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Fri 23 Sep, 2011 01:05 am
Context:
The mysterious event caused much speculation at the church on the following Sunday.
Knots of gazers and gossips were collected in the churchyard, at the bridge, and at the spot where the hat and pumpkin had been found. The stories of Brouwer, of Bones, and a whole budget of others were called to mind; and when they had diligently considered them all, and compared them with the symptoms of the present case, they shook their heads, and came to the conclusion that Ichabod had been carried off by the Galloping Hessian. As he was a bachelor, and in nobody's debt, nobody troubled his head any more about him; the school was removed to a different quarter of the hollow, and another pedagogue reigned in his stead.
More:
http://www.englishgratis.com/3c/THE_LEGEND_OF_SLEEPY_HOLLOW/Washington_Irving_-_THE_LEGEND_OF_SLEEPY_HOLLOW-0021.htm
There is a usage of knot which means a closely packed group. For example, if there were 40 or 50 cattle in a field, and evenly spread out to graze--except for 12 of them who were clustered around the water tank, one might write: "There were cattle scattered all over the field, except for a knot of them at the water tank."
Gazers, of course, means people looking on, so: "Groups of onlookers and gossips were collected in the churchyard, etc. . . ."
Please note that the groups would very likely only be described as knots if the members of the group were standing close together.
@Setanta,
And in England, you might see knots of geezers gazing.
In some areas, in just about any country you care to name, you'd see knots of knuckleheads gaping.
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