Meaning

(Scotland, intransitive) To move in a clumsy manner; to stumble or sprawl; to clamber up with difficulty..

Definitions by Sense

1. (Scotland, intransitive) To move in a clumsy manner; to stumble or sprawl; to clamber up with difficulty.
2. (Scotland) An awkward or struggling movement; stumble.

Example Sentences

We'll sprauchle yont life's roughsome way, / As canny as we dow; / An' souther oor affections aye, / In love's heart-warmin' lowe.

We've routh o' disappointments as / We sprauchle up the brae, / We dinna get the things we want, / We lose the things we hae ;

However far he might sprauchle up the brae, he never forgot — or patronised — an old friend.

Sandra, her man, Raymond an his wife, sprauchle ower roots an bushes, hurryin through the trees.

Well, Sir, just when the gentlemen had got within three yards of her, Nelly geid a bit awckward sprauchle, an' shot out a leg, but whether Nelly had mistaken her distance, or whether the men were up to her fa'en system an' wadna bite, never clearly appeared; but they werna forward in time to catch the lassie in their arms as she expected, an' after a sprauchle an' a stumble, down she came in good earnest, an' broke her arm.

But, with the planks bein' jammed as they were, he didn't sink as deep as his waist, an' after a sprauchle or two, that cost him his hat, he struggled out on the far side, an' moved on towards home, more muddled in his intellects than ever.

... this didn't instil a sense of security so with an incredibly awkward manoeuvre the axe was driven into the floor and a cowardly sprauchle backwards performed to stand secured by slings above the void.

Word Forms

• sprauchles
• sprauchling
• sprauchled
• sprackle
• sprachle
• spraickle

Related Words

When Should You Use Sprauchle?

Use sprauchle when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions