Regency Reader Question
What is a hunter’s cuckoo?
| Source of Question | Reg Rom Book |
Thanks for the question, Sandi, and for being a Regency Reader!
Hunter’s cuckoo was not a common phrase, at least not according to all my primary sources, so its one of those instances context might be helpful.
Without that I am hazarding a guess.
A hunter was likely either to mean someone who hunts or a show horse (hunters are typically athletic, agile, and thoroughbred). Cuckoo, at least as was used as a slang term in this era, was meant to describe adultery often resulting in illegitimate children. The cuckold was the man whose wife was unfaithful. The cuckoo in this instance was the man who was having the affair with the wife.
This was taken from the Cuckoo bird who was known for a habit of laying eggs in other bird’s nests.
I would suggest the author was either talking about a horse’s unplanned father, or the hunter was a euphemism for a Corinthian type male who was cheated on.
If you want to share the context, that might clear things up, otherwise I am interested in other Regency Reader’s thoughts!
