"squally" - Word of the Day from the OED

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squally, a.2

SECOND EDITION 1989

(skwl)  Also 8 squalley. [f. SQUALL n.³] 

    1. Characterized by the prevalence of squalls.    a. Of places, seasons, etc.

1719 Boyer's Dict. Royal I. s.v. Rafale, Cote sujette aux rafales, a squally Coast. 1830 HODGSON in Raine Mem. (1858) II. 175 The hills..in a squally evening look very black and dismal. 1848 CLOUGH Amours de Voy. III. 48 In the squally seas as we lay by Capraja and Elba. 1876 BLACK Madcap Violet xlv. 388 The day was squally enough, and might turn to showers.

    b. Of weather.

1727 BAILEY, Squalley, inclinable to sudden Storms of Wind and Rain. 1745 P. THOMAS Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 25 Squally Weather, with Hail and Snow. 1782 NELSON 22 July in Nicolas Disp. (1846) VII. p. iv, I imagine we are just getting into the Gulf stream by its being so very squally. 1866 R. M. BALLANTYNE Shifting Winds xiv, The weather became thick and squally, and continued so for several days. 1890 Science-Gossip XXVI. 283 It was very squally at the time, with occasional showers of hail.

    2. Of the wind: Blowing in sudden and violent gusts or blasts.

1748 Anson's Voy. III. i. 303 The wind proved squally, and blew so strong off shore [etc.]. 1797 NELSON 12 Apr. in Nicolas Disp. (1845) II. 379 The wind is either in from the sea, or squally with calms from the mountains. 1810 SHELLEY Zastrozzi xii, The towering pine-trees waved in the squally wind. 1883 STEVENSON Silverado Sq. 168 The wind veered..and began to blow squally from the mountain summit.

    3. fig. Stormy, troublous, threatening. Chiefly U.S., esp. in the phr. to look squally.

1814 W. IRVING in Life & Lett. (1864) I. 315 Affairs, I am afraid, are about to look squally on our Canada frontier. 1833 ‘MAJOR J. DOWNING’ (Seba Smith) Lett. (1835) xiv. 87 The times are now gittin pretty squally, and if we don't look out sharp, things will go all to smash. 1853 KANE Grinnell Exp. xlv. (1856) 418 But for some hours things looked squally enough. 1876 MRS. H. WOOD Parkwater (1879) 284 In the midst of her squally bargaining with the fish-vendor.

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