knacker

[ nak-er ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, British.

a person who buys animal carcasses or slaughters useless livestock for a knackery or rendering works.
a person who buys and dismembers old houses, ships, etc., to salvage usable parts, selling the rest as scrap.
Dialect. an old, sick, or useless farm animal, especially a horse.
Obsolete. a harness maker; a saddler.

knacker

/ ˈnækə /

Origin of knacker¹

1565–75; knack (< Scandinavian; compare Icelandic hnakkr nape of the neck, saddle) + -er ¹

Origin of knacker¹

C16: probably from nacker saddler, probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse hnakkur saddle

I felt forced to follow, and soon found myself outside a knacker's yard.

"Now so surely as I am Kurt, the Knacker, there is more in this priestling than meets the eye," he muttered.

One of the guardsmen held out a full ox-horn of wine, and the Knacker seized it and forced it into Constans's hand.

A harsh croak greeted him, and he recognized the crippled sailor who called himself Kurt the Knacker.

Old horses, fit but for the knacker's yard, and burdened till they could barely stand, were being goaded forward through the mud.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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