tākirikiri
1. (verb) (-tia) to strip away, pluck at repeatedly, tug at repeatedly.
Ki te hurihia e koe te rangi ki tētahi rangi Pākehā kua ngaro te āhua o te whakatakoto i te kupu hai nanao atu ki roto i te whatumanawa tonu o te tangata tākirikiri ai (Milroy 2015). / If you change the tune to a Pākehā tune you lose the nature of how the words are set out to tug at someone's heartstrings.
2. (verb) to be split into fine strips.
Kia tākirikiri tonu ngā harakeke mō te mahi whāriki (PK 2008:835). / The flax should be split into fine strips for making mats.
3. (noun) criptic.
Ko ana whakatakoto kōrero, he pērā anō i tā te rangatira me te pūkōrero, he tākirikiri ki te whakarongo a te tauhou; he wā e haere ana te hahani me te whakapopoto o te kōrero (TTR 1990:178). / His utterances were like those of other chiefs and skilled orators, cryptic to the uninitiated; he was often satirical or laconic.
