scramble
Etymology
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Etymology
Origin uncertain. Perhaps from earlier dialectal scramble, scrammel, from scramb + -le (compare Dutch schrammen); or alternatively from a nasalised form of scrabble.
Pronunciation- IPA: /ˈskɹæmbl̩/
scramble (scrambles, present participle scrambling; simple past and past participle scrambled)
- (intransitive) To move hurriedly to a location, especially by using all limbs against a surface.
- [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC ↗:
- When I saw the coffin I knew that I was respited, for, as I judged, there was space between it and the wall behind enough to contain my little carcass; and in a second I had put out the candle, scrambled up the shelves, half-stunned my senses with dashing my head against the roof, and squeezed my body betwixt wall and coffin.
- (intransitive) To proceed to a location or an objective in a disorderly manner.
- (transitive, of food ingredients, usually, including egg) To thoroughly combine and cook as a loose mass.
- I scrambled some eggs with spinach and cheese.
- (transitive) To process telecommunication signals to make them unintelligible to an unauthorized listener.
- (transitive, military, also by extension) To quickly deploy (vehicles, usually aircraft) to a destination in response to an alert, usually to intercept an attacking enemy.
- (intransitive, military) To be quickly deployed in this manner.
- 1969, Burke Davis, Get Yamamoto, page 115:
- As the planes scrambled, four of his veterans went up: Tom Lanphier, Rex Barber, Joe Moore and Jim McLanahan. They had waited with other Lightnings at 30,000 feet and dived on a formation of eleven Zeroes far below, working in pairs.
- (intransitive, sports) To partake in motocross.
- (intransitive) To ascend rocky terrain as a leisure activity.
- (transitive) To gather or collect by scrambling.
- c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the page):
- They say we are a scatter'd nation: / I cannot tell, but we have scrambled up / More wealth by far than those that brag of faith.
- (transitive) To struggle eagerly with others for something thrown upon the ground; to go down upon all fours to seize something; to catch rudely at what is desired.
- (transitive) To throw something down for others to compete for in this manner.
- 1952, Walkabout, volume 18, page 40:
- […] Father Boniface standing on the verandah of the Monastery on a Sunday afternoon “scrambling” lollies to the kids […]
- (Rubik's Cube) To permute parts of a twisty puzzle (especially, Rubik's Cube) until it is ready to be solved from scratch.
- German: krabbeln
- Russian: кара́бкаться
- Spanish: gatear
- French: ruer
- German: drängeln
- Russian: пробира́ться
- French: brouiller
- German: verrühren, verquirlen
- Russian: взба́лтывать
- Spanish: revolver
- French: brouiller
- German: verwürfeln
- Russian: шифрова́ть
- German: ausschwärmen
- Russian: подняться по тревоге
- German: Motocross fahren, crossen (slang)
- French: faire de l'escalade
- German: klettern, kraxeln
- Russian: взбира́ться
scramble (plural scrambles)
- A rush or hurry, especially making use of the limbs against a surface.
- a last-minute scramble to the finish line
- (military) An emergency defensive air force mission to intercept attacking enemy aircraft.
- 1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave.
- There goes the siren that warns of the air raid / Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak / Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne / Got to get up for the coming attack.
- 1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave.
- A motocross race.
- Any frantic period of competitive activity.
- (gridiron football) An impromptu maneuver or run by a quarterback, attempting to gain yardage or avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage.
- (golf) A statistic used in assessing a player's short game, consisting of a chip or putt from under 50 yards away that results in requiring one putt or less on the green.
- (golf) A variant of golf in which each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays their second shot from within a club length of where the best ball has come to rest, and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished.
- French: bousculade
- German: Gedränge, Gerangel, Gedrängel (coll.)
- Russian: спе́шка
- Spanish: arrebato, arrebatiña, rebatiña
- French: interception
- German: Ausschwärmen
- Russian: взлёт по тревога
- French: motocross
- Russian: мотого́нки
- (UK) Shouted when something desirable is thrown into a group of people who individually want that item, causing them to rush for it.
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.005
