rrrrrrrrrr.

adv.  unclearly.

<He talks like rrrrrrrrrr, he doesn’t speak clear[ly].  —Bonnie Urciuoli, Exposing Prejudice: Puerto Rican Experiences of Language, Race, and Class.>

RRRRRRRRRR.

n.  the squeal of braking tires.

<[T]he two Marines heard the trucks’ large rubber tires rolling to a permanent halt, the distinctive RRRRRRRRRR hum echoing in the shattered streets of town.  —David J. Morris, Storm on the Horizon: Khafji—The Battle That Changed the Course of the Gulf War.>

rrrrrrrrrr.

n.  a cheetah’s roar-like purr.

<Once we were allowed inside the cheetah cage [at the London Zoo].  The cheetahs were quite tame.  There were two of them standing there, and I scratched them behind the ears.  Suddenly there was a roar—rrrrrrrrrr—in their throats.  I thought it was growling and jumped, but the keeper laughed and said, “They’re purring, ma’am.”  —May Sarton, Endgame: A Journal of the Seventy-Ninth Year.>

n.  a growl made by a dog trainer to motivate a learning puppy.

<Let him see you see you toss his toy and encourage him by growling, “Rrrrrrrrrr,” or by asking him, “Do you want to get it?”  —Bobbie Anderson, Building Blocks for Performance.>

- END OF PREVIEW - To read more, see the "Search Inside" feature at Amazon.com