marlock meaning (obsolete): definition, etymology and quotations

marlock

noun

UK /ˈmɑː.lək/ · US /ˈmɑɹ.lək/

Dialectal, Obsolete A prank; a practical joke.

Jack, my cousin, used to play off all sorts of marlocks with Terpsy; but she were werry good-tempered.1872, The Nautical Magazine, volume 41, page 227:
He played moore nor one marlock o' th' same mak afore we'd getten through th' first day, who aw began thinkin he were carryin on to smother his feelins an' keep his full heart fro runnin o'er.1895, John Trafford Clegg, The Works of John Trafford Clegg:

Dialectal, Obsolete A playful gesture.

Dialectal, Obsolete A flirtatious glance.

noun

Etymology From Nyunga marlok.

Australia Any of various small eucalypts of southwest Australia.