Dictionary

polrumptious en · ADJ

Etymology

Uncertain. Probably related to rumptious (“energetic, rowdy, uproarious”). The initial pol may be derived from some sense of poll.

Meanings

1. (archaic, dialectal, slang) Unruly, rowdy, restless.
   • "Why, that's another matter," replied the beadle; "an' if it be true—and I think thou doest not look so polrumptious as thy play-fellow yonder—thou wouldst be a mettle lass enow, an thou wert snog and snod a bit better. Come thou away then—the Rector is a good man." 1818 July 25, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of Mid-Lothian), volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC, page 170:
   • "Iss, sir. Two knacks 'pon the floor, an' I'd ha' been up in a jiffey. But niver mind, sir, us'll wait up for mun to-night, an' I'll get the loan o' the Dearloves' blunderbust in case they gets polrumptious." 1888, Q. [pseudonym; Arthur Quiller-Couch], chapter XVII, in The Astonishing History of Troy Town, London […]: Cassel & Company, Limited, page 213:
   • "Poor lamb," she said suddenly, "yu're well nigh done with them polrumptious trains and things, and yu not long a wife, I'll dare be bound. Look yu here, my dear—ma'am—I am sure I beg your pardon Mrs. Gray—ma'am—as I mentioned before, yu'll not take what I say being too free—yu just set yu down here where yu be, and let Cherry unbutton your boots—it do make a most wonderful easement to take your boots off and let your feet swell into whatever shape they've got a mind to—it do relieve yu wonderful, and no mistake." 1908, Ms. Percy Dearmer [i.e., Mabel Dearmer], chapter four, in The Sisters, New York, N.Y.: The McClure Company, page 82:

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