burl

burl
: give it a burl Give it a try, make an attempt. Burl is one of almost 200 words that Australian English borrowed from British dialects. It is a Scots word for a 'spin' or 'whirl', and in Australia we have varied the standard English 'give it a whirl' by replacing the last word with the Scots 'burl'-'The mower should start now Mum-give it a burl!'

Australian idioms. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • burl´er — burl «burl», noun, verb. –n. 1. a small knot or lump in wool or cloth. 2. a) a large knot or excrescence in certain woods. The most highly prized burls include redwood, myrtle, walnut, cherry, ash, and maple. b) a veneer made with this wood. –v.t …   Useful english dictionary

  • Burl — (b[^u]rl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Burled} (b[^u]rld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Burling}.] [OE. burle stuffing, or a knot in cloth; cf. F. bourlet, bourrelet, OF. bourel, a wreath or a roll of cloth, linen, or leather, stuffed with flocks, etc., dim. of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Burl — Burl, n. 1. A knot or lump in thread or cloth. [1913 Webster] 2. An overgrown knot, or an excrescence, on a tree; also, veneer made from such excrescences. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • burl — burl·er; burl; …   English syllables

  • burl — [bʉrl] n. [ME burle < OFr bourle, flocks or ends of threads < VL * burrula, small flock of wool < LL burra, wool] 1. a knot in wool, thread, yarn, etc. that gives a nubby appearance to cloth 2. a kind of knot on some tree trunks or woody …   English World dictionary

  • burl — small knot in wool or cloth, mid 15c., from O.Fr. bourle tuft of wool, which perhaps is related to the root of BUR (Cf. bur), or from V.L. *burrula small flock of wool, from L.L. burra wool …   Etymology dictionary

  • burl — ► NOUN 1) a lump in wool or cloth. 2) N. Amer. a rounded knotty growth on a tree. ORIGIN Old French bourle tuft of wool , from Latin burra wool …   English terms dictionary

  • Burl — A burl (British bur or burr) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds. Burls are the… …   Wikipedia

  • burl — I. /bɜl / (say berl) noun 1. a small knot or lump in wool, thread, or cloth. 2. Also, tree burl. a dome shaped, wart like growth on the trunk of a tree, around 60 cm across and protruding by 30 cm or more, which can be sliced to make burlwood… …  

  • burl — I Australian Slang 1. attempt; try; 2. move quickly: to burl along (northern British dialect birl to spin) II Australian English Have a try, as in give it a burl …   English dialects glossary

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