A British dialectal verb meaning to dig, grub, or disturb soil — to root around and turn things up.
A British dialectal verb meaning to dig, grub, or disturb soil — to root around and turn things up. Common in Scottish and Northern English dialects. Can describe anything from potato digging to rummaging through a pile of things. Also used figuratively for digging up information or old memories.
He spent the afternoon howking tatties out of the frost-hardened ground.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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(UK, dialect, transitive) To disturb by digging.