scutch

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To beat or whip

   To beat or whip; to drub.

2. 2

   To separate the woody fibre from (flax, hemp, etc.) by beating

   To separate the woody fibre from (flax, hemp, etc.) by beating; to swingle.

   • 2005, John Martin, Warren Leonard, David Stamp, and Richard Waldren, Principles of Field Crop Production (4th Edition), section 32.10 “Processing Fiber Flax”, the title of subsection 32.10.3 “Scutching”.
   • His prey was more often the over-scutched huswives, the threepenny whores with well-whipped backs, both from the beadle and their own hot-blooded clients.
3. 3

   A wooden implement shaped like a large knife used to separate the valuable fibres of flax…

   A wooden implement shaped like a large knife used to separate the valuable fibres of flax or hemp by beating them and scraping from it the woody or coarse portions.

4. ›+ 3 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      The woody fibre of flax or hemp

      The woody fibre of flax or hemp; the refuse of scutched flax or hemp.

      • the labourers went peacefully about their usual employments, some driving teams of ponderous horses at the plough, others burning scutch and brambles, the rubbish of field and forest.
   2. 5

      A bricklayer's small picklike tool with two cutting edges (or prongs) for dressing stone…

      A bricklayer's small picklike tool with two cutting edges (or prongs) for dressing stone or cutting and trimming bricks.

   3. 6

      A tuft or clump of grass.

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