| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| reeling |
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| SYLLABICATION: | reel·ing |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  r  l ng |
| NOUN: | Maine Sustained noise, as from hammering: “Hark that reeling, now, you'll wake the baby!” (Anonymous). | | REGIONAL NOTE: | In the granite quarries of Maine, stones for paving were once shaped by men using small hammers called reels. Crews of 30 men at a time would use these hammers. The resulting “shattering noise as the pieces of the granite were shaped… gave Mainers a word for any sustained hubbub—reelin'” (John Gould). Reeling can denote noise made by humans as well: She told the children to hush their reeling.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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