scrag

English

Etymology

Perhaps related to Norwegian skragg (a lean person), dialectal Swedish skragge (old and torn thing), Danish skrog (hull, carcass); perhaps related to shrink.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

scrag (plural scrags)

1. (archaic) A thin or scrawny person or animal. [from the 16th c.]
   • 1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan

     In any event he might have wakened the long scrag by so doing.

2. (archaic) The lean end of a neck of mutton; the scrag end.
3. (archaic) The neck, especially of a sheep.
4. (Scotland) A scrog. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
5. (UK, slang, derogatory) A chav or ned; a stereotypically loud and aggressive person of lower social class.
6. (Australia, slang, derogatory) A rough or unkempt woman.
   • 1998 June 9, Shane, “feed up with noise in cinemas”, in aus.films‎^[1] (Usenet):

     The large guy said that he couldnt sit down the front because of an eye condition, and she said, out loud, "too bad, go down the front".
     This was all heard by most of the crowd, 1 guy called her a bitch, i spoke out loud "what a scrag"  which her boyfriend heard, he turned around agro like to defend her, when another guy yelled out "if you get agro about that son, ill be over there to show your girlfriend some manners", to which he promplty sat down :-), but after that she put her feet up on the seat in front of her !!

   • 1999 December 18, Kenny, “The Observer AND the Times: Episode 3.7 Revelations”, in aus.tv.buffy‎^[2] (Usenet):

     Post scrag fight, Buffy is sweetness and light in her cardy and teeny tiny handbag (plus blonde hair) contrasting with Faith who is lying in bed with her kill-me-thrill-me cutoff shorts (plus brunette hair).

   • 2003 June 2, Peter Lucas, “The Chief takes a hit”, in alt.ozdebate‎^[3] (Usenet):

     Get a life, you stupid scrag.

7. A ragged, stunted tree or branch.

Verb

1. (obsolete, colloquial) To hang on a gallows, or to strangle or garotte or choke.
   • Pall Mall Magazine

     An enthusiastic mob will scrag me to a certainty the day war breaks out.

   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 37:

     Adrian thought it worth while to try out his new slang... ‘That's beastly talk, Thompson. Jolly well take it back or expect a good scragging.’

2. To harass, to manhandle.
   • 1958, P. G. Wodehouse, Cocktail Time, Chapter 15

     '...I urged him ... to ... try the Ickenham System ... a little thing I knocked together in my bachelor days ... it has a good many points in common with all-in wrestling and osteopathy. I generally recommend it to diffident wooers and it always works like magic...'

     Johnny stared.

     'You mean you told McMurdo to ... scrag her?'

3. To kill or destroy.
   • 1899, Rudyard Kipling, “9 Slaves of the Lamp II”, in Stalky & Co., Project Gutenberg ebook edition, page 165:

     "I abolished him—privatim—scragged him."

   • 2009, Steve Augarde, Celandine‎^[4], →ISBN, page 162:

     But they'll scrag you for it, you know, if you do. They scrag anyone who speaks to me.

Translations

to choke

• Finnish: kuristaa (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: задыха́ться (ru) (zadyxátʹsja)

Anagrams

• CAGRs, crags