knacker

From Old Norse hnak (“saddle”) (whence Icelandic hnakkur (“saddle”)).

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: năkə, IPA^(key): /ˈnakə/
• (General American) enPR: năkər, IPA^(key): /ˈnækɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ækə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: knack‧er

knacker (plural knackers)

1. One who makes knickknacks, toys, etc.

   Near-synonym: toymaker

2. One of two or more pieces of bone or wood held loosely between the fingers, and struck together by moving the hand.

   Synonym: clapper

   • 1649, William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, The Variety:

     A Bachanalian dancing the Spanish Morisco, with knackers at his fingers.

4. (archaic) A harnessmaker or saddlemaker; their place of business (e.g., saddlery).
   • 1707, J Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. , London: J H for H Mortlock , and J Robinson , →OCLC:

     Plow-wright , Cart-wright, Knacker and Smith

5. One who slaughters and (especially) renders worn-out livestock (especially horses) and sells their flesh, bones and hides.

   Near-synonyms: slaughterer, slaughterman

   • 1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XXII, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz , →OCLC:

     After a few years even the whip loses its virtue, and the pony goes to the knacker.

6. One who dismantles old ships, houses, etc. and sells their components.

   Near-synonyms: salvager, salvor; scrapper, wrecker, breaker; shipbreaker, car breaker

7. (Ireland, British, offensive) A member of the Travelling Community; a Rom (Gypsy).
8. (Ireland, offensive, slang) A person of lower social class; a chav, skanger, or similar.

   Synonyms: dobber, scobe; see also Thesaurus:chav

9. (UK, slang, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) A testicle.
   • 2013, Perry Gamsby, Never Be Unsaid, page 136:

     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.

10. An old, worn-out horse.
    • 2014, K. Bannerman, Mark of the Magpie, page 170:

      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!

11. (UK, dialect, obsolete) A collier's horse.

knacker (third-person singular simple present knackers, present participle knackering, simple past and past participle knackered)

1. (UK, slang, transitive) To tire out, exhaust; to beat up and use up (something), leaving it worn out and damaged.

   Carrying that giant statue up those stairs completely knackered me.

   That table that I was going to put the statue on may not suffice, as it's completely knackered.

2. (UK, slang, transitive) To reprimand.