hunt the gowk
(UK, dialect) To go on a fool's errand, on which one is sent as a prank.
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(UK, dialect) To go on a fool's errand, on which one is sent as a prank.
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
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.
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- 77%
The traditional Scottish name for April Fools' Day, literally meaning 'hunt the gowk' — where 'gowk' is the Scots word for a cuckoo, used figuratively for a fool. In Scottish folk tradition, the day was celebrated by sending people on fool's errands or delivering mock messages that read 'Hunt the gowk another mile,' instructing the recipient to pass the note on and continue the joke. The custom reflects a rich tradition of ritual foolery that predates the more generic April Fools' Day label.
- 75%
(archaic, Scottish) To play a trick on, make a fool of.
- 68%
(UK, dialectal, obsolete) An owl.
- 66%
(India, dated) A hunt of this kind.
- 65%
(India, dated, intransitive) To hunt for animals by stealth in an area where they are likely to be found on the move.