smeuse

 SMYOOZ

 The gap in the base of a hedgerow made by the repeated passage of a small animal — a badger, a rabbit, a fox. The vegetation is worn away at ground level, the earth is packed smooth, and a tunnel-like opening is left that reveals, without ever showing the animal itself, that something lives here and travels this way regularly. Macfarlane calls it a word for "a hole made in vegetation by the repeated passage of a small animal."
Etymology
 Sussex dialect. One of many hyperlocal English words for specific signs of animal movement through landscape.
Notes
 From Macfarlane's Landmarks. One of the most evocative entries in the book — once you know the word, you start seeing smeuses everywhere.
animals forest
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