Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
CHICKLE, v. To grip with the teeth, to make a series of short sharp bites. Used fig. in 1939 quot. [tʃɪkl]Wgt. 1939 J. McNeillie Wigtown Ploughman xii.:
The night the binder chickled through the last sward of waving corn he stood smoking and watching the men lifting the last few rows of sheaves.Kcb. 1951:
Mice chickle corn. Lambs chickle their mothers when sucking. A dog chickles in his hair when hunting fleas.
