seagulling

1. 1
   verbAustraliaNew Zealand

   Present participle of seagull.

   He spent the second half seagulling out wide, leaving his forwards a man short at the breakdown.

   Coaches penalize players who keep seagulling rather than doing the hard work up front.

   Note

   The verb seagull covers the same three activities as the nouns: a forward straying wide, running a British Seagull outboard, and casual work on the docks. Seagulling can therefore head a verb phrase (he kept seagulling out wide) or, as a gerund, fill the slot a noun fills. In that use it is often hard to tell apart from the rugby noun.

2. 2
   nounslangAustraliaBritishNew Zealanduncountable

   In rugby union, the practice of forwards running in the back line instead of focusing on their primary positional duties during open play.

   Persistent seagulling by the back-row forwards drew sharp criticism from the coaching staff.

   The team's seagulling created overlaps out wide but exposed the forward pack at the breakdown.

   Note

   Rugby slang in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and almost always a criticism. A forward is told to "cut out" or "cut down" the seagulling, or to stay away from it in tight games, and get back to the dirty work at the breakdown. Like every other use of the word, it is simply seagull plus -ing, and the verb to seagull carries the same meaning.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The practice of running a boat with a British Seagull outboard motor.

   Weekend seagulling on the estuary appeals to those who love tinkering with vintage outboards.

   He took up seagulling after restoring a 1950s motor he found in a shed.

   Note

   A hobbyist's word, often written with a capital S because the engine behind it is a brand: a Seagulling race day, young people getting involved in Seagulling. Enthusiasts use it in the pages of their own magazine, The Gull, and sign off with "Happy Seagulling." In everyday talk it takes the light verb do, as in "do some seagulling."

4. 4
   nounNew Zealanduncountable

   The practice of working as a non-union casual stevedore, hired job by job to load and unload ships.

   Years of seagulling on the waterfront left him without the security the union men enjoyed.

   During the strike, some men turned to seagulling to feed their families.

   Note

   A waterfront word, chiefly from New Zealand, for the daily gamble of casual hiring. Bryan Gould's Goodbye to All That (1995) sets it on the Wellington wharves, where a crowd of men gathered just before 8 a.m. hoping for the nod. Archie Green (2001) recalls old timers pairing it with bypassing the union hall, so the word carries reproach as well as hardship.

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