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.
- To comb, as flax or hemp; hatchel.
- To question, especially in a severe or antagonistic manner, as a parliamentary candidate in Great Britain.
- noun An instrument for cleaning, sorting, and straightening raw flax and hemp: same as
hatchel .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- 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.
- Same as
hackle .
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
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.
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Then I got quite a minor heckle from the audience.
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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.
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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
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A heckle is a challenge; whispered or invisible to you comments are gossip.
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A heckle is a challenge; whispered or invisible to you comments are gossip.
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The odd thing about this kind of heckle is that it has become almost obligatory.
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The odd thing about this kind of heckle is that it has become almost obligatory.
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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.
zeke commented on the word heckle
two cents
February 24, 2012