Verb (1)
a passing car barreled through the puddle and soused us good
repeatedly soused the tools in the tub to get the dirt off
firefighters soused the neighboring houses so that they wouldn't catch fire as well Noun
an old souse who lumbered home with a full bottle of gin in him every night
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Verb
The party scenes are tawdry, with flappers frenetically jiggling, their underwear peeking out and soused guests making spectacles of themselves.—Danielle Teller, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025 The athletes were unwinding in the locker room when Coach Mark Few and his assistants charged in and began sousing them with ice-cold water.—Andrew Keh, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023 And then there’s the soy sauce that gets soused over everything to improve bad food in a cheap restaurant.—Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 5 Mar. 2023
Noun
For another Grand Turk specialty, chicken souse served with journey (called johnnycake on other Caribbean islands), Been suggests the deli at the Graceway Grand Turk or the Spot at the JAGS McCartney Airport, which serves the dish on Saturdays.—Laura Begley Bloom, AFAR Media, 10 Mar. 2025 Taste traditional home cooking If fish is for Friday, the traditional Bajan dish of pudding and souse is the staple of Saturday.—Patrick Scott, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025 The meat in souse is first tenderized through boiling and then marinated in lime, cucumbers, peppers and seasonings to pickled perfection.—Essence, 25 Nov. 2024 Guests were treated to local specialties like fresh conch salad, crack conch fritters, curry goat, chicken souse and more, with a side of carnival vibes and traditional music and dance performances.—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024 Similarly, the Grenadian dish of saltfish souse, where flaked saltfish and crunchy peppers top fluffy baking powder biscuits, reminds us of the ubiquity of saltfish in the transatlantic slave trade.—Jessica Carbone, Saveur, 29 Feb. 2024 While assembling these souse and bakes, the complex history of the Caribbean comes into full view, as does the resilience of Grenadians who have turned the foods of their oppression such as saltfish into profoundly beautiful, delicious dishes.—Lelani Lewis, Saveur, 29 Feb. 2024 The caterers served roti and jerk and pelau and souse.—Victoria Brown, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Feb. 2021
Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Middle English, from Anglo-French suz, souce pickling juice, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German sulza brine, Old English sealt salt
Verb (2)
Middle English souce, noun, start of a bird's flight, alteration of sours, probably from Anglo-French surse source — more at source
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