Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To try to embarrass and annoy (someone speaking or performing in public) by questions, gibes, or objections; badger.
- transitive verb To comb (flax or hemp) with a hatchel.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An instrument for cleaning, sorting, and straightening raw flax and hemp: same as
hatchel . - To comb, as flax or hemp; hatchel.
- To question, especially in a severe or antagonistic manner, as a parliamentary candidate in Great Britain.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- Same as
hackle . - transitive verb To interrogate, or ply with questions, esp. with severity or antagonism, as a candidate for the ministry.
- transitive verb To shout questions or jibes at (a public speaker), so as to disconcert him or render his talk ineffective.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
insult ,tease ,make fun of orbadger .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb comb with a heckle
- noun a comb for separating flax fibers
- verb challenge aggressively
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Republicans, meanwhile, rallied around Wilson, with many saying a planned resolution disapproving of Wilson's heckle is a petty partisan distraction from more serious issues.
House deeply divided over proposed rebuke of Obama heckler 2009
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Then I got quite a minor heckle from the audience.
My greatest mistake: Richard Herring Graham Snowdon 2010
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The heckle is the first chink in our civility towards our government institutions and our heritage that sets us apart from other nations.
Defiant Wilson raises more than $200,000 after outburst 2009
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The best thing to come out of the Presidents Cup was the spirit under which it was played, with nary a heckle from the gallery or a charge across any green.
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If you pay for my ticket I'm more than happy to heckle from the back row. (
kateelliott: Hawaii Books and Music Festival May 16-17, 2009 kateelliott 2009
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A heckle is a challenge; whispered or invisible to you comments are gossip.
Plenty of Nothing: 2009
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A heckle is a challenge; whispered or invisible to you comments are gossip.
Tweckling? 2009
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The odd thing about this kind of heckle is that it has become almost obligatory.
Archive 2009-02-01 Christine Burns 2009
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The odd thing about this kind of heckle is that it has become almost obligatory.
Obligatory Heckler Syndrome Christine Burns 2009
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I did not "heckle" Attorney General Mukasey, and I did not disrupt the meeting, as those who watch the video of his speech on the Federalist Society's website will discover.
Pontiac's Revenge 2008
zeke commented on the word heckle
two cents
February 24, 2012