puggle

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈpʌɡl̩/ Rhymes: -ʌɡəl Hyphenation: pug‧gle === Etymology 1 === British dialect (Hertfordshire, Essex), from pug (“to poke”) +‎ -le (“frequentative suffix”). ==== Verb ==== puggle (third-person singular simple present puggles, present participle puggling, simple past and past participle puggled) (UK, regional) To coax (a rabbit) from a burrow by poking a stick down the hole and moving it about; to delve into a hole in order to locate an animal. 1833, "Javelin," Two Days with the East Sussex, in Sporting Magazine, 2nd Series, Volume 6, page 236, In concluding my remarks on the East Sussex Hounds, I must observe, that perhaps they have the worst and most difficult country in the world to hunt through, intersected with immense woods, and slotted with some thousands of sheep, besides being naturally a very cold-scenting soil; consequently the hounds puggle more than is pleasing to the eye, have little or no dash, but are very patient and very perfect in working up to their fox, and are probably much surer killers than any other hounds […] . (UK, regional) To poke around a hole with a stick, as to explore, remove obstacles, etc. 1828, "Philip Fidget," The Confessions of Philip Fidget, in The Spirit and Manners of the Age, New Series, Volume 1, page 417, I am no sooner seated by a fire, but my hand instinctively fumbles after the poker, and I proceed to puggle the glowing embers, until (except timely warning prevent) I have displaced the whole into the fender. === Etymology 2 === Transferal of trademarked name of a range of soft toys from the mid-1970s which superficially resemble baby echidnas. ==== Noun ==== puggle (plural puggles) (chiefly Australia) A baby monotreme (echidna or platypus). 2003, Robert Burton, The International Wildlife Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition, Volume 18: SOL-SWA, page 2488, The puggle, which grows rapidly, remains in the pouch until its spines are sufficiently developed that the mother must eject it. === Etymology 3 === Blend of pug +‎ beagle ==== Noun ==== puggle (plural puggles) A small mixed breed of dog created by mating a pug and beagle. 2007 May, Vicki Constantine Croke, The Problem With Puggles, Prevention, page 208, Jake Gyllenhaal and Sylvester Stallone are among the puggle lovers, but so are a slew of regular people who want in on the tawny, fawny, puppy-faced action and will pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for the pleasure. 2009, Milwaukee Magazine, Volume 34, Issues 1-6, page 67, The menagerie for sale at this auction included two black puggles with hernias, a French bulldog with one ear, a 3-month old Yorkshire terrier with only one testicle and a badly bow-legged bulldog. === References ===