brrrrrr.

v.  to switch on an engine.

<Two canoes came streaking out through the surf and in a few minutes, for the first time in three months, the crew spoke to strangers—the descendents, perhaps, of Tiki and the original voyagers.  With a mixture of sign language and the few words of Polynesian that [Thor] Heyerdahl could remember, the men indicated that they wanted to find a way in through the reef.  The islanders replied by saying “Brrrrrr,” indicating that the crew should switch on their engine.  The natives could not believe that there was none, and Heyerdahl made them feel underneath the stern to prove that this was the case.  —Sir Christian Bonington, Quest for Adventure: Ultimate Feats of Modern Exploration.>

brrrrrrp.

n.  a roar of steam from a fog horn, as if the fog horn were clearing its throat to speak.

<“Brrrrrrp!” roared the Steam through the fog-horn, till the decks quivered.  “Don’t be frightened, below.  It’s only me, just throwing out a few words, in case any one happens to be rolling round to-night.”  —Rudyard Kipling, “The Ship That Found Herself.”>

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