappling with him; to endeavour to overpower and lay down another,
esp. in a contest governed by fixed rules, by embracing his body and limbs and tripping or overbalancing him. Also with
† samen,
† yfere,
together.
| α a 1100 [see wrestling vbl. n. 1]. c 1205 Lay. 1858 Brutus hine lette witen..to wreastlene bi-foren Brutus, Geomagog and Corineus. Ibid. 24699 Summe heo wræstleden And wiðer-gome makeden. 13.., c 1375 [see β, γ]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 533/2 Wrestelon, luctor, palestriso. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. iv. 14 So to gedre they wrestled longe tyme. 1503 in Meyrick Ant. Armour (1824) III. 238 To wrestle all manner of ways, at the pleasure of the commers. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 447 To wrestle in the games of Olympia. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 229 With professours of wrestling, to bestrew his bodie with dust..for to wrestle. 1718 A. Thompson tr. Geoffrey of Monm. iv. viii. 107 Two noble Youths..wrestled together, and afterwards had a Dispute about the Victory. 1791 Cowper Iliad xxiii. 915 Arising to a third essay, They should have wrestled yet again. 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVIII. 290 A handsome sum of money has been subscribed to be wrestled for. 1889 W. Armstrong Wrestling 183 The platforms at rural fairs where local champions wrestled for a fall. |
| β a 1250 Ancr. R. 318 (MS. Titus D. xviii), Ich..biheold oðe wrastling, oðer me self wrastlede. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7439 Ac he ouercom þe deuel, & adoun him caste, To gadere as hii wrastlede, & bond is honden vaste. a 1300 Cursor M. 3939 Sa lang þai wrasteld [Gött. wrestild, Fairf. wresteled] samen þare Þat iacob was þan hurt wel sare. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 8 Pipen he koude,..and wel wrastle and sheete. c 1440 Alph. Tales 164 Þus þai wrasteld togedyr, & þis man fell. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xiv. 320 He..toke the kynge wyth both his armes by the waste, & wrastled togyder a longe whyle. 1548 Forrest Pleas. Poesye xix. 61 b, To shoote, to wrastle, to dooe anye mannys feate. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. x. 86 [They] do wrastle..two and two with force of armes. 1606 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. ii. Tropheis 268 Wee wrastle not..For painted sheep-hooks, or such pettie Prize. 1671 H. M. tr. Erasm. Colloq. 288, I am now a laying in the fourth week; and I am strong enough even to wrastle. 1758 L. Lyon in Mil. Jrnls. (1855) 33 [They] hopt and rassled together to see which would beat and our men Beat. 1795 Macneill Scotland's Scaith ii, Wha wi' Will cou'd rin or wrastle, Throw the sledge, or toss the bar? 1876– in dialect glossaries (Sc., Yks., Lanc., Som.). 1896 P. Graham Red Scaur vi, Learnin' her son to box..and wrastle. 1974 Black World Jan. 56/2 He might be stronger'n me and he might wrassle the best, but I got his waters on, all right. |
| γ a 1300 Cursor M. 3933 Sammen handlinges wristeld [Fairf. wresteled] þai Al þe night, til it was dai. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1141 Wrothely þai wrythyne and wrystille togederz. 1535 Coverdale 2 Macc. iv. 14 To lerne to fight, to wristle,..& to put at y⊇ stone. 1869– in Eng. Dial. Dict. (wrustle, wrussle, russle, etc.). |
b. Const.
with or
† mid (a person, etc.).
| α c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1804 Iacob..bi-lef ðor on ðe niȝt,..And ðor wrestelede an engel wið. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ii. iii. 225 Wiþe hym wrestlyt þe angel. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. iv. 14 That he shold wrestell with Coryn. 1530 Palsgr. 756/1 Wrestell nat with me, for I wyll throwe the on thy backe. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 171 She woolde often⁓tymes play and wrestle..with the kynges chamberlens. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 502 ¶5 Were there a Scene written, wherein Penkethman should break his Leg by wrestling with Bullock. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 246 He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves. 1856 Kingsley Heroes 169 He challenges all comers to wrestle with him. 1889 W. Armstrong Wrestling 229 Sam Rundle..recently wrestled with Carkeck the American. |
| β a 1225 Ancr. R. 280 Þe ȝeape wrastlare nimeð ȝeme hwat turn his fere ne cunne nout, þet he mid wrastleð. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 515 Vor he ssolde mid corineus wrastli he adde iþoȝt. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1798 A place to pleye, ordeyned Brutus,..[for Corineus] For to wrastle wyþ þat geaunt. c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 276 Sche couþe eke Wrastel..Wiþ any ȝonge man, were he neuere so whight. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lvii. 373 Darste thou wrastill with me? c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxvi. 565 He..toke aymonet by the wast for to wrastle wyth hym. 1530 Palsgr. 785/1, I dare nat wrastell with hym, leste he gyve me a fall. 1612 J. Davies (Heref.) Muses Sacr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 41/2 O thou, whom Iacob wrastled with a space. 1668 H. More Div. Dial. i. xxiii. 93 Consider..how many Spectres have been seen or felt to wrastle, pull or tug with a man. 1940 L. I. Wilder Long Winter xvi. 150 I've spent this whole morning rasseling with that dumb horse. 1941 Harper's Feb. 329/2 Leaving..us to rassle with the bear. 1962 W. Faulkner Reivers v. 101 ‘What you been doing? wrassling with hogs?’ ‘We got in a mudhole.’ |
| γ 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxxii. 24 And loo ! a man wristlide with hym vnto the morwe. |
c. To struggle physically (
with something) after the manner of wrestling.
| 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 56 This infant..wrastling with snakes in his swadling cloutes. 1613 Heywood Silver Age iii. i. Wks. 1874 III. 129 It fits Ioues sonne Wrastle with Lyons, and to tugge with Beares. 1623 J. Taylor (Water P.) Discov. by Sea A 6, Against the rugged waues, we tugge and wrastle. 1643 Howell Twelve Treat. (1661) 94 She tugs and wrastles with the foamie waves. 1821 J. Baillie Metr. Leg., Lady G.B. xxxii, With her in mimick war they wrestle; Beneath her twisted robe they nestle. 1844 Kinglake Eothen ii, Thames, the ‘old Eton fellow’ that wrestled with us in our boyhood. 1893 Robinson & Gilpin Wrestling 77 The boat..upset, and the strong man went down, unable to wrestle with his remorseless foe. 1936 in P. Oliver Screening Blues (1968) vi. 189 If you keep on rasslin' you gonna make me break my needle off. |
| fig. and transf. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xv. (1495) v vj, [Mercury] is callyd the god of wrastlyng,..for he [= the planet] wrastlyth w{supt} the sonne as he wold ouercome hym. 1539 Bible (Great) Ecclus. li. 19 My soule hath wrestled with her [sc. wisdom]. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xvi. 4, I wrassill with the wind. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. ii. 233, I have in this worke wrastled with that envious and ravenous enemy Time. 1611 Cotgr., Luicter contre les ombres, to wrastle with shadowes; to be angrie without cause. 1844 A. B. Welby Poems (1867) 89 In bondage I must wrestle here with death. 1893 Robinson & Gilpin Wrestling 41 When lying on his death bed, while wrestling with a foe sure to triumph in the end. |
d. With complement.
| 1893 Robinson & Gilpin Wrestling p. xliv, If Best did wrestle second,..it must have been for some minor prize. Ibid. 26 Morton threw Halliwell of Penrith, and..Anthony McDonald..wrestled up with him. |
2. a. To contend or struggle in hostility or opposition (
with or
against another or others).
| a 1200 St. Marherete 14 Wrestlin ha moten ant wiðerin wið ham seoluen. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2035 Wrecche mon..! hwerto wultu wreastlin wið þe worldes wealdent? 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 224 If wratthe wrastel [v.r. wrystel] with þe pore. 1388–9 in Wyclif's Sel. Wks. III. 471 Prelatis, here deme ȝee and wrastulis ȝee who schal be mayster. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 350 Pan, which is the god of kinde, With Love wrastlede and was overcome. 1526 Tindale Eph. vi. 12 We wrestle not agaynst flesshe and bloud: but..agaynst worldy ruelars. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 167 For Kyng Henry..and Richard..wresteled for the game, and stroue for the wager. a 1575 Pilkington Nehemiah iii. 5 (1585) 41 b, Men..that dare and wil wrastle with the rich in correction. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 116 Wrastling with the venetians they had almost bereaued them of their estate and taken their city. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1688) III. 396 Venice wrastleth with the Turk. |
b. fig. To strive or labour (
esp. to obtain the mastery, superiority, or advantage)
with or
against difficulties, circumstances, forces, personal feelings, etc. Also (
b) without
const.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 80 To wrastlen stalewardliche aȝein þes deofles swenges. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xiii. 11 All þat wrestils agayns vices in actif lif. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶655 This vertu is so..vigerous that it dar..wrastle agayn the assautes of the deuel. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 1571 Who that..Wyl wrastle ageyn yt [sc. vengeance]. 1489 Skelton On Death Erle Northumbld. 82 They buskt them..Againe the kyngs plesure to wrestle or to wring. c 1534 T. Starkey Let. to Cromwell in Collier 9 Hist. Lett. (1871) 48 In such tyme as I was wrastelyng wyth my fevur. 1553 Wood tr. Gardiner's De Vera Obed. 5 b, Thei..haue wrestled against the truth of a long time. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 79 Iewes who wrestled in vaine against the decree of God. 1663 Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. ix, You must wrastle stoutly with the difficulties. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ii. 167 We rave, we wrestle with Great Nature's Plan. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) I. iv. 79 Strive to..wrestle against principalities and powers. 1827 Keble Chr. Y., Tuesday bef. Easter, Rather wouldst Thou wrestle with strong pain, Than overcloud Thy soul. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. xv, I had to wrestle with my self-respect. |
| transf. 1592 Soliman & Pers. i. v. 52 Were it not thou art my fathers sonne, And striuing kindnes wrestled not with ire. |
| (b) a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxviii. 170 Of corupcioun of my body, for it is heuy to wrestil here sa lange. 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xi. 214 His witt schal be dressid and lad forthe..with myche lasse peyne and labour, than forto wrastle withinneforth in his owne ymaginaciouns. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 118 b, The more that ony persone relucketh, wrestleth, or stryues to ouercome these manyfolde temptacyons. 1565 Satir. Poems Reform. i. 21 Who dothe wrest his will to wrastle in eche wronge. 1654 E. Johnson Wonder-wrkg. Provid. *104 For the which all the Israel of God fight, wrastle, pray. |
c. To strive earnestly (
with God) in prayer.
With allusion to
Gen. xxxii. 24–26.
| 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 180 The Lord..whom we must wrastle withall by our praiers. 1638 [see 11]. 1652 Benlowes Theoph. viii. lxxiv, By pray'r God's serv'd betimes; remember who The blessing got by wrestling so. 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative ii. 57 [They] wrestled with God in their daily Prayers for his Release. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxxiii, We have prayed, and wrestled, and petitioned, for an offering. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley xxiv, The mother..wrestled with God in earnest prayer. |
3. a. To labour, toil, or exert oneself; to strive (
for something); to tussle.
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. li. 25 My soule wrastled in it; and in doing it I am confermed. 1549 Latimer 4th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 107 Thus go these prelates aboute to wreastle for honoure. 1558 T. Phaer æneid. vii. S ij b, They their ships in marble seas with ores dyd wrastlyng towe. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 469 Whilest Hysmaell was thus wrestling for the Persian kingdome. 1620–6 Quarles Feast Worms 1493 They rebell, and wrastle, And neuer cease, till they subdue the Castle. 1831 Carlyle Misc. (1872) IV. 28 How many a poor Hazlitt must..believe that he is seeking Truth, yet only wrestle among endless Sophisms. 1873 Gosse On Viol & Flute 55 Two of us swam out to it... And as I strove and wrestled in the race, I turned and saw [etc.]. |
| fig. 1633 Shirley Bird in Cage i. i, Like errand Knights, our valiant wits must wrastle To free our ladyes from the inchanted Castle. |
b. Of natural agencies, etc.: To engage in conflict or strife; to act against each other.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 525 Wroþe wynde of þe welkyn wrastelez with þe sunne. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 784 As þe erth & all þe elementis at anes had wrestild. 1865 S. Bowles Across the Continent xviii. 185 River and rock have striven together, wrestling in close and doubtful embrace. |
c. To engage in argument, debate, or controversy; to debate, dispute.
| c 1450 J. Capgrave St. Augustine 53 A-geyn all þese þis souereyn maystir..stood as a strong geaunt, wrestiling with argumentis for þe clennesse of þe feith. 1521 Fisher Serm. agst. Luther iii. Wks. (1876) 337 Here Martin luther for his shrewed brayne wyll some thyng wrastell agaynst vs. 1565 J. Calfhill Answ. Martiall 105 Hosius doth wrestle maruelously about the word. 1626 Donne Serm. 783 They were loath to wrastle with the people, or force them from dangerous customes. |
d. To busy, occupy, or concern oneself closely or earnestly
with a subject, etc.; to deal
with something as a task or troublesome duty.
| c 1454 Pecock Folewer 7 Summe..wrastlen so long þerwith til þei gete competent vndirstondyng þerof. Ibid. 15 Eny oþir hard writyng with which þei schulen wrastle. 1582 Mulcaster Elementarie i. (1925) 43 The other..will rather cast awaie their armor, then wrastle with the difficulties of vnknown and vneasie passages. 1628 Coke On Litt. Pref., The yong student..wrastling with..difficult termes. 1638 R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. III) 14, I am wrestling still with ― and preparing you an after⁓dinners Recreation. 1881 Jowett Thucyd. I. Introd. 13 Wrestling with language and logic. 1905 R. Bagot Passport ix. 80 After wrestling with French history or German poetry. |
4. a. To twist or writhe about; to wriggle, move sinuously; to work backwards and forwards.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 890 He welterys, he wristeles, he wryngez hys handez. c 1450 Merlin iii. 655 Petrius peyned hym sore to a-rise and turned wrastelinge. 1481 Caxton Reynard viii. (Arb.) 15 He wrange, he wrastled, and cryed,..he wiste not how he myght gete out. 1513 Douglas æneid xiii. iv. 82 The snaill..Fleand the birnand heit..A lang tyme gan do wrassill and to wreill. a 1618 Sylvester Paradox agst. Libertie 659 When Eole doth unlock Sterne Auster's stormie gate, making the waters wrastle, And rush..against the sturdy Castle. a 1628 Preston New Covt. (1630) 154 Fire if it be out of its place, water, if it be out of its place, it is still wrastling..till it returne to its owne place. c 1870 B. Harte Fr. Pedro's Ride in Fiddletown, etc. (1873) 108 He saw the wild oats wrestle on the hill. |
b. To move or proceed with effort or toil; to struggle
out (
of) or
through some place or condition. Also
fig.| 1591 Savile Tacitus, Hist. iii. lix. 150 The armie..could hardly wrestle out of the snowe. 1614 Lithgow Trav. L j b, Wrestling amongst intricate pathes of rockes: two of our Asses fell ouer a banke. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 93 Wee..lost our way,..and at length wrastled to Geer. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xvii. clxxi, Breath..forced is to goe about, And through the Noses Sluces wrestle out. 1728 Ramsay Robt., Richy & Sandy 70 A squirrel wi' his bells Ay wrestling up. 1853 W. Cadenhead Flights of Fancy 255 (E.D.D.), When we've wrastled thro' the warl', as wrastle we maun a'. 1879 Jefferies Wild Life 83 The flames running from thatch to thatch, and, as they express it, ‘wrastling’ across the intervening spaces. 1899 E. F. Heddle Marget 151 Once he said he would like to live to hear how Christian ‘wrastled through’. |
II. 5. trans. To engage in (a wrestling-bout or match). Also in
fig. context.
| a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2276 If it ȝoure mekill maieste miȝt any thinge plese, I wald to wacken ȝoure welth now wirstill a turne. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 5232 Þer-with þis land hath wrastled many a pul. 1588 Drake Let. 31 July in Barrow Life (1843) 304 We have the armey of Spayne before us, and mynd with the Grace of God to wressell a poull with hym. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. xxxiii. 226 Now Ptolemais being to wrestle her last fall, stripped her self of all cumbersome clothes. 1645 [see fall n.1 13]. 1672 R. Wild Declar. Lib. Consc. 13 And for their Seditions and Treasons, let us leave Tyburn and them to wrastle a fair fall about them. 1816 Scott Old Mort. iv, Hark thee, friend,..wilt thou wrestle a fall with me? 1825 ― Betrothed Conclusion, Have we not wrestled a turn before now? 1843 in Robinson & Gilpin Wrestling (1893) 58 Charles Lowden..would wrestle a match with any individual of the same age. 1855, 1883 [see fall n.1 13]. |
6. a. To contend with (a person) in wrestling; to overcome by, throw in, wrestling. Also with
down.
Cf. the earlier
over-wrestle over- 21, and
warsle v. 1 c.
| 1818 in Robinson & Gilpin Wrestling (1893) 164 He now challenges his opponent..to wrestle him for ten guineas. 1843 Ibid. 58 The veteran..will be happy to accept the challenge, and wrestle Mr. Lowden..for {pstlg}5 or {pstlg}10 a side. 1881 P. B. Du Chaillu Land Midn. Sun II. 51 A stout girl of twenty, strong enough to wrestle any man. 1903 S. E. White Forest xv, [He] is not a mighty man physically... I think I could have wrestled Peter down. 1940 Sat. Even. Post 22 June 39/2 He could rassle any three men. 1968 Listener 30 May 702/3 In this picture he rides horses, climbs mountains and wrassles Indian chiefs. 1976 Ibid. 24 June 817/1 Thrown to the ground and wrastled by the brutally handsome Provo. |
b. Western U.S. To throw (a calf) for branding.
| 1888 Roosevelt in Century Mag. April 861/2 A fire is built, the irons heated, and a dozen men dismount to, as it is called, ‘wrestle’ the calves. 1893 N. K. Griggs Lyrics of Lariat 46 A Maverick daisy he saw—..And so He rastled it low And gave it a touch of his brand. |
7. To push or thrust
into something with a wrestling motion. More widely, to move (something inanimate or inert) with physical force. Const. various preps. and advbs.
| 1820 Byron Juan v. lxxviii, Wrestling both his arms into a gown, He paused. 1970 J. Dickey Deliverance 186, I..dropped down on one knee and wrestled him across my shoulders in the fireman's carry from boy scout days. 1973 M. Amis Rachel Papers 38 Eventually he wrestled all the string and paper into an armful-sized bundle and forced it down the Aga. 1973 M. Woodhouse Blue Bone vii. 63 We wrestled the crates down through the forward hatch. 1975 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 11 Sept. 2/7 Agents wrestled a ·45 calibre automatic pistol out of her hands. 1976 A. Price War Game i. viii. 142 The same hand, strong and supple.., had once wrestled a bomb-laden Lancaster into the air. 1976 Scott & Koski Walk-In x. 53 He wrestled one of the line of overhead doors up. 1981 J. D. MacDonald Free Fall in Crimson xiv. 159 A truck pulled up... Two men hopped out and started to wrestle the wicker basket out of the back. |
III. With adverbs.
8. to wrestle down, to put down by wrestling or striving; to suppress, quell.
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad xx. 31 These his words did such a warre excite, As no mans powre could wrastle downe. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. xxiv, If..they wrestled down Feelings their nature strove to own. 1816 ― Bl. Dwarf vi, I will wrestle down my feelings of rebellious humanity. |
† 9. to wrestle off, to set aside by argument; to controvert, rebut.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1639 Laud Confer. w. Fisher 241 Where is then the Scriptures Prerogative? I know there is much shifting about this Place [marg. Num. 2], but it cannot be wrastled off. |
10. to wrestle out:
† a. To struggle through (a period of time) in discourse, etc.
Obs.| a 1756 Pennecuik's Collect. Scots Poems 120 When Mess John has wrestl'd out the [hour] glass. |
b. To go through, to perform or execute, to carry out, with struggle or effort.
| 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxii, In a moment the wretch wrestled out his last agonies. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxxiii, I would rather wrastle out a logical dispute any day. 1842 Manning Serm. (1843) I. 312 They have wrestled out the strife with the unseen powers of the wicked one. |
11. To drive or force
out of something (as) by wrestling. Also
fig.| 1638 A. Henderson Serm. (1867) 279 If so be that we will wrestle with God for a blessing, and prevail with him, then..we sall wrestle the enemies out of it also. 1858 R. Chambers Domest. Ann. Scotl. I. 9 How to wrestle the people out of their love of the May-games. |