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roostertail

noun, verb — 3 senses

roostertail

noun

Etymology From rooster + tail, from analogy with the shape of a rooster's feathered tail.

1

A violent fountain or spray, especially one caused by a moving vehicle or boat.

  • A roostertail of snow kicked up behind me.1988, Libby Riddles, Race Across Alaska: First Woman to Win the Iditarod Tells Her Story, →ISBN, page 21:

roostertail

verb

Etymology From rooster + tail, from analogy with the shape of a rooster's feathered tail.

1

To pour like a fountain; to spurt violently.

  • The red dust of Tanguieta rolling and roostertailing behind us.2005, Pete Watson, “The Prisoner”, in The Heart of the Lion, →ISBN:
2

To move rapidly through water, leaving a roostertail wake.

  • The shiny new aluminum tribal Jet-Boat roostertailed up the river, straight for us, kicking up a wake that rocked our boat hard enough to knock the cards off the cooler.2005, Dave Ames, A Good Life Wasted, →ISBN, page 197:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.