squat v [phonetics unavailable]. OED ~ v 1 now dial (1300-1722); EDD v1 1 esp s w cties for sense 1.
1 To crush, bruise; squeeze; flatten.
1897 J A Folklore x, 210 ~ as a verb means to crush, as 'I got my finger squat'; that is, crushed. 1920 WALDO 161 Instead of 'squashed,' 'squatted' is a common word, as in the expression 'I squatted my finger.' P 148-60 I had to squat my way into the door. T 80/1-64 An' they left Twillingate, see, and come out here an' cut a patch o' seals, an' drove away in th' ice, an' got squat up; had the bottom tore out of her. T 141/68-652 Well the train'd be goin' through sometime that night, an' we put our coppers on the track, an' the weight o' the train, see, squat 'em out. P 157-73 Don't squat the parcel, there's eggs in it. 1976 GUY 98 And a newspaper ... is where they cuts down trees and squats them out flat for to make paper and then prints stuff on them.
2 To chop or hew one or more flat surfaces on a log.
1869 HOWLEY MS Reminiscences 24 The main or living room was a space of some 10 or 20 feet square with an open fire-place at one end, on either side of which were rough benches or settles made of squatted sticks. 1897 J A Folklore x, 210 ~ To flatten a stick of timber by hewing the one side of it. [c1900] 1968 RLS 8, p. 26 ~ To flatten a piece of timber with an axe, trim down on the sides a round stick. 1937 DEVINE 47 ~ To chop two flat faces on opposite sides of a rail or piece of timber. 1974 MANNION 147 Each pole was 'squatted' on a timber stand, barked and trimmed, then sawn lengthways with a pit-saw, or split with hammer and wedges.
