Rick Mould
Preserved but no longer current.
Fetching the rick mould is^a "flat- catching" trick played during the hay-harvest. The greenhorn is sent to borrow a rick-mould, with strict injunction not to drop it. Something very heavy is put in a sack and hoisted on his back; when he has carried it carefully in the hot sun to the hayfield he gets well laughed at for his pains.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Rick Mould” mean?
Fetching the rick mould is^a "flat- catching" trick played during the hay-harvest. The greenhorn is sent to borrow a rick-mould, with strict injunction not to drop it. Something very heavy is put in a sack and hoisted on his back; when he has carried it carefully in the hot sun to the hayfield he gets well laughed at for his pains.
Is “Rick Mould” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.