pug

plural pugs

1. Senses relating to someone or something small.
   1. A pug dog, a small dog of an ancient breed originating in China, having a snub nose, wrinkled face, squarish body, short smooth hair, and curled tail.First known use 18th c.

      She […] tells Fibs, makes Miſchief, buys China, cheats at Cards, keeps a Pug-dog, and hates the Parſons; […]

      1740 (first performance), David Garrick, Lethe. A Dramatic Satire. […], Dublin: […] S. Powell, [f]or G. and A. Ewing, G. Faulkner, J. Hoey, J. Exshaw, J. Exdall, and R. James, […], published 1749, →OCLC, page 21

      1 more example

      Meanwhile she arranged her ornaments in the room which she had won too easily. They were strange ornaments to bring on a sea-voyage—china pugs, tea-sets in miniature, […]

      1915, Virginia Woolf, chapter II, in The Voyage Out, London: Duckworth & Co., […], →OCLC, page 26

      Synonyms: carlin, Chinese pug, Dutch bulldog, Dutch mastiff, mini mastiff, mops

   2. A pug moth, often with a descriptive word: any geometrid moth of the tribe Eupitheciini, especially the genus Eupithecia; a geometer moth.
   3. historicalbusinessIn full pug hood: a hood, sometimes with a short cloak attached, worn by women around the middle of the 18th century.
   4. rail transportIn full pug engine: a small locomotive chiefly used for shunting (“moving trains from one track to another, or carriages from one train to another”).
   5. UKarchaicregionalAlso used as a proper name: any of various animals, such as a ferret, hare, squirrel, or young salmon.

      Dear, delicate Madam, I am your little Paraquit, your Sparrovv, your Shock, your Pugg, your Squirrel.

      1685 July (first performance), N[ahum] Tate, Cuckolds-Haven: Or, An Alderman No Conjurer. A Farce. […], London: […] J. H. and are to be sold by Edward Poole, […], published 1685, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 5

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      Squirrels / Are not uncommon in the plantings on the broad edges, where they may be seen feeding on the deal-apples, as the Broadsmen call the fir-cones; nuts and acorns too they are fond of. […] Stoats sometimes chase them, but "pug" generally manages to escape, an[d] he can get to a tree first—he is a much more daring jumper.

      1895, P[eter] H[enry] Emerson, “Shrew Mouse, or Rana, and Squirrels”, in Birds, Beasts and Fishes of the Norfolk Broadland, London: David Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 363

   6. UKarchaicregionalspecificallySynonym of teg (“a sheep (originally a ewe) in its second year, or from the time it is weaned until it is first shorn”).

      It is to be observed in this experiment, […] that the loss of weight by feeding (tegs or pugs) on turnips, is remarkable: […]

      1808, Thomas Batchelor, “Live Stock”, in General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bedford. […], London: […] [B. MᶜMillan] for Richard Phillips, […], →OCLC, section 2 (Sheep), page 541

      Synonyms: teg

   7. UKarchaicobsoleteregionalspecificallyAn ape, a monkey; also (by extension) a human child.

      […] I heard her call him dear pug, and found him to be her favourite monkey.

      1712 October 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “WEDNESDAY, October 2, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 499; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 454

      3 more examples

      Its proper Povver to hurt, each Creature feels, / Bulls aim their Horns, and Aſſes lift their Heels, / 'Tis a Bear's Talent not to kick, but hug, / And no Man vvonders he's not ſtung by Pug: […]

      1733, Alexander Pope, The First Satire of the Second Book of Horace, […], London [actually Edinburgh]: […] L[awton] G[illiver] and sold by A. Dodd […], E[lizabeth] Nutt […], →OCLC, page 13

      Take avvay the pug, ſaid I, to the attendants—Take it avvay vvhile any of it is left—They reſcued the ſtill ſmiling babe, and run avvay vvith it.

      1753 (indicated as 1754), [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XLIII. Lady G. to Lady Grandison.”, in The History of Sir Charles Grandison. […], 2nd edition, volume VI, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by C. Hitch and L. Hawes, […], →OCLC, page 211

      Or, is the Monkey sick, he takes his bed; / Old Slop is sent for, to prescribe for Pug.— […]

      1812, Peter Pindar [pseudonym; John Wolcot], “Tristia; or, The Sorrows of Peter: […]. Elegy.”, in The Works of Peter Pindar, Esq. […], new edition, volume V, London: […] J[ohn] Walker, G. Wilkie and J. Robinson, G. Robinson, […]; and G. Goulding and Co. […], →OCLC, page 297

   8. UKarchaicobsoleteregionalspecificallyA fox.

      That spell was broken by the sight of poor wearied pug, his once gracefully-floating brush all draggled and drooping, as he toiled up the sheep-paths toward the open down above.

      1848, [Charles Kingsley], “The Philosophy of Fox-hunting”, in Yeast: A Problem. […], London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1851, →OCLC, page 16

      1 more example

      [T]here is a dead silence, till pug is well out of cover, and the whole pack well in: then cheer the hounds with tally ho! till your lungs crack. Away he goes in gallant style, and the whole field is hard up, till pug takes a stiff country: […]

      1812, [Maria] Edgeworth, “The Absentee. Chapter VIII.”, in Tales of Fashionable Life (2nd series), volume VI, London: […] [Heney] for J[oseph] Johnson and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 93–94

   9. UKrareregionalA person or thing that is squat (“broad and short”).
   10. USregionalA bun or knot of hair; also, a piece of cloth or snood for holding this in place.
   11. obsoleteA small demon; an imp, a puck, a sprite.

       Satan. The great diuell. / Pvg. The leſſe diuell.

       1616 October or November (first performance), Ben Jonson, “The Persons of the Play”, in The Diuell is an Asse: A Comedie […], London: […] I. B. for Robert Allot, […], published 1631, →OCLC, page 93

       2 more examples

       In Iohn Mileſius any man may reade / Of Diuels in Sarmatia honored, / Call'd Kottri, or Kibaldi; ſuch as vvee / Pugs and Hob-goblins call.

       1635, Tho[mas] Heywood, “The Ninth Tractat: The Angell”, in The Hierarchie of the Blessed Angells. […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 574

       This is your Buſineſs Good Pug Robin, / And your Diverſion, dull Dry Bobbing: / T' intice Fanaticks in the Dirt, / And vvaſh 'em clean in Ditches for't.

       1677 (indicated as 1678), [Samuel Butler], “Canto I”, in Hudibras. The Third and Last Part. […], London: […] Simon Miller, […], →OCLC, page 82

       Synonyms: goblin, hobgoblin

2. Senses relating to people.
   1. UKhistoricalChiefly used by servants: A senior or upper servant in a household.First known use 19th c.

      Procedure would vary a little from household to household. Thus, the roast might be ceremonially borne out ahead of the departing ‘Pugs,’ or it might be left behind so that the lower servants could have second helpings.

      1962, E[rnest] S[ackville] Turner, “The Female Branch”, in What the Butler Saw: Two Hundred and Fifty Years of the Servant Problem, London: Michael Joseph, →OCLC, page 119

   2. obsoleteA mistress, or a female prostitute; also (generally, derogatory) a woman.First known use c. 17th c.

      [C]ome, let's to bed—you Fubbs, you Pugg you—you little Puſs—Purree Tuzzey—I am a Senator.

      1682, Thomas Otway, Venice Preserv’d, or, A Plot Discover’d. A Tragedy. […], London: […] Jos[eph] Hindmarsh […], →OCLC, Act III, scene [i], page 25

      3 more examples

      [R]emember the Lo[rd] Admyrall [Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham] and the Lord Threasurer [Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset] with a couple of Pugges or some vscough baugh [i.e., usquebaugh or whiskey] or some such toyes, it would shew that you do not neglect them, whoe, I protest, are to you wonderfull kynde.

      1600 October 4 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Robert Cecil, “[Letter] X”, in John MacLean, editor, Letters from Sir Robert Cecil to Sir George Carew (Camden Series; 88), [London]: […] [John Bowyer Nichols and Sons] for the Camden Society, published 1864, →OCLC, page 33

      So euery lip has his Lettice to himſelfe: […] the VVeſterne-man his Pug, the Seruing-man his Punke, […]

      1604 (first performance), Tho[mas] Dekker; Iohn Webster [i.e., John Webster], West-ward Hoe. […], London: […] [William Jaggard], and to be sold by Iohn Hodgets […], published 1607, →OCLC, Act II, signature D, recto

      In the vigor of his age he married Gargamelle, daughter to the King of the Parpaillons, a jolly pug, and well mouthed wench.

      1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], “How Gargantua was Carried Eleven Moneths in His Mothers Belly”, in The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume I, London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, 1st book, page 17

      Synonyms: abandons, alley cat, almah, bangtail, Bankside lady, bargirl, bat, beotch

   3. endearingobsoleteA term of endearment for a person, or sometimes an animal or a toy such as a doll.

      Marmouſelle: f. A little puppie, or pug to play vvith.

      1611, Randle Cotgrave, compiler, “Marmouselle”, in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, signature [Eee vi], verso, column 1

      2 more examples

      I haue had foure huſbands my ſelfe. The firſt I called, Svveete Duck, the ſecond, Deare Heart; the third, Prettie Pugge: But the fourth, moſt ſvveete, deare, prettie, all in all: he vvas the verie cockeall of a huſband.

      1600 or 1601 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], Antonios Reuenge. The Second Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, and are to be soulde [by Matthew Lownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act III, scene iv, signatures F3, verso – F3, recto

      She ſings. / VVell met, pug, the pearle of beauty: vmh, vmh. / Hovv novv ſir knave, you forget your dutie, vmh, vmh.

      1604 (date written), Tho[mas] Dekker, [Thomas Middleton], The Honest Whore. […] (4th quarto), London: […] Nicholas Okes for Robert Basse, […], published 1616, →OCLC, Act I, signature [C4], recto

   4. obsoletenauticalA bargeman.First known use 16th c.

      Puſh^([sic – meaning pish]); your VVeſterne pug [misprinted as png].

      c. 1607–1610 (date written), Thomas Middleton; Thomas Dekker, The Roaring Girle. Or Moll Cut-purse. […], London: […] [Nicholas Okes] for Thomas Archer, […], published 1611, →OCLC, [Act IV], signature I3, recto

      2 more examples

      Dares […] [W]ilt thou neuer trauell? / Epi[ton]. Yes in a VVeſterne barge, vvhen vvith a good vvinde and luſtie pugges, one may goe ten miles in tvvo daies.

      c. 1588 (date written; published 1591), [John Lyly], Endimion, the Man in the Moone. […], London: […] I[ohn] Charlewood, for the widdowe Broome, →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii, signature G, verso

      [E]uen the Weſterne Pugs receiuing mony here, haue tyed it in a bag at the end of their barge, and ſo trailed it through the Thames, leaſt pleague ſores ſticking vpon ſhillings, […]

      1603, [Thomas Dekker], 1603. The Wonderfull Yeare. […], London: […] by [J. Browne, Nicholas Ling, and John Smethwick for?] Thomas Creede, […], →OCLC, signature F3, verso

      Synonyms: bargee

   5. obsoletenauticalA cabin boy, a shipboy or ship's boy.

      [Ulysses] ty'd his deafen'd Sailors (vvhile he paſs'd / The dreadful Lady's Lodgings) to the Maſt, / And rather venture drovvning, than to vvrong / The Sea-pugs chaſte Ears vvith a bavvdy Song: […]

      a. 1681 (date written), Samuel Butler, “Satyr”, in R[obert] Thyer, editor, The Genuine Remains in Verse and Prose of Mr. Samuel Butler, […], volume I, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1759, →OCLC, page 77, lines 143–146

plural pugs

1. InternetgamesAlternative letter-case form of PuG (“a group of players who are unknown to each other, grouped together to work toward a short-term goal such as completing a dungeon or a raid”).

plural pugs

1. The footprint or pawprint of an animal; a pugmark.

   [T]here were the broad, deep puggs of a tiger, up and down the nullah, in the dry sand, near the water's edge, of all ages, from the week, perhaps, up to the unmistakeable fresh puggs of last night.

   1851 July, Captain Hardbargain [pseudonym], “A Jungle Recollection”, in Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, volume XLIV, number CCLIX, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC, page 19, column 2

   2 more examples

   The goat has a square pug with blunt points to his toes, which are always held apart. The sheep's pug is more like that of the boar, being longer than the goat's. […] The boar's pug is distinguished from that of the sow by being much wider in the heel, and having the toes more open, and the rudimentary toes marking the ground more widely apart.

   1889, R[obert] S[tephenson] S[myth] Baden-Powell, “Rearing Pig”, in Pigsticking or Hoghunting. […], London: Harrison & Sons, […], →OCLC, § 27, page 55

   [D]istinct pugs are found in the dust that surrounds the small swimming-pool which, like amniotic fluid, steeps the guests at their own body temperature. The host is not surprised; it has happened before: the lionesses must have come down to quench their thirst their feasting had given them.

   1991, Nadine Gordimer, “Spoils”, in Jump and Other Stories, New York, N.Y.: Farrar Straus Giroux, →ISBN, page 174

present singular third person pugs · participle present pugging · participle past pugged · past pugged

1. BritishIndiaobsoleteraretransitiveTo track (an animal) by following pawprints; also (by extension) to track (a person) by following footprints.

   1 more example

   Wishing to track a good boar that had got away through some thick cover, we called up the headman of the beat (a man lent to us by a friend) and asked him if he could pug. He was a havildar (sergeant) of police. He replied, 'That is my regular business, sahib; of course I can pug. My work is pugging criminals.'

   1889, R[obert] S[tephenson] S[myth] Baden-Powell, “Rearing Pig”, in Pigsticking or Hoghunting. […], London: Harrison & Sons, […], →OCLC, § 27, page 57

plural pugs

1. abbreviationclippinginformalClipping of pugilist (“one who fights with their fists, especially a professional prize fighter; a boxer”).First known use mid 19th c.

   He [Maxie Rosenbloom] never trained for his characters either: with his slurred speech and disfigured mug he usually portrayed a punch-drunk ex-pug or comic tough guy, roles in which he was a natural.

   1988, Ken Blady, “‘Slapsie’ Maxie Rosenbloom: ‘The Harlem Harlequin’: Light Heavyweight Champion of the World (1930–1935)”, in The Jewish Boxers Hall of Fame, New York, N.Y.: Shapolsky Publishers, →ISBN, page 226

   1 more example

   Anyhow I found myself facin' the pug, seein' bright red, and inclined to fight a dozen. I didn't last for more than one round—my game leg cramped me, I suppose. I got one or two on his ugly face, and then I suppose I took a knock-out.

   1924 July, John Buchan, “Sir Archibald Roylance Puts His Foot in It”, in The Three Hostages, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 212

present singular third person pugs · participle present pugging · participle past pugged · past pugged

1. raretransitiveTo hit or punch (someone or something); also, to poke (someone or something).

   Agosh! I long to try a bout / With zom o' Burdett's rabble rout; / I'd quickly pug their guts: / I'd gee mun zich a lammin [i.e., violent] lick, / I'd make mun of elections zick; / I'd gee mun all the butts.

   1812, Peter Pindar [pseudonym; John Wolcot], “The Middlesex Election; or, Poetical Epistles, in the Devonshire Dialect, by Mr. Joseph Budge, in London, to Lord Rolle, at Weymouth”, in The Works of Peter Pindar, Esq. […], new edition, volume IV, London: […] J[ohn] Walker, G. Wilkie and J. Robinson, G. Robinson, […]; and G. Goulding and Co. […], →OCLC, page 442

2. transitivebusinessTo fill or stop up (a space) with pug (noun etymology 5, noun sense 1), clay, sawdust, or other material by tamping; (specifically) to fill in (the space between joists of a floor, a partition, etc.) with some material to deaden sound, make fireproof, etc.

   Forbid it Venus! From the venal Fair / Snatch every charm, to Hay convert her Locks; / Pug up her nose, and pug-like make her stare; / And pit her pimpled visage with small-pox.

   1812, Peter Pindar [pseudonym; John Wolcot], “Lord Auckland’s Triumph; or, The Death of Crim. Con. A Pair of Prophetic Odes. Elegy to a Friend.”, in The Works of Peter Pindar, Esq. […], new edition, volume IV, London: […] J[ohn] Walker, G. Wilkie and J. Robinson, G. Robinson, […]; and G. Goulding and Co. […], →OCLC, page 312

3. transitivepotterybusinessTo mix and work (wet clay) until flexible, soft, and free from air pockets and suitable for making bricks, pottery, etc.

   to pug clay ready for shaping

4. AustraliaNew ZealandarchaictransitiveOf cattle, etc.: to trample (the ground, a place, etc.) until it becomes muddy and soft; to poach.
5. EnglandalsoarchaicfigurativelyregionaltransitiveTo pack or tamp (something) into a small space.
6. EnglandalsoarchaicfigurativelyintransitiveregionalTo pack or tamp into a small space.

plural pugs

1. countableuncountablebusinessClay, soil, or other material which has been mixed and worked until flexible, soft, and free from air pockets and thus suitable for making bricks, pottery, etc.; also, any other material with a similar consistency or function, especially (Australia) auriferous (“gold-bearing”) clay.

   2 more examples

   A brickfield certainly is not the place for girls and young women to work in; […] the work they have too, at least those who are pug-bearers, often causes indecency; they have to stoop down to the ground to pick the pug up from the bottom of the mill; at all events, they ought to have their clothes tied around them, indeed, the respectable young women usually have. I do not think there is any ill-treatment of the children as there used to be; they often get a bit of pug thrown at them, but they are not hit about with the hand or the "slice."

   1866, Mr. Dean, witness, “Children’s Employment Commission (1862). Fifth Report of the Commissioners, […]. [Appendix to Fifth Report. Reports and Evidence of Assistant Commissioners. Evidence on Brickfields.—By Mr. H. W. Lord.]”, in Reports from Commissioners: […] (No. 3678), volume XXIV, London: […] George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, […] for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, →OCLC, paragraph 40, page 143, column 1

   The walls of the house were built of "pug," which means simply well-pounded mud, and has the disadvantage of refusing to adhere firmly to the frames of doors and casements, so that the banging of either, in windy weather, is apt to bring large pieces of the material crumbling down, and the house never looks tidy.

   1872, Mrs. Edward Millett, chapter III, in An Australian Parsonage; or, The Settler and the Savage in Western Australia, London: Edward Stanford, […], →OCLC, page 55

2. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountablebusinessEllipsis of pug mill (“kind of mill for grinding, mixing, and working clay”).

present singular third person pugs · participle present pugging · participle past pugged · past pugged

1. EnglandScotlandWalesWesterntransitivebusinessTo pull or tug (something).

   George pugg'd clover in the forenoon.

   1717 April 10 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Edward Turner, quoting [the anonymous diarist], “The Marchant Diary”, in Sussex Archaeological Collections, […], volume XIII (2nd Series; volume XXV overall), Lewes, Sussex: George P. Bacon for the Sussex Archaeological Society, published 1873, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 180

   2 more examples

   Nae thing was prosperin’ there and thrivin’, / But tirlin’ roofs and rafter-rivin’, / And pullin’ down and puggin’; […]

   Nothing was prospering there and thriving, / But tirling [stripping] roofs and rafter-riving [rending], / And pulling down and pugging; […]

   [1827, M. W. T. [i.e., William Tennant], “Sang Saxt [Song Sixth]”, in Papistry Storm’d; or, The Dingin’ Down o’ the Cathedral. […] (in Scots), Edinburgh: […] Oliver and Boyd, […], →OCLC, page 211

   Now, surry [sir], where be you coming scoating [sliding] to with that 'orse? Pug your right rein a bit, and give we some room.

   1875, A. Porson, “Dialogues in which Some of These Expressions Occur”, in Notes of Quaint Words and Sayings in the Dialect of South Worcestershire, Oxford, Oxfordshire; London: James Parker and Co. […], →OCLC, paragraph 56, page 29

2. EnglandScotlandWalesWesternobsoletetransitivebusinessTo spoil (something) by touching too much.

   1 more example

   ["B]e sure not to wet it up too much; make it into twelve doughboys" (dumplings). / "I'm so heavy-handed," Jane remarked at this point, "I always spoil that sort of cookery." / "Tell about heavy-handed!" cried Betsy; "I'll answer for it, I'll soon put you in the way of being light-handed! You only want to learn to handle things without pugging and pawing them about too much."

   1885, E. Cruwys Sharland, chapter IV, in Ways and Means in a Devonshire Village. A Book for Mothers’ Meetings. […], London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, →OCLC, page 55

3. EnglandScotlandWalesWesternintransitivebusinessFollowed by at: to pull or tug.

plural pugs

1. EnglandScotlandUKWalesWesternarchaiccountableregionaluncountableSouthwest EnglandagricultureThe residue left after pressing apples for cider; pomace.
2. EnglandScotlandUKWalesWesterncountableobsoleteregionaluncountableagricultureOften in the plural: the husks and other refuse removed from grain by winnowing; chaff.

   The pugg, i.e. the refuſe corne left at winnowinge.

   [a. 1640 (date written), John Smyth, “[Phrases and Proverbs of Speach Proper to This Hundred]”, in John MacLean, editor, The Berkeley Manuscripts: A Description of the Hundred of Berkeley in the County of Gloucester and of Its Inhabitants, volume III, Gloucester, Gloucestershire: […] John Bellows for the subscribers, published 1885, →OCLC, page 25

   1 more example

   Radiſh ſeed vvould vvillingly be ſovvne in a looſe or light ground, and natherleſſe moiſt enough: it cannot abide danke mucke, but contenteth it ſelfe vvith rotten chaffe or pugs, and ſuch like plaine mullock.

   1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XIX.] Garden Plants, Their Natures, Kinds, and Severall Histories.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 2nd tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 17

plural PuGs · alternative pug

1. InternetabbreviationacronymgamesAcronym of pickup group (“group of players who are unknown to each other, grouped together to work toward a short-term goal, such as completing a dungeon or a raid”).

present singular third person PuGs · participle present PuGing · participle past PuGed · past PuGed · alternative pug

1. InternettransitivegamesTo participate in structured content of an online game as part of a pickup group.