rrrrrrr.

n.  a soft grumble.

<Then I started hearing some movement.  I hear things moving around, and I hear a little rrrrrrr, you know, grumbling, and “How are you?” and “Are you okay?”  I heard guys talking, and I realized I wasn’t alone.  —Dennis Smith, Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center.>

n.  a squeal over a large rat running loose, as in Maternal Meanderings by Diane Dean-Epps.


n.  a tiger’s growl, as in the novel Axis Sally by M. Williams Fuller.

RRRRRRR.

n.  a warning scream of a chickaree.

<A golden eagle came into view, his wings motionless as he rode the air current above the river.  Here was a real enemy.  “RRRRRRR!” [the chickaree] warned.  Every bird stopped what he was doing and sat perfectly still.  Eagles see movement.  Birds somehow know that if they do not move, eagles and other predators will not see them.  —Jean Craighead George, Spring Moon.>

rrrrrrr.

n.  an audible shudder of horror.

<“Ever since I saw E.T. I’ve had a horror of something being in my closet.  Imagine standing there trying to decide what you’re going to wear, and long skinny fingers creep out of your dresses. Rrrrrrr.”  She shuddered.  —Betsy Byars, The Computer Nut.>

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