That is a law to hedge in the cuckoo.
Locke.
To hedge a bet, to bet upon both sides; that is, after having bet on
one side, to bet also on the other, thus guarding against loss.
Hedge, v. i. 1. To shelter one's self from danger, risk, duty,
responsibility, etc., as if by hiding in or behind a hedge; to skulk;
to slink; to shirk obligations.
I myself sometimes, leaving the fear of God on the left hand and
hiding mine honor in my necessity, am fain to shuffle, to hedge and
to lurch.
Shak.
2. (Betting) To reduce the risk of a wager by making a bet against the
side or chance one has bet on.
3. To use reservations and qualifications in one's speech so as to
avoid committing one's self to anything definite.
The Heroic Stanzas read much more like an elaborate attempt to
hedge between the parties than . . . to gain favor from the
Roundheads.
Saintsbury.
Hedge"born` (?), a. Born under a hedge; of low birth. Shak.
Hedge"bote` (?), n. (Eng. Law) Same as Haybote.
Hedge"hog` (?), n. 1. (Zoˆl.) A small European insectivore (Erinaceus
EuropÊus), and other allied species of Asia and Africa, having the hair
on the upper part of its body mixed with prickles or spines. It is able
to roll itself into a ball so as to present the spines outwardly in
every direction. It is nocturnal in its habits, feeding chiefly upon
insects.