Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various plump, chiefly ground-dwelling gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae of northern North America and Eurasia, characteristically having feathered legs and nostrils and mottled plumage.
- intransitive verb To complain; grumble.
- noun A cause for complaint.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To hunt or shoot grouse.
- noun The Scotch ptarmigan, moorhen, or red-game, Tetrao or Lagopus scoticus, a British gallinaceous bird with feathered feet. It is a local modification or insular race of the common ptarmigan of Europe. Hence — 2. Some bird like the above; any bird of the family Tetraonidœ and subfamily Tetraoninæ.
- noun In the widest sense, as a collective plural, the grouse family, Tetraonidæ. In this sense the word includes various partridges and related birds.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any of the numerous species of gallinaceous birds of the family
Tetraonidæ , and subfamilyTetraoninæ , inhabiting Europe, Asia, and North America. They have plump bodies, strong, well-feathered legs, and usually mottled plumage. The group includes the ptarmigans (Lagopus), having feathered feet. - intransitive verb To seek or shoot grouse.
- intransitive verb informal To complain or grumble.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various
game birds of the familyTetraonidae which inhabit temperate andsubarctic regions of the northernhemisphere . - verb To seek or shoot grouse.
- noun A cause for
complaint . - verb To
complain orgrumble . - adjective Australia, New Zealand, slang
Excellent .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb complain
- verb hunt grouse
- noun popular game bird having a plump body and feathered legs and feet
- noun flesh of any of various grouse of the family Tetraonidae; usually roasted; flesh too dry to broil
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Main courses included more Dornoch lamb, wild sea bass from Usan, turbot from Scrabster and grouse from the Scottish moors.
From Ships to Michelin Stars Paul Levy 2010
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When i am in grouse country, I am also in Whitetail country.
What is your favorite wild game to eat? I'm particularly fond of the bacon wrapped dove breast. 2009
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Our only grouse is we have very little bread, but we are expecting to get more from Tuesday May 5th.
Work Camp 1203 L 2010
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When i am in grouse country, I am also in Whitetail country.
What is your favorite wild game to eat? I'm particularly fond of the bacon wrapped dove breast. 2009
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My chief grouse is that on a supposedly literary site (short fiction, flash fiction, “everyday” fiction), you do not know that “everyday”, in the context in which you use it, both on the site as well as, perhaps, on the cover of the book, is ONE word, an adjective.
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The effect of so much industrial activity on the area's herds of pronghorn and mule deer, and on the increasingly rare sage grouse, is unknown.
Energy Development is Ruining Public Hunting Grounds in the West 2006
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"The grouse is no doubt very good," she said, "and being to the manner born as ye may say, I never tire of it; but for a genteel supper like what you have always given to the lads –"
Kirsteen: The Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago Margaret 1891
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Instead of needing to take responsibility and say something like “I think the target we’ve been using in recent years isn’t aggressive enough so I’m writing a bill to change it and will try to persuade people to sign on,” they get to sort of grouse from the sidelines in a non-specific way if things go bad.
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This was true: the grouse was the one good thing we ate – well hung, the breasts and legs taken off the carcass and served the right shade of pink, the offal spread on toast.
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These include ruffed grouse, which is why the RGS is so involved in the planning process.
bodhi commented on the word grouse
Also Australian slang for bloody good, excellent, etc.
September 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word grouse
Bodhi is correct, although this term is dated. I haven't heard it used in seriousness since the 1980's. It's true enough to say that many classic Australianisms - particularly those recognisable to foreigners - have fallen into disuse in recent years.
January 21, 2009
knitandpurl commented on the word grouse
"It's ridiculous -- she's too old for him and he's a slow learner and a tenant and a Lamb, for gawdsake, but he's just the grousest looking boy, and his hot blue eyes make you go racy inside."
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, p 159 of the Graywolf Press hardcover edition
March 31, 2010
dailyword commented on the word grouse
Mrs. Hudson made this for Holmes and Watson's dinner in "The Dancing Men" episode.
June 13, 2012