1. The practice of catching birds at night by dazzling them with light and knocking them down with a stick or bat.
Usage: archaic; historical

1. To catch birds using the batfowling method; to hunt birds at night by blinding them with light.
Usage: archaic; historical
2. To trick or deceive someone; to catch someone off guard.
Usage: archaic; figurative

Examples

• In medieval times, batfowling was a common method of catching game birds for food.
• The poachers were caught batfowling in the forest at night.
• He tried to batfowl his opponent by spreading false rumors before the debate.
• The con artist was skilled at batfowling unsuspecting travelers.
• Batfowling required a torch, a net, and quick reflexes to succeed.