MULLGRUBS, CANTRIP, FLEECH, RANTUM SCOOT.I have posted a number of times on dialects and microaccents, including this post on the 174 names for dust bunnies that are recorded in the DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN ENGLISH (DARE). Nick’s Emory Magazine for summer, 2012 had an article by Paige Parvin about the latest installment of DARE and about its chief editor, Joan Houston Hall, whose doctorate is from Emory. The article gives a number of useful dialect words from DARE, including the following:
“mullygrubbing” —sulking, petulant behavior.
“cantrip”— a magic spell. “By some cantrip, John got an A in the class.”
“fleech”—to coax, wheedle. “I fleeched my professor into changing my grade from A minus to A.”
“rantum scoot”—An outing with no definite destination. “Just out for a rantum scoot.”