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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Souse

Souse \Souse\, v. i. [Probably fr. OF. sors, p. p. of sordre to rise, and first used of an upward swood, then of a swoop in general, but also confused with Souse, v. t. See Source.] To swoop or plunge, as a bird upon its prey; to fall suddenly; to rush with speed; to make a sudden attack.

For then I viewed his plunge and souse Into the foamy main.
--Marston.

Jove's bird will souse upon the timorous hare.
--J. Dryden. Jr.

Souse

Sous \Sous\, Souse \Souse\ (F. s[=oo]; colloq. Eng. sous), n. A corrupt form of Sou. [Obs.]
--Colman, the Elder.

Souse

Souse \Souse\, n. [OF. sausse. See Sauce.] [Written also souce, sowce, and sowse.]

  1. Pickle made with salt.

  2. Something kept or steeped in pickle; esp., the pickled ears, feet, etc., of swine.

    And he that can rear up a pig in his house, Hath cheaper his bacon, and sweeter his souse.
    --Tusser.

  3. The ear; especially, a hog's ear. [Prov. Eng.]

  4. The act of sousing; a plunging into water.

Souse

Souse \Souse\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Soused; p. pr. & vb. n. Sousing.] [Cf. F. saucer to wet with sauce. See Souse pickle.]

  1. To steep in pickle; to pickle. ``A soused gurnet.''
    --Shak.

  2. To plunge or immerse in water or any liquid.

    They soused me over head and ears in water.
    --Addison.

  3. To drench, as by an immersion; to wet throughly.

    Although I be well soused in this shower.
    --Gascoigne.

Souse

Souse \Souse\, v. t. To pounce upon. [R.]

[The gallant monarch] like eagle o'er his serie towers, To souse annoyance that comes near his nest.
--Shak.

Souse

Souse \Souse\, n. The act of sousing, or swooping.

As a falcon fair That once hath failed or her souse full near.
--Spenser.

Souse

Souse \Souse\, adv. With a sudden swoop; violently.
--Young.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
souse

late 14c., "to pickle, steep in vinegar," from Old French sous (adj.) "preserved in salt and vinegar," from Frankish *sultja or some other Germanic source (compare Old Saxon sultia "salt water," Old High German sulza "brine"), from Proto-Germanic *salt- (see salt (n.)). Related: Soused; sousing.

souse

something steeped in pickle, especially "pig parts preserved and pickled," mid-15c., earlier "liquid for pickling" (late 14c.), from souse (v.) or from its French source.

Wiktionary
souse

Etymology 1 n. 1 Something kept or steeped in brine 2 # The pickled ears, feet, etc., of swine. 3 ## (context US Appalachian English) Pickled scrapple. 4 ## (context Caribbean English) Pickled or boiled ears and feet of a pig 5 # A pickle made with salt. 6 # The ear; especially, a hog's ear. 7 The act of sousing; a plunging into water. 8 A person suffering from the disease of alcoholism. vb. To immerse in liquid; to steep or drench. Etymology 2

n. 1 The act of sousing, or swooping. 2 A heavy blow. vb. 1 (label en now dialectal transitive) to strike, beat 2 (label en now dialectal intransitive) to fall heavily 3 (label en obsolete transitive) to pounce upon Etymology 3

n. 1 (label en obsolete) sou (the French coin) 2 (label en dated) A small amount

WordNet
souse
  1. n. a person who drinks alcohol to excess habitually [syn: alcoholic, alky, dipsomaniac, boozer, lush, soaker]

  2. pork trimmings chopped and pickled and jelled

  3. the act of making something completely wet; "he gave it a good drenching" [syn: drenching, soaking, sousing]

  4. v. cover with liquid; pour liquid onto; "souse water on his hot face" [syn: drench, douse, dowse, soak, sop]

  5. immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate; "dip the garment into the cleaning solution"; "dip the brush into the paint" [syn: dunk, dip, plunge, douse]

  6. become drunk or drink excessively [syn: soak, inebriate, hit it up]

  7. cook in a marinade; "souse herring"

Wikipedia
Souse

Souse may refer to:

  • Head cheese, a terrine usually made from the head of a pig or calf and set in aspic
  • A food that has been pickled
  • A habitual drunkard

Usage examples of "souse".

By day you will souse and bat our smelling underclothes also when we ladies are unwell, and swab out our latrines with dress pinned up and a dishclout tied to your tail.

Into the hot water the hogs are soused at intervals of twenty seconds, and the Scalder stands, watching the clock, and occasionally trying the temperature of the water with his finger, or the adherence of the hair on the creature first to be handled.

The spectacle of our men stripped to the waist sousing each other with water under the pump is a source of standing wonder to the inhabitants.

One room was largely given over to a buffet table burdened with platters of conger in souse, beef marrow fritters, meat tiles, friants, numble pie and florentine.

The groggy Soul Mate groping for its Twin, The burgling free verse Blear, the Hobo Pote, Clairvoyant, Cubist bug and Burlapped Greek, Souse Socialists and queens with bright green hair, Ginks leading barbered Art Dogs trimmed and Sleek, The Greenwich Stable Dwellers, Mule and Mare, Pal Anarchs, tamed and wrapped in evening duds, Philosophers who go wherever suds Flow free, musicians hunting after eats, And sandaled dames who hang from either ear Strange lumps -- "art jools" -- the size of pickled beets, Writers that write not, hunting Atmosphere, Painters and sculptors that ne'er paint nor sculp, Reformers taking notes on Brainstorm Slum, Cave Men in Windsor Ties, all gauche and glum, With strong iron jaws that crush their food to Pulp, And bright Boy Cynics playing paradox, And th' inevitable She that knitteth Belgian socks -- A score of little groups !

In which his worke he had sixe seruants prest,About the Andvile standing euermore,With huge great hammers, that did neuer restFrom heaping stroakes, which thereon soused sore:All sixe strong groomes, but one then other more:For by degrees they all were disagreed.

There was only one other customer, a souse on a bar stool with his back to the door.

These times were usually coincident with an acute financial depression in Billy's change pocket, and then he would fare forth in the still watches of the night, with a couple of boon companions and roll a souse, or stick up a saloon.

He then added twelve tablespoons of salt to give the souse a bite, three teaspoons of pepper to make it snap, and a handful of cloves and cinnamon bark to make it sweet.

Being in a favourable position he was well soused with salt water by all the hands on that part of the deck, until, looking like a half-drowned rat, the miserable man was allowed to recover his feet.

Loud sousing and snorting noises were heard to proceed from a tub in the back quarters of the dwelling, proclaiming that he was there performing his great Sunday wash, lasting half-an-hour, to which his washings on working-day mornings were mere flashes in the pan.

My platter of hot hors d'oeuvres included a clam casino, an oyster Rockefeller, a fried shrimp, a soused shrimp and a stuffed mushroom cap.

They hadn’t come to see her sideman get soused and have evenings where he made the Pogues sound like brilliant musicians.

A soused reporter, going through his nightly routine of calling up the station houses for police blotter news, got the facts of the story but confuse the Nolan name with the name of the policeman on the case.

He could, almost, imagine himself outside the Snyder bedroom in Queens Village, getting steadily more soused as he waited for Albert to go to sleep so that then he could sneak in there and brain him with the sash weight in his sweaty hand.