mudlark

[ muhd-lahrk ]

/ ˈmʌdˌlɑrk /

Chiefly British. a person who gains a livelihood by searching for iron, coal, old ropes, etc., in mud or low tide.

Chiefly British Informal. a street urchin.

either of two black and white birds, Grallina cyanoleuca, of Australia, or G. bruijni, of New Guinea, that builds a large, mud nest.

to grub or play in mud.

Origin of mudlark

First recorded in 1790–1800; mud + lark¹

mudfish, mudflow, mudguard, mudhole, mudir, mudlark, mudlump, mudminnow, mudpack, mudpuppy, mudra

On the voyage of which I write he had taken no cargo at all; he said it would only make the Mudlark heavy and slow.

The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 |Ambrose Bierce
You wade along in this way step by step, like a mudlark at Portsmouth Hard, hoping gradually to regain the surface.

South! |Sir Ernest Shackleton
This was Captain Abersouth, formerly of the Mudlark—as good a seaman as ever sat on the taffrail reading a three volume novel.

The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 |Ambrose Bierce
So I shipped as mate on the Mudlark, bound from London to wherever the captain might think it expedient to sail.

The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 |Ambrose Bierce

As a lad I slept with the rats, held horses, swept crossings and lived like a mudlark!

The Strollers |Frederic S. Isham

mudlark

/ (ˈmʌdˌlɑːk) /

slang, rare a street urchin

(formerly) one who made a living by picking up odds and ends in the mud of tidal rivers

Australian slang a racehorse that runs well on a wet or muddy course