2 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

Even without a statement ... if someone spat at people, was a public nusiance he would get arrested for public nusaince offenses. Same applies to America too. 

There is nothing to indicate  that he spat on anyone.

And what he did is not grounds for "public nuisance".  He was not in public space. He was an invitee at a private  business.  The venue did not ask him to leave did they? And even if they did and he co-operated,  he was not a nuisance. The responsibility lies  with the venue management. It  tolerated his behavior.

 

 

10 hours ago, cdemundo said:

Well, as an "English teacher" I assume you consulted the OED and were disappointed.

Had you the wherewithal of a 12 year old you would have tried Google and found:

 

["Hock a loogie" means to forcefully spit out a mass of saliva and phlegm from the throat. It's an informal term for clearing one's throat and forcefully expelling mucus and saliva. The word "loogie" refers to the mass of saliva and phlegm itself. ]

 

I searched "hawk a loogie" and got the result above.

Having only encountered the phrase in conversation I was unaware of the standard spelling.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your very polite answer.

No I didn't search Google. As I said I tried to deduce the meaning from the context, and that is why I replied immediately.

 

FYI, I did Google after I finished my daily reading of Aseannow and saw the meaning, but I didn't return to this site until now.

3 hours ago, petedk said:

 

Thank you for your very polite answer.

No I didn't search Google. As I said I tried to deduce the meaning from the context, and that is why I replied immediately.

 

FYI, I did Google after I finished my daily reading of Aseannow and saw the meaning, but I didn't return to this site until now.

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary website, apparently this is a hotly debated topic by English teachers.

 

"Do You 'hock' or 'hawk' a loogie?

A question for the ages

What to Know

Both "hock a loogie" and "hawk a loogie" are acceptable for describing forcefully spitting out a mass of saliva and phlegm from the throat. Hock and hawk both refer to the action of spitting."

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/do-you-hock-or-hawk-a-loogie