scuffling
n.— «“Only in recent years have I heard the terms ‘scufflin’,’ and ‘scuffling.’ It is obvious they are using it to mean ‘struggling,’ but not one dictionary I can find includes scufflin.'” “R: Your pal must be a blues fan, as the album in question is likely ‘Scufflin’ with Stu Ramsay & Chicago Slim’ (Capitol ST-344), a late 1969 release. Though not found in common dictionaries, scufflin’ has been a blues slang word for at least 77 years—maybe longer. I have definitely confirmed a pricey 1929 single by the Barrel House Five, titled “Scufflin’ Blues” (Paramount 12942). Recent sales of this 78 rpm have been in the $700 to $800 range.”» —“‘Scufflin” is old blues slang” by Jerry Osborne Evansville Courier Press (Indiana) Nov. 6, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article...
When Bebe, a non-native English speaker in Charlotte, North Carolina, moved from England to the United States, she learned that a minor illness isn’t called the lurgy but the crud. In the 1700s, lurgy was used jokingly to refer to “a vague medical...