knacker en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈnækɚ/ (General-American)
- năkər (General-American)
- (Australia) audio
- năkə (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈnakə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Old Norse hnak (“saddle”) (whence Icelandic hnakkur (“saddle”)).
Meanings
-
One who makes knickknacks, toys, etc.
Near-synonym: toymaker
-
One of two or more pieces of bone or wood held loosely between the fingers, and struck together by moving the hand.
A Bachanalian dancing the Spanish Morisco, with knackers at his fingers.
1649, William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, The Variety:
-
(archaic) A harnessmaker or saddlemaker; their place of business (e.g., saddlery).
Plow-wright , Cart-wright, Knacker and Smith
1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
-
One who slaughters and (especially) renders worn-out livestock (especially horses) and sells their flesh, bones and hides.
After a few years even the whip loses its virtue, and the pony goes to the knacker.
1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XXII, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz […], →OCLC:Near-synonyms: slaughterer, slaughterman
-
One who dismantles old ships, houses, etc. and sells their components.
Near-synonyms: salvager, salvor; scrapper, wrecker, breaker; shipbreaker, car breaker
- (Ireland, UK, ethnic, offensive, slur) An itinerant person, especially one of Irish Traveller heritage.
- (Ireland, offensive, slang) A person of lower social class; a chav, skanger, or similar.
-
(UK, in-plural, slang, vulgar) A testicle.
He looked like someone had put a 9mm full metal jacket round through his left scrotum. He even had his mouth open in some parody of a soundless scream, much as I imagined I would do if someone shot my left knacker off.
2013, Perry Gamsby, Never Be Unsaid, page 136:
-
An old, worn-out horse.
Believe me, you can get an old knacker for cheap at the glue yard, but it won't carry you as far as a thoroughbred!
2014, K. Bannerman, Mark of the Magpie, page 170:
- (UK, dialectal, obsolete) A collier's horse.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| knackers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Knackerville · knacker's yard · high-jimmy-knacker
Synonyms
bopper · thug · scrote · charver · skeet · snoopy · scobe · bogan · herbert · wigger · rudie · scratter · dobber · yarco · prole · hood rat · townie · brush · kev · trailer trash · spide · smackhead · wrecker · pleb · toymaker · scrapper · benny · roadman · breaker · adlay · scanger · knacker · pikey · dresser · scally · skanger · scrub · gazza · yob · mev · gippo · puffy · scumbag · clapper · scunner · Westie · shipbreaker · white trash · eshay · nob · steek · sham · redneck · scrubber · dobber · vic · ned · yobbo · scoundrel · schemie · charva · smick · salvor · car breaker · sweeper · rudeboy · trev · salvager · radgie · chav · scobe · ocker · stig · bazza · bam · Barry boy · scuffer · slaughterman · thugette · poor white trash · slaughterer · dumbo · scutter
Translations (19)
fr équarrisseur (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · sv rackare (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · es descuartizador (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · it squartatore (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · de Wasenmeister (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · ka გამტყავებელი (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · cs drnomistr (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · cs ras (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · cs pohodný (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · cs travnímistr (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · de Tierkörperverwerter (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · de Abdecker (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · bg кастанети (clapper) · sh стр̏водер (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · de Schinder (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · nrf êquathisseux (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · sh stȑvoder (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · pl rakarz (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer) · cs antoušek (one who separates animals for reuse — see also flayer)