mudlark
/ˈmʌdlɑːrk/
noun
- A person who searches in river mud for valuable or interesting objects, especially in historical cities like London.
- She became a mudlark after learning about the history hidden along the shoreline.
- The mudlark found a 17th-century coin buried in the Thames mud.
- Tourists watched as a mudlark carefully sifted through the riverbank.
- A child who plays or works in muddy streets or riverbanks, often in poor conditions (historical).
- Mudlarks were common in 19th-century port cities.
- The novel tells the story of a young mudlark surviving on the streets.
- In Victorian London, a mudlark might scavenge for scraps to sell.