Scratch
The word scratch came up
several times during today’s show,the result of the observation that it abounds
in multiple meanings. The word seems to have come from similar words in Old
Scandinavian and Germanic dialects.
As a verb, it has gone
through a succession of meanings since the 15th century.
·
to wound
with claws of fingernails in a superficial manner
·
to use claws
or fingernails as an offensive weapon
·
to fight
without doing serious injury
·
to relieve
itching
·
to make only
slight progress (‘that market has barely
been scratched”)
·
to lightly
furrow soil for cultivation
·
to make
light incisions on a surface
·
to remove
earth with claws or fingernails
·
to struggle
to make money
·
to get
through with difficulty
·
to depart in
haste
·
to produce
with difficulty
·
to struggle
fiercely to obtain
·
to remove a
name from a list or a horse from a race
·
to refuse an
invitation
·
to move a
pen over paper with a slight noise
·
to scribble
or write carelessly
·
to forge
checks or banknotes
·
to make a
penalty-incurring stroke, as in billiards
·
to cancel a
project
As a noun, many of the
actions described above are transformed into names. So there’s a tearing of the
skin, a shallow incision, a mark, a sketch, a trivial fight, a shot that incurs
a penalty, and so on. But there’s also a disease of horses, slang for paper
money, a position with no advantage or favorable odds, and a hiss heard when a
record is played. It’s also a name for the devil (Old Scratch), probably because he was often pictured with claws.
As an adjective, it may
be used to describe an impromptu selection of teammates for a game, a
hastily-assembled work crew, a vote that does not reflect the actual will of a
constituency or deliberative body, or a golfer with a handicap of 0 or below.
Available from McFarland & Co.: Word Parts Dictionary, 2nd edition
Nook edition
Nook edition
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