rickle

noun

1. A loose, disordered collection of things; a heap; a jumble.

   It was no more than a butt and a ben, with a rickle of sheds behind it where old Pooty kept his donkey that was nearly as old […]

2. A small rick of grain.

3. A dilapidated or ramshackle building.

   We came home by a place called Speke Hall — built 1589 — the queerest-looking old rickle of boards that I ever set eyes on; […]

4. Any object in poor condition, particularly a vehicle.

   On a memorable night was the old rickle of a boat taken out to the West Sands during a terrible storm, when Admiral Maitland Dougall distinguished himself by his valiant services.

Where it comes from

From Scots rickle, from Old English hrēac (“stack”) with the Scots suffix -le (“full (of)”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry rickle (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← ricketrideau →

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