English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Dutch winkelhaak (try square, rectangular tear or cut), from Middle Dutch winkelhake (try square).

Noun

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winkle-hawk (plural winkle-hawks)

  1. (obsolete, New York, rare) A rectangular tear or cut in clothing or any other fabric, shaped like a try square.
    • 1861 July, “Norman Sinclair. An Autobiography”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume 90, page 44:
      The spekilation ha'n't turned out just so good as I expected, but it might have been worse ; anyhow, it's a comfort to walk off without a winkle-hawk in one's character for 'cuteness.
    • 1908 November 11, "Hahne & Co." (advertisement), Elizabeth Daily Journal, evening edition, page 4.
      NOTE—Some are slightly imperfect through mill stains or “winkle hawks”—hardly noticeable.
    • 1914, The Editor; the Journal of Information for Literary Workers, page 197:
      And if out of our experiences we create no more pretentious effort than a hand-book on "The Care of Cutlery," or "The Preservation of Tin Roofs," or "The Mending of Winkle-hawks in Youth's Clothing," we are sure of appreciative readers, and for consolation for what may seem lack of the artistic we will have our regular, continuous royalty payments.
    • 1922, Leona Dalrymple, Fool's Hill, page 241:
      You've said yourself that everything you own's got some kind of a winkle hawk patched over in the seat.
    • 1932, Katharine Newlin Burt, The Tall Ladder, page 81:
      Some broken harness to be mended, a loose door to be hinged, two saddles that needed oiling, and a mass of untidy canvas to be inspected for rents and winkle-hawks.