sb. and a. [Reduplicated or extended form of ROW sb.2; orig. dial.]
A. sb. An uproar, hubbub, noisy disturbance, din.
1877. Holderness Gloss., Tow-row, a confusion, or noisy disturbance.
1886. Stevenson, Kidnapped, iv. A blinding flash,… and hard upon the heels of it, a great tow-row of thunder.
1894. Crockett, Raiders (ed. 3), 15. Then … came a great towrow of laughter.
1894. Max Pemberton, Sea-Wolves, xxii. For a long space they kept up the tow-row and the din.
† B. adj. Intoxicated (? ‘drunk and disorderly’). slang. Obs.
1709. Steele & Swift, Tatler, No. 71, ¶ 8. He that drinks till he stares, is no more Tow-Row, but Honest.
So Tow-row v., intr. a. to make a tow-row; b. dial. (see quot. 1854). Hence Tow-rowing vbl. sb.
1840. Thackeray, Barber Cox, March. Directly, the tow-rowing began, oft went Trumpeter like a thunder-bolt.
1854. Miss Baker, Northampt. Gloss., Tow-rowing, cleaning out dirty and disorderly places. ‘I’ve been tow-rowing about all day among the dust.’
1899. Mrs. E. Kennard, Morals Midlands, xxvii. 240. The hounds were tow-rowing all round the covert.
