hucklebone

[Eng. huckle, and bone.] 1. The hip-bone. "Sciatica or gout in the hucklebone."-P. Holland: Pliny, bk. xxvi., ch. viii. 2. The astragalus (q. v.). "The hucklebones , or astragali, were used in divination in ancient Rome." -Tylor: Primitive Culture, i. 74. hück-stěr, *huk-stare, *huk-stere, *hucster, *hwk-stare, s . [Dut. hucken = to stoop; hucker a huckster; cf. heuker a retailer; heuken =to retail; Sw. hökare = a cheesemonger; höken = higgling; hökerske =a huckster. The word is properly a feminine form, from the termination -ster .] 1. A retailer of small goods; a peddler, a hawker. "He went so low as to make gaines by huckster's trade." -P. Holland: Suet on i us, p. 241. 2. A mean, trickish fellow.