to wall in the cuckoo
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
See COURSE. Cuddy, an abbreviation of Cuthbert, is the North Country and Scottish familiar name for a donkey, as elsewhere he is called Neddy or Jack.
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 “to wall in the cuckoo” mean?
See COURSE. Cuddy, an abbreviation of Cuthbert, is the North Country and Scottish familiar name for a donkey, as elsewhere he is called Neddy or Jack.
Is “to wall in the cuckoo” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.