Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The act of gathering wool: usually applied figuratively to the indulgence of idle fancies or to any foolish or fruitless pursuit.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Indulging in a vagrant or idle exercise of the imagination; roaming upon a fruitless quest; idly fanciful.
- noun Indulgence in idle imagination; a foolish or useless pursuit or design.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Gathering fragments ofwool torn fromsheep bybushes , etc. - noun Indulging in
idle fancies ordaydreams .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an idle indulgence in fantasy
- adjective dreamy in mood or nature
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Like woolgathering and other empty pursuits, wistful might-have-beens had no place in my mind.
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People my age or not too much younger may remember times as a child -- and even later -- when they stared aimlessly at sunlight playing on trees, or lay on their backs looking up at clouds or otherwise engaged in that hopelessly antediluvian activity -- woolgathering.
Stanton Peele: Solitude: Alone or on the iPhone Stanton Peele 2011
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People my age or not too much younger may remember times as a child -- and even later -- when they stared aimlessly at sunlight playing on trees, or lay on their backs looking up at clouds or otherwise engaged in that hopelessly antediluvian activity -- woolgathering.
Stanton Peele: Solitude: Alone or on the iPhone Stanton Peele 2011
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Perpetual regret well describes the mood of the speakers in "Great House," and at times their stories recede into sloughs of forlorn woolgathering.
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People my age or not too much younger may remember times as a child -- and even later -- when they stared aimlessly at sunlight playing on trees, or lay on their backs looking up at clouds or otherwise engaged in that hopelessly antediluvian activity -- woolgathering.
Stanton Peele: Solitude: Alone or on the iPhone Stanton Peele 2011
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People my age or not too much younger may remember times as a child -- and even later -- when they stared aimlessly at sunlight playing on trees, or lay on their backs looking up at clouds or otherwise engaged in that hopelessly antediluvian activity -- woolgathering.
Stanton Peele: Solitude: Alone or on the iPhone Stanton Peele 2011
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Idea sessions can easily dissolve into wandering and woolgathering.
The 10 Commandments Of Brainstorming Josh Linkner 2010
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She snorted, angry at woolgathering, knowing that among the younger ones it would appear as senility.
The Shattering Christie Golden 2010
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A gentle buzzing at the base of his skull reminded him that his woolgathering was happening on company time.
365 tomorrows » 2008 » February : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2008
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But my publisher was a benighted occupant of that quotidian realm where these things have been forgotten; all he and anyone else cares about these days isrelevantfacts, not the useless trivia I had accumulated over a lifetime of woolgathering.
chained_bear commented on the word woolgathering
I love that this word we use synonymously for "lollygagging" comes from the actual practice of picking tufts of wool off of bushes where wandering sheep left them. I imagine if tasked with that job, one might do quite a bit of mental woolgathering as well. Cool word, cool history!
February 13, 2007
dmcleod0914 commented on the word woolgathering
"He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way everytime I as up"- Twilight, Stephanie Meyer, pg.51
October 27, 2010