rustle

Everyday

1. To rustle is to make a soft, light, crackling sound like dry leaves or paper moving. tree →
2. A rustle is that sound. tree →
3. «Rustle up» means to make or find something quickly, like a quick snack. tree →
4. To rustle cattle is to steal them (in old Western stories). tree →

In the lessons

In stories and poems a rustle in the bushes builds suspense — something might be hiding. In science lessons it is a sound word, like whisper or crunch. Phrases: «rustle of leaves», «rustle up a meal», «cattle rustler».

Examples

• The leaves rustled in the wind. tree →
• We heard a rustle in the bushes and froze. tree →
• Please don't rustle your crisp packet during the film. tree →
• Mum rustled up some sandwiches for us. tree →
• The paper rustled as she turned the page. tree →
• In the cowboy story, thieves rustled the cattle at night. tree →
• Not a rustle or a sound could be heard. tree →

Note

The «t» is silent: RUSS-ul. Past: «rustled». It is an onomatopoeic word — it sounds like the noise it names. A «rustler» is a cattle thief.

In Jewish tradition

The psalm pictures the land so rich that the grain rustles like the trees of Lebanon.

Interpretation. Tradition reads this as a blessing of plenty for the king and for the land in the time of redemption.

Examples

• May he be as a rich cornfield in the land upon the top of the mountains; may his fruit rustle like Lebanon; and may they blossom out of the city like grass of the earth. (Writings PSA.72.16, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

The «t» is silent: RUSS-ul. Past: «rustled». It is an onomatopoeic word — it sounds like the noise it names. A «rustler» is a cattle thief.