scraggling

Painted in scraggling white paint across the seat of the trousers was written

Little Miss By-The-Day Lucille Van Slyke

Their hair was a reddish-brown color, and fell scraggling a little below the shoulder line.

The Fire People Ray Cummings 1922

A slatternly woman with scraggling black hair, and with three dirty children clinging to her dirty apron, "reckoned she mought git him a bite," and disappeared.

In Happy Valley John Fox 1891

I have quite exhausted my descriptive faculty for the present, so shall say nothing of this old castle, which indeed (the remains being somewhat scanty and scraggling) is chiefly picturesque and interesting from its bold position on such a headlong hill.

Passages from the English Notebooks, Complete Nathaniel Hawthorne 1834

I have quite exhausted my descriptive faculty for the present, so shall say nothing of this old castle, which indeed (the remains being somewhat scanty and scraggling) is chiefly picturesque and interesting from its bold position on such a headlong hill.

Passages from the English Notebooks, Volume 1. Nathaniel Hawthorne 1834

And later, as I left to go out, I saw a most unusual sight (after this earlier one): a turkey on the roof of a two-story apartment, balancing there, then noticing it had been spotted by yours truly, and I heard it’s hobbly scraggling down the other side of the roof, and then bursting sound of flapping wings, and the next moment it was safely ensconced high up in a redwood tree.

Sometimes There Are Turkeys « The BookBanter Blog 2010

And later, as I left to go out, I saw a most unusual sight (after this earlier one): a turkey on the roof of a two-story apartment, balancing there, then noticing it had been spotted by yours truly, and I heard it’s hobbly scraggling down the other side of the roof, and then bursting sound of flapping wings, and the next moment it was safely ensconced high up in a redwood tree.

2010 March 15 « The BookBanter Blog 2010

“I’m sure she was,” said Katie’s mom, scraggling Katie’s hair with her hand.

Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware M. T. Andreson 2009

“I’m sure she was,” said Katie’s mom, scraggling Katie’s hair with her hand.

Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware M. T. Andreson 2009

“I’m sure she was,” said Katie’s mom, scraggling Katie’s hair with her hand.

Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware M. T. Andreson 2009