heckle

Everyday

1. To heckle means to shout rude or annoying comments at someone who is speaking or performing in public, to interrupt them. tree →
2. A heckle is one of those shouted comments. tree →
3. A heckle is also a wooden comb with metal teeth, used to comb flax or hemp into fibres. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life hecklers can be heard at comedy shows, football matches and political speeches. Heckling is usually seen as rude, though in Parliament some loud comments are a tradition. In stories, a heckler shows a crowd is against the speaker. A good performer may reply to a heckle with a joke. The person is a heckler.

Examples

• Someone in the crowd heckled the politician. tree →
• The comedian had a funny answer for every heckle. tree →
• It is rude to heckle a speaker at assembly. tree →
• The fans heckled the referee all game. tree →
• Hecklers kept shouting during the speech. tree →
• She kept calm even when they heckled her. tree →
• Heckling is combing it with a heckle or wooden comb; binnings are halters for cattle made of sprit or rushes. tree →

Note

Regular verb: heckled, heckling. A person who heckles is a heckler. Heckling is shouting at a speaker; it is different from asking a question politely.