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I ran across an odd word: brockle. One-look doesn’t have it (except in wictionary), and OED, which gives a different definition, says the word is obsolete. Yet it has plenty of Google hits: 13,500, including over 250 for the phrase brockle-faced. From the latter cites I get the sense that the term is reasonably common in the cattle industry. Comments?
– Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma | ||
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Member |
I've never heard of it, but then I know nothing about cattle. anyway. It certainly has the 'feel' of a farmers' term. Perhaps the word should have been saved for use in the bluffing game? Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Member |
The word seems vaguely familiar to me. I will ask my father, as he might know if it. | |||
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Member |
I've never heard of the word. But, as you say, it appears to be common in the trade. It's mentioned in several books. They seem to be mostly western novels. This is from Beef Newsletter, by the University of Missouri Extension (third to last paragraph):
From The Genetics of the Hereford Pattern:
I'm sure you'll all want to read that one. It also applies to sheep. An "Agriculture Core Curriculum" says
And from a sheep glossary by the Danke Club Lambs and Livestock of Minford, Ohio:
And the last one is from A Glossary of North Country Words in use; with Their Etymology, and Affinity to Other Languages; and occasional Notices of Local Customs and Popular Superstitions MDCCCXXIX (p. 49): This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman, | |||
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Member |
The word sounds vaguely familiar to me also. My father grew up on a farm in southern Ohio and I'm sure in his lifetime I must've heard him refer to a brockle-faced cow. The word has the same feel as "brindle," doesn't it--same idea, different species and different colors, but mottled or splotchy. WM | |||
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Member |
Yes, it does, WM. With Border Collies that blotchy face is called merle blue. | |||
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Junior Member |
Brockle is a term typically used in sheep as the above definition points out. It can also be used to discribe any animal with a spotted head. In cattle typically a black body with a spotted head, in sheep a white body with a spotted head. Brockle lambs are very popular in the show arenas. | |||
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Member |
Welcome, Kim! And, yes, I now remember that word from my days in Wisconsin. | |||
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