heckle

IPA: hˈɛkʌɫ

The long shining feathers on a cock's neck.
A feather ornament in the full-dress bonnets of Highland regiments.
An interruption during a show, especially a comedy performance
Alternative form of hackle (“tool for separating flax”) [An instrument with steel pins used to comb out flax or hemp.]

(transitive) To question harshly in an attempt to find or reveal weaknesses.
(transitive) To insult, tease, make fun of or badger, especially during a comedy performance.
(textiles) To prepare flax for spinning using special combs called hackles

Examples of "heckle" in Sentences

Then I got quite a minor heckle from the audience.
If you pay for my ticket I'm more than happy to heckle from the back row. (
A heckle is a challenge; whispered or invisible to you comments are gossip.
The odd thing about this kind of heckle is that it has become almost obligatory.
The heckle is the first chink in our civility towards our government institutions and our heritage that sets us apart from other nations.
The best thing to come out of the Presidents Cup was the spirit under which it was played, with nary a heckle from the gallery or a charge across any green.
I did not "heckle" Attorney General Mukasey, and I did not disrupt the meeting, as those who watch the video of his speech on the Federalist Society's website will discover.
Republicans, meanwhile, rallied around Wilson, with many saying a planned resolution disapproving of Wilson's heckle is a petty partisan distraction from more serious issues.